We have been in the same flat (aka apartment) in the conservative part of Amman for nearly a month now. I like it here. I like the views and the breeze and the people and the sunsets and the little grocery down the hill. I like the neighborhood in general.
This is the building across the street.
Most nights I have fallen asleep to the sound of dice rolling on the backgammon board.
That’s nice. I like it.
And most mornings I wake up to the sound of this school’s loudspeaker. Here, ‘loud’ is the understatement of the year.
That’s not so nice. I don't like it.
The school day begins as the woman calls the girls to order. At least I think that is what she is doing. Her voice is loud enough that the lady may as well snuck into my bedroom at night and placed a megaphone exactly one half inch from my ear. A really crackly, old, annoying sounding megaphone.
We’re talking loud loud.
During the next half-hour this lady leads calisthenics (no, I don’t participate, thankyouverymuch), recitations, anthems, introduces solo singing performances (?!), does some sort of prayers (I assume), possibly leads a flag raising ceremony and I don’t know what else. And then she occasionally calls out some poor student for some of her apparently awful behavior and embarrasses the poor student to death. I don’t tell what she is saying, exactly, but I can tell it’s not nice and the girl has got to be mortified.
I hate that part, especially.
Then the girls file into the school one by one as a re-mix of Arabic songs are continually blasted for the entire side of the mountain to hear.
Needless to say, we haven’t been sleeping very late.
Yes I think I'd rather fall asleep to the sound of backgammon dice than wake up to the school's loudspeaker as well!
ReplyDeleteWe get off easy here. Just have the national anthem and pledge to Ataturk.