My First Interview: A Journey in the Mind of a Young Jordanian Lady

I love reading interviews with normal people. I guess i can learn more from them than any other celebrity. Plus, i guess in another life i must of have been a journalist :D .

So i formed my own questions and picked up my first guest. 

She was generous enough to let me interview her :)

I am picking up more people, who knows you might get an email from me soon asking for your permission to be interviewed in my small place. 

So back to my first interview and my first guest :)

Her name is Sara but she signs her posts with " Rain". She is a young Jordanian lady blogger. 

1-Would you please introduce yourself to us ? 

My name is Sara AKA Rain,I'm a senior student at the university of Jordan,majoring in foreign languages,nothing unusual about me I'm just the kind of person that wanna have fun,I can be really creative when it comes to useless things! :P

2-  how many members are there in your family and how's your relationship with them? what do they mean to you ? 

well,there's my mom and dad,my 4 sisters and my two brothers..we're a normal boring Jordanian family.

I fight with my mom a lot lol but I can say we're pretty close.my mom is a typical Jordanian mommy..she's the kind of mothers that would kill for her children,she is also the type that uses tough love lol,she used to be a headmistress and we always say she never got over that headmistress character,all in all she is a good mama and I love her very much.

I love my dad so very much but I respect him even more,he is true gentleman,he made himself and he worked so hard all his life,he is super intelligent, he's never proud to admit he is wrong though,and he is always thirsty to learn more,his family is everything to him,and if there's anything I'd wish it would be to one day  as half great as he is

and then there are my two brothers,the bigger one who is a newly-wed and I used to fight a lot,we never really got a long so well,but since he has been married our relationship became warmer and stronger

my other brother is great,I love him very much,I feel sometimes like I should take care of him even though he is older than me,he is not the most reliable person lol,but he sticks to the people he loves,he's funny and I think he is the most one of my siblings that I have things in common with regarding the way we think and our personalities

my sisters;two married ones with kids and two others younger than me,I love my sisters so dearly,if it hasn't been for them I'd be lost in this life,I have always been so different from them but that didn't break us apart

I have fights with them sometimes but I could never go through a week without talking to each and everyone of them 

all in all,I am so blessed with my family,we are not perfect,and we're mostly embarrassing and grumpy,but at the end of the day we stick together :)

3- Where do you live in Jordan? Could you tell us about the best and the worst of your city? what does your city mean to you ? if you have to choose another city in Jordan to live in , what would it be and why ?

I live in my dear Amman,the dearest place ever to my heart,the best thing about Amman is that it is the heart of my memories,you are only attached to places when you have memories in them,and when one place holds so much memories you can't help but love it with all of your heart,I love its atmosphere,the streets,the cafes the places that you could never find anything like them

The worst thing hmmm,probably the bad services;bad transportation,and some of peoples' manners and ways of thinking,but then again that exists everywhere :)

If I were to choose another city it would be Irbid,I love Irbid it is beautiful and the people there are just adorable!

4- For those who haven't visited Jordan before, what places would you recommend to visit ? What kind of food should they try? . What about the places that they must avoid ?

First they should spend some quality time at down town Amman,eat at Hashim's and walk in the streets,shop there,climb the Roman Amphitheater..you know you can't live Amman's atmosphere without these rituals

And then there are many place in Jordan you could go to,for natural views and fresh air you can go to irbid and Ajloun(I lovvvve them),for some site seeing to AL-Salt and Um Qais and Jarash and Petra(one of the world's 7 wonders),for health stuff to the waterfall of Maen and the dead sea(they're both incredible),for the beach Aqaba,for camping Wadi Rum..which is a marvelous marvelous marvelous place...it's astonishing!the first place you should go to is Wadi Rum,and you should camp there as well :)

for food Mansaf Mansaf and then some Mansaf and then more Mansaf...Mansaf is the best thing you'll ever taste..if I had to eat the same thing everyday of my life it'd be Mansaf!:D

Places to avoid,hmm I don't know,I love Jordan as a whole and I can't really divide it into this and that!of course ever place you would go to you may find things that you would not like but that's the way it is every where!Jordan is beautiful as a package,the poor areas and the rich ones...the old and the new,the natural and modern,so don't limit yourself just pack some things and go on an adventure to explore it! :)

5- Can you recommend to us -non Jordanian- some Jordanian movies, novels and songs that will tell us more about the culture and traditions of your country? 

