Like her momma, K did not seem to enjoy the snow very much. J did take the opportunity to build a large snowman though. K and I were thinking the same thing, "how many more days until Egypt, it's going to be in the 60's there- yay!!" Talk to ya more in a couple of weeks....Thursday, January 31, 2008
I'm Cold!!!
Like her momma, K did not seem to enjoy the snow very much. J did take the opportunity to build a large snowman though. K and I were thinking the same thing, "how many more days until Egypt, it's going to be in the 60's there- yay!!" Talk to ya more in a couple of weeks....
Snow, Snow and More Snow
We've had a week of terrible weather culminating in two days of non-stop snow. The entire city (and much of the Country) shut down. We've enjoyed lots of family time stuck indoors, which would probably be more fun if we hadn't already run out of books and DVD's (still waiting for another shipment- unfortunately due to the bad weather we haven't received mail or our stuff yet) Monday, January 28, 2008
K makes a friend!
We met this nice couple with a son K's same age and what a cutie he was. We'll be inviting them over soon for a playdate so we can make some Jordanian friends. Kids make it a lot easier to mingle here because everyone loves kids... this cannot be stated strongly enough... it is very entertaining to watch the enthusiasm the locals show for babies, esp the grown men.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Week 3
It's been a quiet week here so unfortunately not much to write about... our new vehicle is still in the process of getting its paperwork so until that clears; I remain stuck home without a car! It's been an interesting experience for me so far- the weather's too chilly to venture out so K and I have been having lots of pajama days. I rotate between being utterly grateful that I can spend all of this distraction-free time with K while she's at a very agreeable "I adore mommy" age and going out of my mind from the loneliness! I'm convinced that it would help if we had a TV so I could hear other English voices during the long days. J says he's working on that!
Thankfully, an acquaintance invited me to join her Bible study in a couple weeks and I've started reading the book, which turns out to be perfect for me during this time in my life- the isolation phase as I call it. The study is on Philippians (always been my favorite book in the Bible but not to be mistaken for Philippines- I noticed that I absent mindedly misspelled that word in my last post and got a chuckle out of it later!) The book is on finding contentment in all circumstances or "seeing the stars instead of the mud" like the author says. I'm going to work hard on that here :) It's also on anxiety and worry. I guess because I've got too much time on my hands at the moment it's given me a lot of time to think of all of the things that I could choose to worry about. On the other hand, maybe I've just never had so many things to be concerned about before! My list usually rotates between K getting hepatitis, J getting in a car accident (his work car has been totaled twice already) and crazy Hamas gunman kidnapping us on our trip to Egypt! I really hope this study teaches me to give these burdens (realistic or not) to God and let go of my worry! I'll let you know... I am dearly looking forward to the fellowship with other women though! And btw, still searching for a new Book Club (although none can replace my last one! miss it much!)
We did get out to the Dead Sea over the weekend, the lowest spot on earth so of course, our week has only gone up from there! The weather drops about 20 degrees between here and there- in just a 45 min. drive. It was wonderful to feel warm again and for a few hours it reminded us of being in Hawaii, which we appreciated- not a day goes by that J and I don't miss that dreamy place! But don't let me kid you - beyond the resort we ate lunch at it looks nothing like Hawaii- brown, brown and browner! It was great however to look over at the West Bank of Israel. We're both anxious to get there soon- the historical significance of this area continues to tweak my imagination.
We also laughed when we visited another mall here and saw that they were building a Caribou Coffee! We love Caribou but haven't been able to find it anywhere outside of MN. Talk about something to remind us of home, a nice surprise!
We watched the movie, Charlie Wilson's War, and loved it! If anyone wants the DVD just let me know and I'll mail it to ya... Still waiting to watch the Kite Runner but anything on Afghanistan fascinates us.
We are following the news out of Gaza much more closely- its funny how we've been hearing about it for years but now that we are so close, it really makes you pay attention in a new way. I'm glad we decided to postpone our trip to the Sinai until next fall.
Well, that's all from here. Like I said, a pretty dull week! :) Off to have some more hummus on pita, Yum!
