....so, speaking of things from the States that I miss while here, I need to balance it out with a list of the many things that I love about Jordan and that I will miss at home.
1. The people
Everyone has been very friendly and helpful; I have not yet had an actual bad experience. For example, tonight I was in another bus, trying to peer ahead to see if we were en route to my destination. The girls behind me asked me if I needed any help, did I know where I was going, and explained where the driver was going and how to get where I wanted.
2. Public transportation
Okay, I'll admit it, taxis and buses are a mixed bag - lots of adventurous fun, but then also lots of frustration (do the microbuses seriously have to have their destinations in scribbly calligraphy?). Still, I'm kinda getting accustomed to being chauffeured around. It's nice to know that wherever I go, I can easily get to any other place at the hail of a cab.
3. Driving
No, I don't do any driving here, but the traffic is just crazy enough to be interesting. It's not insane, but it is interesting.
4. Little shop of wonders
I can walk ten minutes in any direction and find a supermarket or a pharmacy where I can get just about anything my little heart desires. I love walking along rows of shops and seeing all the goods they contain; it's so much more fun than WalMart! I love seeing capitalism and entrepreneurship in action. (Although, I must admit, I don't know the business and tax laws here to know how much the shops might be underwritten by the government? Hmmmm.)
5. The general shopping experience
You step into this one room store, and there are immediately five men at your service wanting to sell you things. You walk by a store and the owner is lounging beside the door, saying "Welcome, welcome, please, come in." Yes, it's intimidating - I just want to browse by myself, thank you! - but also strangely fun.
6. Food
Babaghanoush. Oh, mylanta. Bread a-plenty. Arab sweets. Falafel and hummus and tea biscuits. Pomelo, pomegranates, kaki, dates, and figs galore. And *mango juice*!!
7. Nescafe
I really should dedicate a whole post to this wonder. But it's coffee that has a bucket load of sugar and milk in it and that is sold from little stands that are - I am not exaggerating - everywhere. Okay, if not everywhere, then pretty much every 25 feet or so.
8. Adventures
The downtown market. The ruins. The staring village kids. The shebaab. Can I, in the States, go climb to the top of a centuries old Temple of Zeus? Um, no.
9. The scenery
Mountains, wadis, deserts, skyscrapers, villages......Jordan has it all. It is so beautiful here - and right now, the weather couldn't be better.
10. Arabic
I really enjoy the language. It will be strange not being surrounded by signs that I can't really read and that I try my best to haltingly pronounce.
11. The culture
Not that everything here is absolutely wonderful (because being of course a human society, it isn't), but there are many things about the culture here that I will miss. I will miss not having my eyes assaulted by people trying to squeeze themselves into outfits that no one really should have every designed in the first place. I will miss not having my ears bombarded with vulgarities (well, at least ones I can understand!), loud music, and crude conversations (again, at least those I can understand!). I will miss the cash-based system and the personal interactions with the store owners and taxi drivers. I will miss the experience of having to ask for help so frequently and yet know that anyone I do ask will (probably) be very willing to do whatever they can to render assistance.
12. Gas stove.
Wow. It gets things hot, fast.
No comments:
Post a Comment