Movies,I don't think there's a really good movie documenting the history of Jordan,or at least I've never seen one unfortunately,as for music,the old folkloric songs can tell you many many things about Jordan,it can tell you that its people are brave,generous and famous with their hospitality,and also there are really nice poems that used to be sang in the past,I don't know their names I just used to hear my mother humming them,and I'm afraid you have to come to Jordan to listen to them as most of them are only reserved in the heads of people

 A book,good book about Amman is:

عبد الرحمن منيف - "قصة مدينة: طفولة في عمّان"

6- Would you name some Jordanian people who you think are influential  in the society? And what were their achievements?

Queen Rania ; she is a very intelligent woman great speaker and active with all kinds of things in Jordan;politics,humanity,charity work,women rights,young people development ,she's been said to be one of the strongest 100 women in the world,here's a link http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87

and you can watch her with Oprah Winfry on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdHc6VcyfOQ

and she is absolutely GORGEOUS! lol

Ahmad Hassan Al Zouby: This guy is absolutely amazing,he is a sarcastic newspaper writer who writes in the voice of the normal Jordanian citizen..the tired employee,the ambitious student,the busy mother,and even the careless kids!!he is personally my favorite,seriously I like have a crush on him lol,I once saw him he came to our university and he actually speaks better and funnier than he writes!!!

his articles are smart,funny,straight to the point and really strong,I don't think there's a Jordanian who does not adore this writer,this is his website: http://www.sawaleif.com/published.asp

you can read his articles there along with many other things

Emad Hajjaj : is a very famous caricature artist,I have to say that I haven't been a big fan of his lately,it's like he changed,he doesn't speak with that honest modest voice we always loved in the past,but he is still a great writer,I personally preferred his old works more,we practically grew up waiting for his drawings everyday,I remember every morning my dad would come to my mom laughing and show her the caricature :)

he is famous with his character Abu Mahjoob,who represents the middle class Jordanian man and who speaks in the voice of all everyday jordanians,he is really hilarious and I don't exaggerate when I say that most of his drawings are simply genius,I'm sorry if you don't get some of his drawings,the problem is the Jordanian humor is really different,and sometimes you need to know what was happening in the society that made him draw this or that,you can see his cartoons here: www.mahjoob.com

Mohammad Al Wakeel : he's a very famous,very popular radio presenter,his show "b sara7a m3 al wakeel" every morning talks about the biggest problems going on here and there in Jordan,he talks to normal people..listens to them and actually reacts on it and that's what made him win the hearts of Jordanians in no time,he's also very funny and his show became a part of the Jordanian morning rituals(yes we have rituals for mornings lol)

his show: http://wkel.jo1jo.com/cam/

him: http://wkel.jo1jo.com/

Ameen Matalqa :he is the director of the first Jordanian film ever "Captain Abu Raed" I absolutely love that film,its honest and rich yet simple story captured my heart,and I salute this Jordanian director for it even though I don't know much about him

the film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Abu_Raed

Mustafa Whaby Al Tall : is a Jordaina poet who spoke in the name of poor oppressed people,all he ever wanted is that they get their rights,he was against rich people in Jordan who never wanted to changes things araound,he used to even do illegal stuff sometimes in order to help poor people,he somehow felt connected to them

he was never afraid to speak out and say the truth,may his soul rest in peace although he was kinda a womanizer lol

I love this verse of his:

وطني الاردن لكنّي به.....كلما داويت جرحا سال جرح

him: http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%89_%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A8%D9%8A_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%84

 there are many many other famous Jordanians that I'm proud of,these are only the ones coming to my head now!

7-As a young Jordanian woman, what do you want your country to provide for the young generation? and what should younger generation give to the country in return ? 

Hmm this is a hard question, because it has many sides,one of the sides is that us Jordanian young people are not really interested in giving anything to our country,we're spoiled,selfish and indulged,ignorant of what is going on around us,we're like waking up and going in the same circle everyday not aware of what is around us,and that is one of the biggest problems in Jordan in my opinion

please keep in mind that I'm talking about people my age,my social class and my circumstances..and I think they are the majority

So in order to demand our country to give us the chance to do this and that I think we need to actually figure it out and want it,I think if we set our minds and work for it we have the chance to do many many things,and everyone would support us -there are some exceptions of course but this is the general image-

I feel really sad when every one talk about the new coming generation and how they're getting better education and that they'll do great things,because I'm watching and I can see that these young people around me are nothing but empty future housewives and empty future middle class employees

Everyone demands but no one is really ready to work!

