The Badia

So, today, early in the morning, I got a ride back from SabHa (the Badia town I lived in) back to Amman. The Badia was unbelievable. I lived with a man named Shlash who's going to be married in two weeks. He's an English teacher/works on one of his family's five farms (he works with the animals, camels, sheep, goats, etc.). Shlash and his family are in charge of basically all of Northern Badia. Dema, the host coordinator at SIT, is Shalsh's cousin and they used to be engaged (don't tell anyone); that was only a year ago and now Shlash is getting married in two weeks to a woman name Ghadeer. She's very kind and pretty cute, I'm proud of my boy Shlash.
Shlash didn't live in the "traditional" Bedouin style home at all (had a European-style toilet and all) and he didn't dress in a dish-desh, kafia, or sirwal. After I showed him all of my Bedouin get-up, he laughed and said "don't wear that, just be yourself."
The SIT director, Dr. Raed, told us a lot about the Badia but after going there, I noticed the majority of what he said was pretty far off. Friendships, family, etc. are all very close but all the "tradition" wasn't on the surface with clothes and houses, but with relationships and the idea of duty to your family.
Shlash hates being a teacher; not only because the pay is terrible and the hours are bad but because the students (at the all-boy schools) have no motivation. Lives of children here, especially the guys, are completely planned out for them. Since Shlash is the oldest son by about five days (polygamy, it happens), his parents' plan for him consists of staying in SabHa for the rest of his life teaching and farming so that future generations can succeed educationally and financially. The boys in the Badia have no real ambitions, goals, or choice about what to do with their lives because after high school, they have to go back to work on the family farm or business. I went to school with Shlash one day and sat in on one of his classes. After 12 years of studying English, the students didn't know how to say "I want to go to University after high school." I've been studying Arabic for less than two years and I am far better in their language then they are in mine; they're only one or two years younger than me but they just don't care. It's a sad fact I've noticed in the Badia but instead of being seen as a restriction here, it's simply seen as a way of life.
Every night I was there, Shlash's friend, including a guy from Texas who's working there on his own (his name is Loren), came over and hung out: drinking coffee, smoking a lot, and telling juvenile jokes - it was a pretty good time. Speaking of smoking, I smoked about four packs while I was in the Badia (about a pack a day which, I was trying to keep up with Shlash). The reason I smoked so many cigarettes is because it's basically insta-respect while your there. If they see that you smoke, or if they offer and you take it and light up, they smile, nod, and instantly accept you into their culture. If somebody is cautious about you, or think you're a cultural spy or something, and then you start to smoke, they ignore everything they originally thought about you and respect/accept you. My mom did the same thing in Ecuador, it's a necessary part of the culture and I'm glad I embraced it the way I did. In fact, sometimes in the Badia, you just need a cigarette. But after four days of constantly smoking, I'm done with cigarettes, hookah and cigars only from now on.
While I was in the Badia, I saw some pretty remarkable things. I saw Shlash work on breaking (domesticating) a male camel which was frightening, and I also climbed up onto a mountain named Ga'ais where you could see 50 kilometers all around (including a huge chunk of Syria).
I took videos of both of those but since the internet is pretty slow here, I think I'm just going to upload photos for you folks. I also went to a "zoo" with different desert critters and animals. I pet a wolf, pissed off a hyena, and almost got bitten by a snake - easily one of the cooler experiences here in Jordan. I'm going to stop for now, this blog is very long and I apologize for that but I had to try to sum up four days of culture shock and Bedouin experiences. I would appreciate any comments about the culture or my experiences because not only is this blog a public journal for me, but it's a way to open the eyes of Americans to the ways of life here and I would love to here your thoughts. Tomorrow I'll be heading to the Dead Sea for a day so I'll post after that as well, look forward to your comments. All for now, ma salaama.