Coffee better without cardamom

While the first snow is already falling in Germany (at the Zugspitze) and Berlin friends complain about the persistent winter (admittedly a bit exaggerated at 17 degrees), I am constantly looking for shade and a cool breeze. The hot weather will probably continue until mid-October.

Not only the weather contributes to a consistently positive balance after 3 weeks, but also the new acquaintances, the small successes in improving and applying the language, the progress of my sports/movement project "Movision Amman", and last but not least, the fresh fruits and vegetables at fair prices.

The latter, the food, has to do without whole grain bread. Picture 1 shows what my typical breakfast looks like. The white one is "Labaneh", a kind of thick yogurt that is very tasty. The Arabic coffee (Kaffee Saada) contains a bunch of cardamom - not my cup of tea, which is why I buy and drink it pure. Picture 2 shows Yemeni food, which I have come to love here.

Picture 3 and Video 2: Recently, a few friends and I hiked up a "wadi". These usually carry water flowing from mountains towards the Dead Sea. An oasis-like, vibrant, and surreal place opens up in the middle of a hot, inhospitable landscape. Unfortunately, places like this are constantly littered - primarily by locals.
The next day, I participated in an initiative called "Eco-Hikers": With about 50 fellow hikers, we hiked in another (dreamlike!) wadi and collected the trash. In the end, one garbage truck was almost not enough to carry the full bags. Pictures 4-8

The hustle and bustle in the city center, which I can reach on foot in 5 minutes, is colorful. In the suq (Video 1), the traders advertise their goods with their voice. Almost everything for daily needs can be found here.

Picture 9 currently shows about half of my day. Here, I am working my way through a novel by a famous Palestinian writer.

Books of this kind perpetuate, as I recently noticed in Madaba (a city near Amman), an identitarian discourse about Israel and Jewish people in general. Conspiracies theories are followed by highly problematic racial theories and justifications for Hitler's actions. Of course, in these conversations, I clearly present my own perspective. Over time, however, this relentless discourse becomes exhausting.
The fronts, in my impression, are sustainably cultivated; be it through literature or through generational transmission. So when my seat neighbor on the bus replied, when we started talking, with "Palestine, Jaffa" (city in Israel) to my question of where he is from, I asked further if that's where he was born. No, in Amman, he has never been to Jaffa, but still, he says he comes from there. This topic of identity and, in this context, the perpetuation of an understanding of the Arab victim role truly fills books, and I could continue with more interesting experiences, but that exceeds the purpose of this blog!

To end on a lighter note, Video 3 is a quiz. What is the purpose of this musical car driving through the streets of Amman?

The 3 videos can be found here:
Video 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGY3CMOhteg 
Video 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LARX0c5ALEM
Video 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANzre5tcXBk