12/5/2022 0 Comments Karak visit & MansafToday was our last field visit in Jordan! We piled into the van and headed over to Karak. We started at the Karak Castle where we met with an advisor to one of the NGO's we were visiting later and guided us through the castle. Walking up to the castle there is a memorial plaque with the names of those who had defended the castle in 2016 when a cell of terrorists from ISIS had taken control of the castle and taken many hostage. It was only in the last few years that Americans are now allowed to visit the castle again. The castle has been controlled by different groups throughout the centuries, all majorly keeping the building intact. After visiting the castle, we headed to two different NGO's and spoke with human rights workers on their projects in Jordan for Syrian refugees related to education and GBV case management to protect women and children. We had a deep and very interesting conversation with a woman from Yemen who discussed the mental health issues of humanitarians and need for organizations we plan to work for to provide resources for the workers as the job is difficult and mentally taxing. It was nice having a genuine and honest conversation with someone on the stakes for humanitarians and necessity for good therapists and access to mental health resources. After the NGO visits, we headed with the man to his house where he had prepared a traditional Karaki Mansaf. Karak is considered the home and origin of mansaf, and his family were from a Karaki tribe. It was beautifully presented lamb mansaf and absolutely delicious! Towards the end of the meal he started taking apart the jaw and getting the meat from the brain. To many people's surprise and my own, I tried a small piece of the lamb brain. I figured when is there going to be another time I can try this, and I wanted to be respectful of the culture in trying their food. It was an oddly chewy texture and did not taste like chicken. I'm glad I tried it, and it feels like I've definitely grown in trying new and adventurous things. It was a very productive day, and a wonderful final field visit!!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |