2 weeks ago... i had intended go eat at a restaurant with a friend. we planned to meet at the university of jordan, which is accessible from my place by bus (only 35 qirsh or .35 JD). i got there a little early and was sitting in front of the main gate, waiting. as i sat there, i heard the last call to prayer then a whole bunch of men crossing the street with plates of food. many were employees at the convenience store across the street. "that's cool, they're getting ready for iftar (fast breaking meal)," i thought to myself and didn't pay much attention to them thereafter. not long after, i was asked if i wanted to join them. i tried to explain that i was headed to a restaurant and will get food there, so joining them would not be necessary....very unsuccessfully. thus, this photo. my friend joined me a while later and didn't seem to mind our change of plans.
7-18-13
follow-up ramadan dinner the next day....which came about after we had finished our first dinner (above). as we were getting up to eat, i asked one of the guys that we had been eating food with, simply out of curiosity, if he and his friends eat here everyday. again, i'm not sure that i communicated my thoughts effectively enough. what ended up happening was...the guard (you can see him in his uniform in the first picture) told us to come to next day and join them for an iftar. i thought this would entail something similar to the first iftar we had experienced. just really chill, a small group of people breaking fast together. instead, the next evening, my friend and i found ourselves seated at one of the tables in the university of jordan cafe. apparently, people from the area flock to the university's cafeteria to break fast because they distribute free food. the place was really packed. just a lot of people, many of whom had already gone through the lines and obtained food, waiting for the last call to prayer, waiting to be given the green light to break fast. i must say that it was a bit of an awkward situation. my friend and i had brought juice and apricots, which seemed a bit out of place among the cafeteria food. it would have seemed more appropriate in a more familial, intimate gathering. the food was okay; there was a ton of it. we were joined by the guard, his friend, and a random lady. afterwards, we walked around campus a little with the guard and his friend and headed home. there were tons of people out on campus, taking, smoking hookah, drinking tea. not sure that this is a scenerio that i would repeat but it was an experience, like everything else.
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