So here I am, after a rather delicious meal of home made mansaf, staring at my online Organic Chemistry slides, and waiting for the information to be fed into my brain. I've got my final exams now, and I finish in a few days on the 17th. Honestly I can't wait one bit, though the hard truth is that once I'm on holiday I'll be back to that awkward feeling being useless and bored, even though I know I'll be spending my time eating shawarma and swimming at Al Hussein Youth City. Just the thought of that makes me drool, yeehaa.
It is weird how the only time I have that will to educate myself about worldly matters, politics and read the news is when I'm in study stress. It's like I'll be sitting on the sofa, sipping on a cup of mint tea, watching the news with great fascination, with a truck load of books waiting to be read in the next room. What's worse is that I'll usually have an exam right the next day, as is the current case with Organic Chem. Now it'll be alright if that wasted time was about an hour or so, but once I've begun messing around, the realization that it is ENOUGH does not hit me hard until 3 or 4 hours have swept by.
What I don't get at all is the method of teaching at our Jordanian universities, or I would rather not generalize, so I'll limit it to Jordan University of Science and Technology. I mean the syllabus is awesome, you would say "hey, this stuff is really advanced, I'm going to just love these topics!", and in the end the semester turns out to be messed up and on a totally different part of the spectrum than you would expect.
Why, you might ask? Well I would like to put the blame primarily on our beloved professors, (excuse the thought that I might not be paying attention during class). What happens is that some professors, take it that their students are nothing but absolute geniuses, so any question a student might ask will be shameful and offensive in their eyes. What is more is that their standards of communication in English language aren't that brilliant either, but they consider themselves to be more or less native speakers of the language - ambassadors of Shakespeare himself to the Middle East. Well I admit I was picturing none other than my Organic Chemistry professor, so again, I must emphasize that generalization is wrong, and you've got others who are just lovable, and yes, I am being serious now.
The bigger problem is that at times, even the syllabus turns out to be wrong, as I reluctantly learned during my Physiology exam a few weeks back, for which I spent a day or so studying for things that weren't included in our exam, ironic eh? I would also like to blame the Ministry of Higher Education for the inconsistency of dates between Jordanian institutes of higher learning. As an example of this, the University of Jordan, where many of my friends study, has been on midterm vacation for more than a week. On the other hand, we are still entrenched in exams and finish only a few days before our fellow UJ students begin their summer semesters! The least the kind ministry could do is uniform the dates.
Anyhow, there's another half hour gone for practically nothing. I'm off to continue staring at those beautiful chemistry slides - wish me luck.
Coffee is more than merely a drink; in Jordan it is surrounded with custom and treated with reverence. It is not only a symbol of hospitality and trust, it is a traditional sign of respect and a way to bring people together. Black, cardomom flavored Arabic coffee, also known as "Qahwa Saada", is deeply ingrained in the Jordanian culture.
Usually having a bitter taste, beautiful aroma, and served in small portions into handle-less cups. It is closely associated with the Dallah - an iconic coffee pot of Arab culture. Serving coffee to guests is a large part of the culture's warm hospitality. (source)
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