8- Let's go back to your life Rain. Can you tell us as a language student, what attracts you to pursue your studying in languages? Do you think you would get any benefit from learning a certain language or languages in general? Do you advice people to learn languages and why ? 

I actually do not know what attracts me in languages!but ever since I was really young I was fascinated with them!and when I grew up I loved them more and more because I found out that by learning a language you also learn a culture and therefor you acquire a new knowledge,new character and a new way of thinking,it's amazing! 

and never stops amazing me,you can literally switch minds,humors,and words when you switch to the other language,it's like it's giving you another dimension of yourself

Yes I do advise people to learn them,language is one of the things that can show you how wonderful creatures we are as humans,every time you'd discover a new aspect or a new perspective to look at things you can't help but be astonished with these brains we have that created this incredible amount of beauty!

It is an experience for me rather than just a major,that's what I always say :)

9- In your post " The sky" , you posted pictures you took for the sky. Is this a hobby for you or does the sky simply captures your eyes all the time? 

i have noticed many more pictures of the sky in your blog. 

Do you love photography? Do you have any intentions in pursuing this hobby maybe in the future? What attracts you more to snap a picture of a thing and why ?

I don't know what it is,but when I see the sky so beautiful and I don't really have the ability to describe it or talk about it I just take a picture of it

Sometimes that is all you can do,you can't capture all that beauty with your brain...you can feel it immersing your heart but you can't explain it,so the best thing you could do is take a picture of it and keep that beauty reserved right there in your pocket :)

I do not love photography,I adore it :) and yes I do have the intentions to peruse it en sha allah.

I think I answered the last part of this question above :)

10- Do you have any hidden talent ? do you think you want to explore them more ? make them public or keep them private ?

Hmmm,hidden talent?I don't know if you can call it a talent but I love drwaing and painting,I can kinda draw some cartoons similar to Japanese manga and this stuff

explore them more?maybe,making them public,no I do not think they're good enough I'd rather keep them to myself,my lil sister and my nephews and nieces :) 

mmm,I'm also not so bad at writing,but that's not really hidden there are a couple of short stories published in my blog..

11- There are a lot of musical posts. What does music mean to you ? and what's your favorite? 

"Music is what feelings sound like" I think this quote says what music is to me

My favorites..I hate when they ask me about the top,or the favorite or the best..I love all kinds of music,no matter how strange,calm or party-type,western eastern,northern or southern,ancient,old,recent and fresh I love everything,but if I ever have to choose,I'd choose the period of 1940's until 1960's  

12- I have noticed an interest towards "animation movies", what attracts you to them? is it the sense of innocence that attracts you ? . Would you name your top three and why they are your favorite? 

Yes it is exactly the sense of innocence that attracts me the most,no killing,no blood, no violence,no adult scenes and no grown up's-"oh my god life is so complicated"-crap..and at the end you get a beautiful moral,a great story,amazing creativity and astonishing imagination!!what is there not to love about anime movies??

my favorites are

Up

5 Centimeters Per Second

The Grave of The Fireflies

Corpse Bride

Finding Nemo

Monsters inc.

Toy Story Series

Happy Feet

My Neighbor Totoro

Princess Mononoke

Spirited Away

Ponyo

and many others! 0_O

13-In "real women have curves" , you said " this is the best movie ever", would you elaborate more please? 

Gladly :)

When I first watched that movie,I was at a point of my life when I was starting to be conscious of how I look and starting to accept it,I was looking for a definition of beauty,who is beautiful and why?what is beauty?

I thought about it very much,and main while I was not accepting my own beauty,and when I saw this movie the answer was simple and right under my nose..I decide what beauty is

and I wrote about it later here: http://dafdoo3ah-diary.blogspot.com/2010/06/what-happened.html

Now that I'm thinking about it,it is definitely not the best movie ever,but it just came in the right time :)

14- What with you and smoking ? you have a strong opinion about how disgusting it's . Do you think we can do more about it ? outside the traditional ideas and warnings?

Almost my whole family smokes,my fathers family are obsessed about smoking,everyone around me smokes,and the reason I hate it so much is that I just don't get WHY 0_O

I tried many times to smoke,to like it,to find out what is it about it making people wanna die for it,but couldn't..

It is confusing me to the point that my answer to the second part of the question is NO,I don't know what could be done about it...it's up to the smoker to wake up and stop this horrible habit. 

15- In your post " hmmm....dunno", you said " i'm almost never scared of anything". Do you still feel the same? are you a reckless , brave or it is not about any ? is it an age related thing ? why do you think people are scared of things or not ? do you think that this is a bad or good trait in you ?