Thankfully, an acquaintance invited me to join her Bible study in a couple weeks and I've started reading the book, which turns out to be perfect for me during this time in my life- the isolation phase as I call it. The study is on Philippians (always been my favorite book in the Bible but not to be mistaken for Philippines- I noticed that I absent mindedly misspelled that word in my last post and got a chuckle out of it later!) The book is on finding contentment in all circumstances or "seeing the stars instead of the mud" like the author says. I'm going to work hard on that here :) It's also on anxiety and worry. I guess because I've got too much time on my hands at the moment it's given me a lot of time to think of all of the things that I could choose to worry about. On the other hand, maybe I've just never had so many things to be concerned about before! My list usually rotates between K getting hepatitis, J getting in a car accident (his work car has been totaled twice already) and crazy Hamas gunman kidnapping us on our trip to Egypt! I really hope this study teaches me to give these burdens (realistic or not) to God and let go of my worry! I'll let you know... I am dearly looking forward to the fellowship with other women though! And btw, still searching for a new Book Club (although none can replace my last one! miss it much!)
We did get out to the Dead Sea over the weekend, the lowest spot on earth so of course, our week has only gone up from there! The weather drops about 20 degrees between here and there- in just a 45 min. drive. It was wonderful to feel warm again and for a few hours it reminded us of being in Hawaii, which we appreciated- not a day goes by that J and I don't miss that dreamy place! But don't let me kid you - beyond the resort we ate lunch at it looks nothing like Hawaii- brown, brown and browner! It was great however to look over at the West Bank of Israel. We're both anxious to get there soon- the historical significance of this area continues to tweak my imagination.
We also laughed when we visited another mall here and saw that they were building a Caribou Coffee! We love Caribou but haven't been able to find it anywhere outside of MN. Talk about something to remind us of home, a nice surprise!
We watched the movie, Charlie Wilson's War, and loved it! If anyone wants the DVD just let me know and I'll mail it to ya... Still waiting to watch the Kite Runner but anything on Afghanistan fascinates us.
We are following the news out of Gaza much more closely- its funny how we've been hearing about it for years but now that we are so close, it really makes you pay attention in a new way. I'm glad we decided to postpone our trip to the Sinai until next fall.
Well, that's all from here. Like I said, a pretty dull week! :) Off to have some more hummus on pita, Yum!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Snow Day!
Woke up to a suprise "snow day" today! No idea how much will fall but I've seen photos that make Amman look like MN! Even have school closures today (hoping for an embassy closure as well!) ps. We are starting to get used to the bars on the windows :)Monday, January 21, 2008
Week 2- Dear Diary :)
Whew, the second week is over and we're still doing fine. Amen, it really has been an easy move! Thankful for the many prayers- they sure do work. We had a good week and are actually starting to feel quite settled here... still have one more shipment of goods to arrive so once they're here it will really feel like home. Also hope to have a car this week or next and we think we've found our Maid/Nanny so now I feel like I've actually accomplished something. A recap of the week:
We had dinner one evening at J's local friend’s house (we also hosted him at our house during his visit to Monterey). He had recently been married so it was nice to meet his wife and see their new home. Beautiful home, we felt like their first dinner guests so it was kind of a treat. They had their cook serve up a delicious meal that went on and on. The funniest thing for me was that when I asked to look at their wedding photos his wife insisted on bringing me in another room because she didn't want J to see photos of her without her head covering (hejab) on. Beautiful pictures though, and without the hejabs you would have thought that it was an American wedding by the outfits (although I was actually surprised at how revealing her wedding dress really was, certainly more revealing than my own dress was!) The weddings here are very big deals, usually last 3 days and although I don't know a lot about them, I know that for most of the time the men and women are separated into different rooms to party and dance. There is also another tradition where the groom’s family goes to the brides home to get her, lots of musicians and dancing in the streets from what I watched on the DVD. It was interesting to learn a little more about the weddings here, we hope to attend one before we leave.
We did get out to one of the large malls here. It had all of the same American stores, even Hallmark with all English cards in it- only many of the cards sold for about $10 apiece so needless to say if you don't get a b-day greeting from us don't be disappointed, ha-ha! The only notable things about the malls here is the parking is a pain, under the mall and confusing to navigate thru (this fact alone will keep J out of the malls for good) also you have to go thru a lot of security to get into the mall. Metal detectors and guards at every entrance. I guess this is a result of the 05 bombings here. Again, the stores were pricey, I had forgotten to pick K up some toddler crocs but here they were around $65 so I guess she won't be getting any after all!
I also went shopping with a couple gals to the local artistry shops. I got so excited when I saw the beautiful pottery that I can buy here (love my pottery!) I told J that we could easily spend a lot of money on the local designs here, jewelry, rugs etc. etc. I'm already excited for Christmas shopping!
