My Favorite Boy
I don't like Jordanian village boys. I don't like to generalize, either, and say "I don't like" about any group, but in my 2 years here, I've had numerous upsetting run-ins with boys who throw rocks at me, yell at me in horrible English (You China! Ching Chang Chong! What your name you sister!), including expletives that I can't post here, and degrade me by yelling profanities or sexual slang in Arabic. Sometimes all three happen simultaneously. It's basically a guarantee that if I walk in my village anywhere, boys will harass me. After 2 years of this daily experience, I feel qualified to say I don't like Jordanian village boys.
Keep in mind, this only happens in my village, which I attribute to my being the only foreigner and them being bored. It's a bad combination which always ends up in my frustration level skyrocketing and their amusement level satiated. But when I make a trip to Amman or small cities, I'm not bombarded with verbally abusive language or an entourage of boys trailing me and daring me to respond. Only in my village. Where 90% of my life is.
I haven't turned entirely bitter, though. There is one boy in my village who has proved to be a sanctuary from his friends. This boy is fat, he rides a red bike, and he's always smiling. His cheeks are so voluptuous that it seems that his eyes are constantly laughing, and I've rarely seen him without a bag of cheap village chips or a lollipop in his hand. Every time I see him with his friends, he yells at them in Arabic to stop harassing me. I'm so proud of him. Every time I see him when he's alone, I say, "Nice bike" and laugh inside as I watch him trying to eat an ice cream cone with his right hand and steer the bike with his left. In Arabic, we have a saying for someone who loves to eat as much as he does: "Batin-ek yeheb-ek (Your stomach loves you)." I'm not even sure what this boy's name is, but I think it may be Abdul-Rahman. Abdul-Rahman, thanks for always making me laugh at your appetite and bike acrobatics. It's been a pleasure to meet someone who doesn't treat me like a zoo animal.
Keep in mind, this only happens in my village, which I attribute to my being the only foreigner and them being bored. It's a bad combination which always ends up in my frustration level skyrocketing and their amusement level satiated. But when I make a trip to Amman or small cities, I'm not bombarded with verbally abusive language or an entourage of boys trailing me and daring me to respond. Only in my village. Where 90% of my life is.
I haven't turned entirely bitter, though. There is one boy in my village who has proved to be a sanctuary from his friends. This boy is fat, he rides a red bike, and he's always smiling. His cheeks are so voluptuous that it seems that his eyes are constantly laughing, and I've rarely seen him without a bag of cheap village chips or a lollipop in his hand. Every time I see him with his friends, he yells at them in Arabic to stop harassing me. I'm so proud of him. Every time I see him when he's alone, I say, "Nice bike" and laugh inside as I watch him trying to eat an ice cream cone with his right hand and steer the bike with his left. In Arabic, we have a saying for someone who loves to eat as much as he does: "Batin-ek yeheb-ek (Your stomach loves you)." I'm not even sure what this boy's name is, but I think it may be Abdul-Rahman. Abdul-Rahman, thanks for always making me laugh at your appetite and bike acrobatics. It's been a pleasure to meet someone who doesn't treat me like a zoo animal.
