Breaking the ice with JMI students

By Mariana Cristancho-Ahn

JMI and Columbia students at King Hussein Mosque in Jordan (Mariana Cristancho-Ahn/Journey to Jerusalem)

AMMAN – We heard a great deal about the Jordan Media Institute before we left New York for Amman. We knew that it was the newest journalism school in Jordan, that it had the support of the Royal Family and that it was popularly known as JMI. What I didn’t know was the most appropriate way to greet the students. I figured that it was best just to nod politely to the men, but what about the women?

Our first encounter came on a bright sunny day in Amman, the morning after our arrival in the city. We were outside the majestic King Hussein Mosque, and the other women of the class and I had just put on the white outfits –long skirts and veils– that we were given as a gift from JMI so we could dress modestly during our visit to the mosque.

We were waiting for our Muslim classmates, the only ones from our group allowed to stay inside the mosque during the prayer time. One of them, Sommer, came back and introduced us to a group of six women from JMI. I didn’t know whether to give each of them a handshake, a kiss on the cheek, a hug, or just acknowledge them by bowing my head with a smile. Not knowing what to do, I opted for the last option.

As we informally introduced ourselves and started talking about our experiences as journalism students, I felt an immediate connection. One of the students named Saba Abufarha kindly fixed my veil making sure my hair didn’t show on my forehead. She and the other JMI women were wearing hijabs, the traditional Muslim headscarves.

After a few minutes, we were summoned into the mosque for a presentation. Since there were no prayers at this time, men and women were allowed to be in the same room. We were taking notes and pictures of the event. Saba and I sat together on the carpeted floor. During the lecture, when someone asked a question in Arabic and no one translated, Saba helped me with the translation. At the end of the presentation when water and dates were passed around – a traditional Muslim gesture to guests– Saba made sure that I took some. Her small but thoughtful gestures made me feel welcome.

Later in the day, as our class departed for a reporting walk in the streets of Amman, the JMI students escorted us and became our personal tour guides. We had less than two hours before having to catch the bus back to the hotel. It was a privilege being with people who knew the city so well.

I met with Saba again and, as I start walking with her, I felt I was in the company of a good old friend. As we passed through shops she showed me the traditional Jordanian outfits for women consisting of one-piece black dresses with intricate embroidery. She took me to a music store and introduced me to the songs of Egyptian singer Mohamed Abdel Wahab, a musician she and the store clerk said was the most popular in the Arab world. Saba bought a couple of CDs for me. I was touched by her kindness.

In the rush of trying to make the most of the time we had, Saba took me to visit the oldest town house in Jordan which is now a museum and cultural center. A mosaic painting of former King Hussein of Jordan adorned the main room. We had tea in the balcony of the museum overlooking a bookshop with a big poster showing Queen Rania visiting the bookstore and a similar one of King Abdullah.

Since it was getting late for me to meet with the rest of my class Saba suggested I make arrangements for her friends to take me back to the hotel. I agreed as long as my class was informed. She made a couple of phone calls and said I was fine.

As we left the museum and rushed to meet with her friends, Saba indicated to me to grab her upper arm as we crossed the busy streets. Earlier I had been alerted about the lack of pedestrian crossings in the streets of Amman. Crossing them with Saba and seeing how she sometimes urged the cars to stop by raising her hand was both impressive and scary.

Jordan Media Institute students. Saba Abufarha on the far left (Courtesy JMI/Journey to Jerusalem)

The Columbia and JMI students dined together that night at our hotel. As we ate from a tasty Jordanian style buffet, we talked about many different things. Among those at my table were Saba, Basima Tantour and Abeer Al-Kalouti. Abeer was interested in knowing about how it would be for a Muslim woman to study in the U.S. I told her about the Muslim students I have met at the school including a female Jordanian journalism student.

Saba and our teaching assistant, Cynthia Bernstein, found a subject of common interest: human rights. As they were talking about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Saba expressed her deep disappointment with Israeli policies, and said that she’d never visit Israel or talk to a Jewish person about it. Nonetheless, such a conversation was just taking place.

As an observant Jew, Cynthia shared with Saba her views about Israel and its importance for her, her family and the Jewish people. She also agreed with Saba regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and how she thinks not all Israeli policies have been perfect. The discussion was educational for those at the table. Without realizing it we were conducting some type of interfaith dialogue.

At the end of the evening we took some pictures and exchanged our contact information.
I said good-bye to the JMI women at my table, but this time in a very Jordanian fashion: with a hug and kiss on the cheek for each of them.

JMI Program Manager Rania Barakat (Mariana Cristancho-Ahn/Journey to Jerusalem)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 3:12 am and is filed under Reflections and tagged with Amman, Jordan Media Institute, King Hussein Mosque, Mariana Cristancho-Ahn. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.