The highlight of our week was our walking tour of the city center with our trusty Lonely Planet guidebook. We started at the Roman Theater and worked our way thru the streets and local suks (markets). We had a nice time- it was actually a little strange to me that we were the ONLY western looking people that I saw downtown. Boy did we stand out too! I guess I just assumed that in such a large metropolis, there would be other westerners around as well but once we left the theater (where we only saw a few westerners), there weren't any. The nice part, other than the delicious lunch, was the bootleg DVD’s we bought for a buck!
We attended the international Christian church here one evening; it was a nice service and felt unique to be a part of such a minority group. The small percentage of Christians here are mostly Coptic so to attend a non-denominational service really is a rarity. I was so proud of K, she said her first word before church that night, "Jesus", could you pick a better first word that that? :) Of course, I'm not going to count the time the other day when she tried to say banana. Anyhow, we are taking this as a sign that she's headed in the right spiritual direction. I've even gotten used to the five daily prayer calls now, so much so that I usually don't even notice them in the background!
K and I went to the weekly playgroup last week at someone's home and that was really nice but strange for me, many of the women were the nanny's and the other women brought their nanny with them even if they attended. I've never gone to a playgroup of mostly nannies before. I've decided that I will not be bringing my nanny along to the playgroup; surely, I can handle it myself, ha! We have been a little lonely here- mostly because I miss my wonderful neighbors and friends in CA so much! It was the best of times to be able to walk out my front door and have a dear friend in every direction, such special moms who gave me great advice and kept me company on the dull days. The hardest part about moving to a new place has always been going from being really busy to having nothing to do! It makes getting a job much more tempting but I keep hoping that in time we'll have some pals we can invite over for our own play sessions (minus the nanny). I miss you California ladies!!!!! We knew that we were experiencing a little piece of heaven at the time but boy does it make it harder to go without. :(
We interviewed three different maid/nanny's this week- that was tougher than I thought. All such nice people from the Philippians or Sri Lanka. We think we found an excellent person, Fina, and hopefully she'll start next week. J is getting tired of ironing all of his shirts (I think he's starting to miss wearing a uniform!) The really sad thing we realized is that many of these ladies have left their own children behind in their countries in order to come here and work to save up $ since the economy is better here. (We were slightly amazed that people come here to make money, since it is also a very poor country) One other lady we met, Jane, just broke our hearts thinking of her own 4-year-old daughter in the Philippians. I could hardly stand the thought of her caring for our daughter while her own daughter and husband were so far away. She hopes to live here for at least four years! Fina was actually married and divorced to a local man so she has permanent residency status here and no kids. It's funny to be called Madame S and Sir J... feels much too formal but I suppose we could get used to it, ha!
J planned our first trip last week; we leave for 12 days in Egypt next month. As excited as I am for the trip, I'm also very anxious about making the trip with a toddler. We'll be traveling throughout the country so it's literally planes, trains and automobiles. Add boats to that as well since we'll be cruising the Nile too. My list of concerns include getting sick (nearly everyone does) and the taxi's without a car seat. This is a bone of contention between J and I since I always insist she sit in one whenever possible and he is more relaxed about it. I was just about to spend loads of $$ online purchasing a special (easy) travel car seat (yes, this would be our third seat, I am obsessed) when we had dinner with another family a few nights ago. They have traveled to Egypt with their four four kids and said to give up on the car seat idea because there would not even be seatbelts in the taxis! This, in possibly one of the worst traffic dense regions in the whole world! Please pray, it is SO hard for me to enjoy myself when I feel like I'm putting her life at risk. We would drive a car there if we could but it's the one place J is not even allowed to drive. We have been discussing how to pack light but again, with a toddler who we have to bring diapers, milk and food for (can't trust it everywhere) it will probably leave J and I with one outfit a piece. On a happier note, the cruise down the Nile looked much more luxurious on the website than what I had pictured in my mind!
Did I already mention that the other day I saw a woman driving while also feeding her baby a bottle on her lap at the same time. Ahhh... I know I'll get used to it but it is hard for me when the traffic deaths here are such an epidemic. No wonder I'm getting a little stir crazy stuck in the house all day :) I'm passing the time reading Queen Noor's book, which is much more interesting the second time now that I can picture where she is talking about. It really is a fascinating book on the history of the region over the past 40 some years and easy read with a lot of the culture thrown in. I'm still surprised that I can't get a "cultural orientation" class over here. I've joked that the only thing I know is what my Lonely Planet guide tells me! On that note, I'll call it a week! Best, S.
