The teachers at my school have been planning a school trip to Jordan around late February/early March of 2009, with perhaps 25 students on the trip... We will be going from Amman to Petra to the Dead Sea and then back to Amman, staying in Jordan for about a week. Are there any big issues we need to worry about, as a group of teenagers and a few adults?
Also, are there any traditional customs we ought to know about--taboos etc. I don't want to accidentally anger somebody :-)
Thanks!
summer13
Nothing to worry about. It'll be a breeze. Jordan's easygoing.
Only thing to bear in mind is to dress more conservatively than you would at home. Don't know if you're male or female, but leave vest-tops and tight clingy clothing (Lycra etc) at home: you should be covering your shoulders and upper arms at least (and females should be covering the chest: round-neck or V-neck T-shirts are fine, but nothing that plunges or shows cleavage...). Long shorts (knee-level) are ok on men, but if you want to show respect to local people and their culture, wear proper long trousers (i.e. not loose beach-style brightly patterned ones). Wear a T-shirt if you like, but a button-up shirt broadcasts a sounder message about the kind of person you are and the kind of value you place on cultural sensitivity. If females want to show respect and be given respect in return, they should not wear shorts or T-shirts.
(You'll see plenty of tourists in Jordan doing the opposite to all the above - loads of men (and women) in shorts, loads of clingy Lycra, loads of beachwear - and nothing happens to these people - they have a great time, and probably get on fine with people they talk to. But they're still being insensitive, immodest, crass and ignorant - it's just that Arabs will not be so rude in return as to point it out. They will smile and say welcome to Jordan, and then just charge them double, or mutter something in Arabic to their buddies...)
Best of all, learn a few phrases of Arabic, so you can say something friendly. 'As-salaam walaykoom' (hello), 'shukran' (thank you), 'keef halak' (how are you? - just a general friendly way to say hello) - and when people say 'Welcome to Jordan' or 'Ahlan wa-sahlan' (welcome) you can say 'Ahlan beek' back to them (or shukran). Smiling and talking Arabic shows that you respect their culture and are doing your best to be a decent visitor to their country.
Don't worry about taboos - the main thing is not to look outrageous by revealing your body or dressing lazily (people really care what they look like: stuff that's torn, holey or dirty is out) and to act in a respectful way to people by smiling, talking a bit of Arabic and taking more time to interact than you would at home. Those are the two things that anger people most of all about foreign tourists - immodest dress and verbal rudeness.
Thanks for asking. Have a great trip.
Agree with #1. You don't indicate the student's nationality. If I were to advise teenagers with my own (Scandinavian) background I would add: no kissing and holding hands, no signs of having drunk alcohol, no smoking in the street, at least as far as the girls are concerned.
Jordan is an enjoyable place for young people.
it is February ruffgyder ... very cold no one can wear shorts or T-shirts ..............
Jordan is an easy country evry one can wear what ever hi or she like ... you make it sound like Galf countrys ..
February is cold for Jordanians, not so cold for Europeans...
You're right - Jordan is not the Gulf - but you're Jordanian right? People who live in Jordan have the freedom to act differently and dress differently from people who are visiting.
Jordanians can (and should) influence or re-make their own culture by dressing, acting or speaking how they like - but visitors don't have the same rights over Jordanian culture.
The "rules" (or customs) about what to wear or what to say are not the same for tourists as they are for locals.
I agree with Ruffgyder in both his posts. Very well put indeed !
Samijoe - are you speaking on behalf of all Jordanians ?
No ! I don't think so.
Jordanians (of whom a large portion are originally of Palestinian origin)
are quite traditional people on the whole with history of tolerance (maybe not
in everything but anyway . . . )
Cities and Large Towns are less conservative than rural areas.
Are you doing a school exchange or what ? Will you be visiting schools/colleges
whilst in Jordan - whats your programme exactly ?
If you are doing the usual tourist routine - its fairly straight-forward if you make
a goof no one will hold it against you. However if you are visiting people in their homes, schools etc etc - then as outlined above would suffice completely.
