Since Nas’ post on foreign language learners and my previous post on Stray American Girls In Amman (SAGA) I have discovered another angle on the curiously increasing number of young foreigners hanging out in our fair city – GYGs: Gap Year Guys/Gals.
The concept of a gap year, a year taken off either while in undergrad studies or after uni graduation, has long been a staple of the British and European ‘youth experience’. It seems now to have caught on in the US as well, and with the increase in the number of Middle Eastern Studies majors in the US, is channeling many young Americans to Amman. They come to learn, and most importantly, they come to serve. Not as in-depth as the Peace Corps, but more than a ‘Middle East Lite Cultural Experience’.
Sometimes they come with groups, as interns, and sometimes completely independent. I met one at church last Saturday night, she is indie, studying at UJ, volunteering at UNRWA. She arranged her whole Jordan experience on-line ahead of time, down to finding an adult softball league. In fact, it was Amazing Mude of the Slog Blog that got her the contact info for our church (yea, our pastor is nicknamed ‘Big Toe’ in the league. I don’t know why, and hesitate to ask). She is SO sweet, and we got her connected to a bunch of other GYGs and SAGAs to help her learn the dos and don’ts and have a network of folks to do the Rum/Dana/Aqaba. (Since we are no fun and don’t do such things says Spikekid).
I used to try and do my bit for Jordanian tourism and say to people, “Oh, come to Jordan! Send your kids for a visit!” I stopped, because people started taking me up on it and I was hung my the tongue and toes with some REAL doozies. One girl, WAY INTENSE, scrutinized my every move. Her consensus? “I could never live here. You live a caged existence: you live in a house with bars, drive to where you want to go, enter another house with bars. You are a captive”. Binit, yella ru7i.
The of course, you get the Just Plain Weirdos. We had a tall, elegant-looking black woman come to church in hijab AND jilbab. Thats not a problem, except she introduced herself as a Christian, called herself “Il Ukht Yasmine”. Folks were their usual welcoming selves, even though it seemed a little strange. She came to Bible study and told a couple ladies off when they called her just ‘Yasmine’, that they weren’t respecting her properly. She would come over for a visit, stay all day, and announce she had no place to live and no money and God told her she would live with you! She did this several times before someone came to the church leaders to complain. When confronted, she said we were all a bunch of racists (even though it was an African family who called her on her game). Had I known the K-Town ladies then, I would’ve warned them! There is a division of American Citizen Services who make sure people like this get on a plane to go back to the US.
People like MommaBean and El3atal are fun folks to introduce the SAGAs and GYGs to. They invited us and three new-to-the-city girls for a BBQ a week ago, and they didn’t just kill the fatted calf for them but the whole flock!!!
Like I mentioned in my last post, sometimes these girls make me a little anxious. I have a ‘little talk’ I give them about dress, taxis, boy-n-girls, just to instill a little Fear of God in them. Burden of responsibility and all that. 
I saw one guy last week, RIDING A BIKE ON MEDINAH STREET TO UJ. Please, someone stop the guy, teach him how to say ROADKILL in Arabic before he learns it by experience.
The positive aspects of the GYG trend became very evident with Little League last year. Each year, the organizers struggle to find coaches for teams that are the right balance of coach, teacher, disciplinarian and commitment. One week, each team had FOUR ‘assistant coaches’ show up, young guys here with an exchange program who wanted to use their extra time to volunteer in the community. It was a huge boost to our program, and the guys had fun, but these kids are, ahem, of the Dabooq elite and hardly. To have been able to get them in the camps and East Amman would have been terrific.
The needs are there, but there needs to be a better way to organize and distribute this talent. And of course, in my humble opinion, use the same channels to get young Jordanians volunteering, too. So welcome GYGS, have fun, enjoy Jordan, and tell the folks at home all about it!
October 20, 2008 at 2:47 pm |
Just a thought– and I may be wrong– but organizing a trip completely on-line (which most American young people are drawn to) will most likely cause your trip to lean toward “West Amman” and away from “East Amman”. Don’t know what the solution is.
October 20, 2008 at 9:09 pm |
I might need some help next year. I am visiting Jordan after a long absence and don’t consider myself a local any more. Even my Arabic is butchered already. I am not weird nor intense, only the best. : )
October 21, 2008 at 6:20 am |
Hmmm. American Citizen Services get involved in this? That is very interesting. Can they really boot people out of here? I know they are very leary about getting involved when ladies have divorce and child custody problems, which is the time you really need them. Hmmm again.
October 21, 2008 at 10:38 am |
Um Omar, indeed they do, whether it is weird Americans or tourists who run out of money, or domestic issues involving US citizens. I’ve worked with them at least five times getting American women and their kids out of the country. I could NEVER do their job day in and day out.
They walk a very thin line as guests here, with delicate family matters, they can’t be too helpful. I found they gave us guidelines, it was up to follow. I had to do the research about what flights left at a time I knew a friends husband woudl be dead drunk, or would provide enough time for a woman to spend an hour in a taxi and two hours at the airport before being discovered missing by her mom-in-law (thats IF she got out of the village without a relative seeing). The US gov will loan them the money for tickets if there is no other option.
When we proved we could do it, they were there like “Not Without My Daughter”. One time I cried like a baby with pride at how caring and professional they were, especially with scared children. When I complained once at how I felt they weren’t helpful enough, one woman said “You have to understand. We will see 50% of these women again. They will believe their husbands, come back, and entrap their children for good. Irreparibly, irrevocably.”
Thankfully, none of the women I helped came back. And after five times helping, I was so paranoid I NEVER wanted to help anyone like that again. Violent husbands are creative trackers.
Another reason I am SO glad to meet Ummz who have good marriages. My experience has been with scum-of-the-earth-Jordanian men.
Maybe you and I should go together and meet the new team a ACSA, and learn what help is available and what isn’t.
October 21, 2008 at 12:30 pm |
Welcome indeed to the GYGs and SAGAs. Delightful all of them. We’ll just have to start networking about volunteer type activities. Maybe we’ll do a blog of it
.
October 23, 2008 at 7:44 pm |
MommaBean, excellent idea! Your management skills + pooled ideas could make this work. Hhhmmm. Time for some brainstorming.