News update

It’s about 95 degrees here in Washington dc, at 10 o’clock at night. I’m sitting on the front stoop enjoying my sister’s laptop and wireless internet, smoking argila and watching the traffic go by. I wish it wasn't so super hot during the day, because this would be a very nice way to pass time…
It tastes much better than my first attempt during the 4th of July. This is my second time using it all summer. I have smoked twice in the last month. Pretty different from the twice a day occasions this year. Although my lungs are probably healthier for it, I’ve missed it a bit. More the social component than the actual taste. It miss sitting in cafes for hours on end, shooting the shit with friends and smoking. And having someone else to prepare the coal and head and put it together, and take it all away when I’m through. I guess you can’t have it all.

I have decided to go to graduate school. I’m just not feeling DC. I don’t have a job and none of my applications have received a positive response. I don’t have the energy to be more aggressive about it right now, and I realize that’s the only way to get a job in this city. So, another time…
I leave for London in a little over a month. No idea where I will live, hopefully somewhere central that won’t totally break the bank. I’m excited yet petrified. I am ready to have more adventures and be back in an academic setting. What if I fail? What am I going to do after with the new degree? It’s just one year, I keep telling myself. So we shall see what happens…

It seems like the world is going to shit (war is breaking out all over), but I am just chilling...

Back in my homeland

I'm back in the US, living in DC with my sister, her bf, and his brother - full house. The last year feels like it was a lifetime ago. Probably should've written more so I'd remember, or take picures. I wanted the exprience to be mine in the moment, but now that moment is over.
So I'm here, looking for work, not sure what happens next. If it's exciting I'll write about. If it isn't I'll try to make it exciting. No impulsive adventures for a while - I guess it's time.

I'm scared about what's going on in northern Israel/ southern Lebanon. It's too easy to ignore it and not pay attention, over here in America. There the news was constantly in your face, here there are programs like "project runway" to numb your mind. I just don't get it.

Starting to reflect as I reach the end

Syria didn’t happen, again, but hopefully Dana tomorrow.

Fridays in Amman are usually pretty quiet. Even more so when it is the first World Cup game. Everyone at is at home, coffee shops or in bars, glued to the TVs. I wanted to rent a car tonight, but I can’t go until 9 because everyone is out watching the game. I spent most of the day recovering from last night. I don’t know why I felt so ill. I didn’t drink that much. But luckily I didn’t puke in the fast, little red car with the Iranian-Jordanian driver. Good thing I have one more Friday next week…

• I completed the 108 required hours for my internship! And I will be working most of next week at the World Congress of Middle Eastern Studies. My boss was proud of the work I completed. It feels good….

• Zarqawi is dead. I wasn’t planning on going to Zarqa today, since I went twice last week. But now I am extra glad it was already out of my system.

• I really like the way weddings are done in this country. Bag pipes are a necessity for any wedding, and I like the walking in clapping and dancing with friends and families. Caravaning to and from the ceremony is also a nice tradition in this part of the world. Cars and mini busses packed with friends and family, driving around and beeping. It’s nice, except when I am walking down the street and they get stuck in traffic and keep beeping.

• I like living in my neighborhood. I will miss it. Everything is right there. People drive around and sell gas from trucks, playing special music. Once or twice a week there is a man that sells fruit and veggies from the back of his truck, and he drives around announcing various special prices, before parking nearby. I recently learned that there is a “junk man” who collects random appliances and old furniture. Since I have been home at strange hours now that school is out, I discovered a new sound in the afternoons: s a man with a harmonica who sells packages of tissues. Not tiny travel-public bathroom packs, but family packs you keep in the living room. I haven’t noticed anyone buying them, but they certainly notice is annoying loud chords.

A few thoughts

I am going home in less than two weeks. It doesn't seem real. أنا بحبك يا عمان People here don't beleive me that I'm really going. The ending of school was anti-climactic. People are starting to leave, for good or to travel. I think the next period of time is going to be a bit iffy- up and down. It is good that I have responsibilities to the office, because it gives me something to do during the day. And the World Congress of Middle Eastern Studies should be exciting. I haven't been feeling 100% since coming back from the ride. I hope I can kick whatever this is soon, since I won't have health insurance for much longer. I need to go to Uni tomorrow to pick up my finals and certificate. Maybe I will swing by the clinic and ask for a mono test.
A few thoughts from the last few days:
-In order to drive a bus between Zarqa and Abdali, you must be missing at least 3 teeth (preferably in the front)
-There was a car accident near my house on Saturday. I was in the kitchen washing dishes, and ran to my porch to see what happened. The whole neighborhood had the same idea as me. People came out of houses I thought were abandoned. Men went to the scene to do there man thing and help, while women and children stayed back, lingering in the shade.
-Last night I went to see a classical music concert at the Citadel, in celebtration of Europe Day (1 month delayed- oh Jordan). We only stayed for the first half, but it was pretty amazing to sit in such an old setting with an amazing view of the city surrounded by posh Jordanians. A posh cross-section that I hadn't been exposed to in a while. جبل القلعة [the citadel] is a great place to watch the sun set, over the hills of [jebel hussein] جبل حسين.