Well,on the emotional level,I'm almost never scared of anything yes,but that is not a good thing,and it doesn't mean I'm comfortable with this thing or that,it just means that I'm a loo7,it's neither reckless nor brave it's just that..and I admit it,I have some issues,I used to think it's just a phase and that I will go back to "feeling" stuff but it's almost been 5 years since I lost the ability to be  excited,scared,or really happy,when I say I'm excited I'm almost always lying 

I do not know why people would be scared of anything,it depends on the person,everyone has something to fear or hate,so it's relative

I obviously think this is a very bad thing in me because like I told you I can't feel anything strong any more on the emotional level 

16-in "bad news" you concluded by saying" no more judging". why do you think people tend to judge and be judgemental? How is that affects your relations with others "when you judge them" and them with you "when they judge you "? do you think it's a local, regional or universal thing ? Did you manage to stay true to what you promised? how did you do it? what are the steps you recommend others to follow to "Stop judging"? 

I'm going to quote Ghassan Kanafany to answer the first part for me :

آهٍ يا أحمَد كَم نحنُ مَحبُوسونَ في أجسادِنا و عُقولِنا،إنَّنا دَائِماً نُعطِي الآخَرِينَ صِفاتِنا وَ نَنظُرُ إلَيهِم مِن خِلالِ مَضِيقٍ مِن آرَائنا وَ تَفكيرِنا،نُريدُهُم أَن يَكونُوا "نحن" ما وَسِعَنا ذلك! نُريدُ أن نَحشُرَهُم في جُلُودِنا،أن نُعطِيَهُم عُيونَنَا كَي يَنظُرًوا بِها،و أن نُلبِسَهم ماضِيَنا وَ طَريقَتَنا في مُواجَهَةِ الحياة وَ نَضَعَهُم داخِلَ أُطُرٍ يَرسُمُها فَهمُنا الحالِيُّ للزَّمانِ وَ المَكان.

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Of course when you treat someone based on the judgment you made about them,you are limiting them in your mind in only that,making you unable to really get to know them and the way they think,and the same goes the other way around

I think it's a part of the human nature i.e universal,but we should all try to outcome it and keep our minds open

I did not manage to keep my promise unfortunately as you will see in the next question lol,I'm such a judgmental person I admit it!but I'm trying,and I promise I'll keep trying !!

To stop judging:just wait,give it time..time and some more time!time will reveal everything so don't rush it and judge,just wait!

17-what happened to the Jewish girl in " i am just not that open-minded"  post . Have you finished tutoring her? how can we -in your opinion- respect others? their belief? and how can we demand the same from them? 

Aww,my dear Rachel,that Jewish girl became a close friend of mine!lol as I told you I did not keep my promise and I judged her big time!

I wrote about her later here: http://dafdoo3ah-diary.blogspot.com/2010/06/sending-my-love-across-planet.html

I finished tutoring her and we ended up having so much fun :)))

we can respect others and their beliefs first by not judging them!

by not being so defensive,by not thinking all the time about the differences between us on the contrary,try to find things in common,we are all human beings at the end of the day,and no matter how different we are we have humanity to share

and simply if you respect someone,you don't have to demand anything,they'll respect you in return :) 

18- Finally,why did you start your blog? has it been helping?. It's says " my public journal", does that mean there is a private one? and what's the difference since you are almost anonymous in this one ? 

At the time I decide to start my blog one year ago,I was having a very hard time,I'm sorry I can't talk about it,but the point is I was in need to organize myself,my ideas and my feelings,I needed to be distracted,I had to be alone to question myself and who I am...my friend Toto advised me to write everything I was feeling down no matter what..and so I did,and yes it helped of course,I'm so glad I started my blog,I always say it's my very own way of hearing myself thinking,and I regret that I deleted many posts of it at first,but now I'm keeping everything..good or bad :)

Yes of course there's a private one but I don't write in it very often,only when I'm depressed and it is not a public material to discuss hehe and I guess that is the only difference..I write everything on my mind in my public journal but when it gets too messy and personal I get my little note book and my pen out :)

Rain, I would love to thank you for taking the time to answer my questions in length. 

I felt the need to ask more based on your answers but seriously was shy to burden you. 

So as a reader to this interview , i would like to ask you this one question only :

Based on your relation with Rachel- The Jewish Girl- Do you think that there might be a chance of peace or friendship between Muslims and Jewish despite what is going on in Palestine? 

I guess Rain wont mind if anyone have a question for her, so go ahead :)