More Taxis and Misunderstandings

I'm very proud of myself for being able to navigate cabs here now without stirring up too many questions, although it still happens as people are naturally curious about my accent. I suppose it is good for me to have to experience this, because being a person who is read as a white woman in the states, I've never had to feel what it's like to have people treat you like you are completely and utterly stupid because you look like you are from somewhere else.

I'm talking about how it feels here when i open my mouth and utter maybe one or two words in arabic and the person near me exclaims, loudly, "YOU SPEAK GOOD ARABIC!!!!!" (Imagine someone in the states exclaiming to an asian-looking individual, "Oh you speak such good Engliiiiiiiish!!!") Or when they otherwise assume that I don't know my way around the city so cannot possibly know a faster route than they do, even though I've taken it every day for the past six months. It is so incredibly annoying. I've become bitchy about it. Depending on how loud and obnoxious they are in the context, I either say thank you, or more and more often just a curt yes, i live here.

I understand that it is not a common thing for people to encounter white foreigners here who speak colloquial arabic well enough to get around, and that is to a large extent due to our own arrogance. I hardly imagine that historically, encounters with British and French colonists, and now, American state department employees, etc, are encounters of mutual respect and curiosity. They take place in a context of power. And hyper-sexuality. I'll talk about the hyper-sexuality later. The power means that the westerner can come and go as he/she pleases, and without having to make any effort to learn the local language. So most of them do not. Most of their posts are only for a couple years or less anyway, so what is the point? Jordanians, on the other hand, all are required in school to learn English. Even to get a good job in Jordan anymore, you need almost perfect English.

More examples of the kinds of power differential that these meetings take place in are the fact that as US citizens, we can travel to Jordan, to Palestine, to Israel, and essentially where we want. However, people of various nationalities here such as Palestinian, Jordanian, Syrian, Iraqi, are far more constrained in terms of movement. I can go to visit my old host family's elderly aunt and uncle in Jerusalem, while they haven't seen them in more than 20 years. I can go through check points in Palestine and Israel without too many questions, while Palestinians cannot. I can leave Jordan and come back freely, while Iraqis and Egyptians cannot. I can enter Syria with the proper visa, Palestinians cannot. The list goes on. In terms of work and class as well, I have a certain power in most interactions. I'm here studying on a stipend that equals most university professor's salaries.

So, when I meet a random person, they think something about me. What they think is something very close to: rich, able to study, privileged in upbringing and mobiligy, ignorant about what we go through every day, is sexually loose, does not know about God or morals, has an American passport, and possibly will be able to hook me up with a visa.

So, this is the first thing to keep in mind when reading about stuff that happens here. There are other things that i'll post later. This post is about what people think when they see us, foreign women hopping around Amman. There is also a ton to say about what the random western person thinks of the Arabs they meet here. And there is a ton to say about the context of male-female relations etiquette here in which these interactions take place, and what that means for the conversation.

THAT SAID:

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Taxi Convo #13: (contributed by Lillie)
Taxi- Are you married?
Lil- Yes.
Taxi- Is your husband here or in America?
Lil- He's in America.
Taxi- That isn't a marriage.
Lil- Yes it is, we talk on the phone.
Taxi- Do you have kids?
Lil-No.
Taxi- You know why? Because you can't do it over the phone!

Taxi Convo #14: (contributed by Tiffany)
Taxi- Silicon wala tabee'y? [silicon or natural?]
Tiff- Shame on you!!! [horrified look on face, as what ELSE could that possibly mean??]
Taxi- Okay okay, tabee'y.