Tuesday, September 29, 2009

How do I feel?

We just dropped Raed off at the airport. He is returning to America. I feel ______________. You can pick just about any word out of the dictionary and fill in the blank. Ana bHibbak iktiir.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

My own place

I am now settled into my own little space. The kids and I have moved from one bedroom to a one bedroom house/apartment. Having our own space, no matter how small, has made a huge difference. I can clean when I want, cook when I want, sleep when I want, without feeling like someone expects me to do something else.

Right now, as I write this, I am listening online to the LSU football game against Mississippi State. Makes me feel a little closer to home, to hear how my home team is playing. I am so glad I subscribed to the online service. I think Rami is glad too. He has missed watching the games. Thank goodness it is an early game, because it is 7 pm here. Rami can listen to a little before he has to go to bed, school is tomorrow.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Coffee Shop in Amman

Last night I had a fun night. Sana invited me to a birthday gathering for her friend at a coffee shop in Jabal Amman, the oldest part of the city and now a hip part of town. It reminds me of a college town in America, where the young people like to hang out. Anyway, the coffee shop was inside a revamped old, old, old building. Actually it was on the rooftop of the building. The view of the lights of the city was amazing. You could see about four hilltops from the roof of the coffee shop.

I met five of Sana's young friends. They all had just graduated college about a year ago. They were very nice, and all spoke adequate English. Enough English that I could acturally have an adult conversation. I have not had that experience in about 4 weeks! My only complaint was that I felt my age. I was a good 10 years older than all of them. Yikes!

I had a great time, and I hope I can do it again soon.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The Joys of Walking

Just when I thought I was about to go house crazy, I realized that maybe regular walking would brighten my mood. So, for the last couple of days, I have been walking for about 30 minutes everyday. I was right. My mood is so much better! Amman is beautiful. With its hilly terrain, it is also quite a workout to walk down the street.

Ramadan will be over in about 9 days! Yeah!!!!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Little Girls make Big Messes

Who would have thought that one little girl could make such a mess with nail polish? Layla's cousins came to the house last night and brought with them a small makeup bag that included nail polish inside. Layla was mesmerized by the girls applying polish to their nails. They were even nice enough to include her by painting some of her nails. But apparantly she was not satisfied. She waited til dinner cleanup to make her move. She swiped the polish and quietly went to our room.

After a few minutes, I realized that Layla was quiet. Too quiet. I asked Raed if he knew where she was. I had a feeling of dread. The feeling you have when you KNOW that your child is quiet because she is up to no good.

I found her on our bedroom floor covered in nail polish. She tried to paint her toenails, but instead painted her entire foot. She tried to paint her fingernails and painted her entire hand instead. She was a mess! Needless to say, we used almost an entire bottle of remover trying to clean this naughty, little girl.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Ramadan

Ramadan is the month in the Muslim calendar that all Muslims fast from sunset to sundown. They are not allowed to eat, drink, smoke, or have sexual relations from morning to dusk. This year, Ramadan began around August 22, and will end approximately September 21. So, that means that we are at the half way point today. THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried fasting the first day. I made it the whole day without eating or drinking. Barely. I was soooooooo thirsty. I would have killed someone for a glass of water, if I could have. All day long, I was in a foul mood. I barked at everyone who dared to look my way. It came as no surprise when Raed strongly suggested that I not continue to fast for the rest of the month.

I have been watching the family for the last 2 weeks, paying close attention to how they cope with fasting. They make it seem like it is no big deal. I felt like dying, but they float right on through it. Grrrrr. Raed says that it is part of their way of life, and they are just used to it. Maybe that is true. Blessings on them all.

During the month of Ramadan, schools and business have shorter working hours during the day to accomidate the fasting multitude. No restuarant or supermarket is open during the day. It was quite eirie to walk through the mall and the food court be completely shut down at lunch time. It took some time to get used to packing the kids a lunch when we go places, because if not, they were out of luck. You cannot just drop by a convenience store and buy some chips and water. Everything that sells food is CLOSED until 7pm.

Raed and I are used going out and about during the day. These new working hours for businesses are keeping us home all day every day. We are sooooo bored. Thank goodness, only 2 more weeks to go!