Tarabot Breakfast

Sunday + Monday, November 17 + 18

7 am. Today is windy and chilly again, which I notice during my morning jog. Despite the pleasant sunshine, I soon make my way to Tarabot with a generous portion of coconut cake in a salad spinner (we have a shortage of plastic containers in our kitchen). When Mara'a and Samer see me with my bowl, they put their hands on their heads. "Dear. It's tomorrow!", says Mara'a. Since two employees are unavailable today, breakfast has been postponed to tomorrow, which I wasn't aware of. Fortunately, my cake is not perishable, and Mara'a promises to keep it safely in her storage cabinet behind the reception desk.

'By the way Eva. I saw the picture of you with Saleem.', Mara'a also says. Amman is really smaller than a village. Saleem, who won the talent contest yesterday, has also volunteered here at Tarabot before, and Mara'a saw our group photo in his WhatsApp status. I really feel like everyone here is part of a big family.

Today, I spend my time again with Kemo in the Dabke class, and soon say goodbye for the day. I have once again signed up for an event at the Colombia Global Centre, where we were already for the book launch of Palestinian writers a few weeks ago. Today, it's the presentation of a study on "Understanding and Addressing Physical Health and Mental Health Concerns of Syrian Refugee Women in Jordan." I am the only one from my class going there today, but when I surprisingly arrive on time in the familiar hall, another familiar face walks past me: Bara'a. I haven't spoken to her properly since her engagement party and I'm very happy to see her.

It turns out that she has made a significant contribution to the study as a research assistant. She has interviewed over 100 Syrian women, she now tells me. Each interview lasted over 1.5 hours with a 50-page questionnaire. Sometimes I really wonder what comes out of such extensive studies for the interviewees in the end. Or maybe the benefit in this case is limited to the food basket worth 4 JD that the women received for participating in the study.

At half past 4, half an hour before the start of the lecture, I take a taxi back to downtown, but I have underestimated the rush hour in Amman. Fortunately, I have a very nice and talkative taxi driver and manage to have a somewhat normal conversation in Arabic. Taxi rides here in Amman are really a great opportunity to learn Arabic. I could improve my conversation skills quite well if I didn't like walking so much.

I arrive at the university over an hour late and unfortunately miss the first part of the lecture on self-care. Another speaker gives us tips on how to take care of ourselves in a mentally demanding work environment, while we enjoy a whole table full of snacks that our lecturer Raghda has brought today. Later, Lea helps me take care of myself when I sit in our cold kitchen with my laptop and university documents: she lends me one of her two hot water bottles. Nowadays, they are really useful in our apartment in the evenings.

9:30 am. At Tarabot, we are greeted once again by the classic: we find a large group of children. The younger ones are crafting, the older ones are watching a movie, and then everyone sings and dances "Aramsamsam" together, receives a backpack, and orderly leaves the building. Then, finally: the communal breakfast. And it was worth waiting one more day. On a long row of pushed-together tables, there is hummus, muttabal, makdous, kibbeh, Syrian cheese, fatteh, olives, oil, za'atar, tomato dip, guacamole, raw vegetables, and lots of bread. For dessert, there is also my coconut cake and a huge chocolate Oreo cake made by Mara'a. A feast. A very, very delicious feast.

In the afternoon, there is the usual craft activity and Dabke class. Dr. Amina also tells us that we can hold our clay project with the teenagers at Tarabot next Monday. We didn't expect it to happen so quickly, but we manage to create a schedule at a meeting with our project group late in the evening. We are really excited to see if everything turns out as we imagine.