November 2008 Archives

Today I am going to tell you what my favorite meals are for breakfast,  lunch and dinner.

I usually have labaneh, olive oil, zaatar and Arabic bread for breakfast. Labenah is made out of plain yogurt, however the zaatar is made out of dried thyme with sesame seeds. You dip the bread in the labaneh with olive oil, and then dip in the zaatar, or you can make it all into a delicious sandwich. Sometimes I have what you guys have, like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or pancakes!

I am very lucky because I have a lot of family! Originally, Jordan was a tribal country. A tribe is a group of people who are related and lived together in a certain area, but now-a-days we all don't live together of course.

Did you know that people can still know where you are originally from and what family you come from by your last name? That is why it is called a FAMILY NAME! So when I tell someone my family name they will know that we are originally from the southern part of Jordan!

Because Jordan was and still is a tribal country, there are still big families just like mine!
Something crazy about my family is that I have 16 first cousins from my mother's and my father's sides of the family. The eldest is 23 years old and the youngest is three months old today!!


All my cousins have the funniest and coolest nicknames,  like Buggy, Louie, and Zenzoony. Other nicknames are Fulli,  Zemi, Simsim, KitKat, Lulu, Cookie, Oushie, Kanny, and Zooey. And my nickname is Tina!

In Jordan our weekends are Fridays and Saturdays, so Sunday is the first day of the week, but I know that in most places around the world, things get started on a Monday. Today, I am going to tell you how my regular day goes at school on a Monday. Here it is!!

I wake up at 6:45 a.m., get dressed, eat breakfast (which is usually peanut butter and jam on toast), then my father takes me and my brothers to school. We have to drop my elder brother Rakan to school first since he is in a different school that starts earlier. However, Hamza and I go to school together and go up the stairs to get to the playground.

In our school, before starting the day all the grades gather up and sing the national anthem then the students are led to their classrooms... (boring!!).

Here we are lining up for the national anthem.

Watch my video to learn some Arabic letters and words!

I know that you and I love to wear jeans, t-shirts and training suits, but in Jordan we have a traditional costume. I don't wear the traditional costumes. I wear jeans and t-shirts just like you, but the Bedouins do wear them and so do the people that live in the countryside in Jordan.

There are traditional dresses for girls and boys. The girls wear a thobe or dishdasha, and each town has their own design. They are very pretty, and hand embroidered. The women also wear beautiful jewelry. Traditionally, the jewelry is made out of silver. They also wear makeup made out of kohl that is used like eyeliner. The Bedouin ladies also have tattoos in their chins! (Here I am wearing the traditional costume!)

Men also wear a dishdasha,  but it is not decorated, it is plain white. Over it they wear an aabayah which is like a cloak and is usually black. On their heads they wear a hattah and an igaal.

The hattah is red and white and the igaal is black. It takes the shape of a circle which goes in top of the hattah, holding it in place, and the men of course don't wear any makeup. ( My brother Hamza is wearing the men's traditional costume.)

For the longest time my brother and I have wished for a dog and four years ago our wish came true! My aunt has lots of dogs and once her dog Lucy had puppies so we took a puppy named Fudge to take care of.



Fudge is light brown and has the cutest face. Her father was a terrier and her mother was a dachshund, but she is not that long at all she looks more like a terrier.

I know that it is a very special day in America because today is election day. Actually I am sitting at home on the couch watching the elections right now! Go Obama!!!!!!!

However here in Jordan, we don't have a President. We a have King and he is amazing! I will tell you all about him. Our King's name is Abdullah Bin Hussein (pictured). He is married to a beautiful woman called Rania. She is our Queen and they have four children. Their first son is named Hussein, he is named after his grandfather King Hussein Bin Talal-King Abdullah's father, who was our wonderful King who sadly passed away in 1999.

And they have two daughters named Iman and Salma, and a three-year-old son named Hashem (pictured).

King Abdullah is from the Hashemite family, the royal family here is called the Hashemite family and they are directly related to the Prophet Mohammad! In fact Jordan's full name is The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.


Photograph courtesy The Royal Hashemite Court