We had dinner one evening at J's local friend’s house (we also hosted him at our house during his visit to Monterey). He had recently been married so it was nice to meet his wife and see their new home. Beautiful home, we felt like their first dinner guests so it was kind of a treat. They had their cook serve up a delicious meal that went on and on. The funniest thing for me was that when I asked to look at their wedding photos his wife insisted on bringing me in another room because she didn't want J to see photos of her without her head covering (hejab) on. Beautiful pictures though, and without the hejabs you would have thought that it was an American wedding by the outfits (although I was actually surprised at how revealing her wedding dress really was, certainly more revealing than my own dress was!) The weddings here are very big deals, usually last 3 days and although I don't know a lot about them, I know that for most of the time the men and women are separated into different rooms to party and dance. There is also another tradition where the groom’s family goes to the brides home to get her, lots of musicians and dancing in the streets from what I watched on the DVD. It was interesting to learn a little more about the weddings here, we hope to attend one before we leave.
We did get out to one of the large malls here. It had all of the same American stores, even Hallmark with all English cards in it- only many of the cards sold for about $10 apiece so needless to say if you don't get a b-day greeting from us don't be disappointed, ha-ha! The only notable things about the malls here is the parking is a pain, under the mall and confusing to navigate thru (this fact alone will keep J out of the malls for good) also you have to go thru a lot of security to get into the mall. Metal detectors and guards at every entrance. I guess this is a result of the 05 bombings here. Again, the stores were pricey, I had forgotten to pick K up some toddler crocs but here they were around $65 so I guess she won't be getting any after all!
I also went shopping with a couple gals to the local artistry shops. I got so excited when I saw the beautiful pottery that I can buy here (love my pottery!) I told J that we could easily spend a lot of money on the local designs here, jewelry, rugs etc. etc. I'm already excited for Christmas shopping!
The highlight of our week was our walking tour of the city center with our trusty Lonely Planet guidebook. We started at the Roman Theater and worked our way thru the streets and local suks (markets). We had a nice time- it was actually a little strange to me that we were the ONLY western looking people that I saw downtown. Boy did we stand out too! I guess I just assumed that in such a large metropolis, there would be other westerners around as well but once we left the theater (where we only saw a few westerners), there weren't any. The nice part, other than the delicious lunch, was the bootleg DVD’s we bought for a buck!
We attended the international Christian church here one evening; it was a nice service and felt unique to be a part of such a minority group. The small percentage of Christians here are mostly Coptic so to attend a non-denominational service really is a rarity. I was so proud of K, she said her first word before church that night, "Jesus", could you pick a better first word that that? :) Of course, I'm not going to count the time the other day when she tried to say banana. Anyhow, we are taking this as a sign that she's headed in the right spiritual direction. I've even gotten used to the five daily prayer calls now, so much so that I usually don't even notice them in the background!
K and I went to the weekly playgroup last week at someone's home and that was really nice but strange for me, many of the women were the nanny's and the other women brought their nanny with them even if they attended. I've never gone to a playgroup of mostly nannies before. I've decided that I will not be bringing my nanny along to the playgroup; surely, I can handle it myself, ha! We have been a little lonely here- mostly because I miss my wonderful neighbors and friends in CA so much! It was the best of times to be able to walk out my front door and have a dear friend in every direction, such special moms who gave me great advice and kept me company on the dull days. The hardest part about moving to a new place has always been going from being really busy to having nothing to do! It makes getting a job much more tempting but I keep hoping that in time we'll have some pals we can invite over for our own play sessions (minus the nanny). I miss you California ladies!!!!! We knew that we were experiencing a little piece of heaven at the time but boy does it make it harder to go without. :(
We interviewed three different maid/nanny's this week- that was tougher than I thought. All such nice people from the Philippians or Sri Lanka. We think we found an excellent person, Fina, and hopefully she'll start next week. J is getting tired of ironing all of his shirts (I think he's starting to miss wearing a uniform!) The really sad thing we realized is that many of these ladies have left their own children behind in their countries in order to come here and work to save up $ since the economy is better here. (We were slightly amazed that people come here to make money, since it is also a very poor country) One other lady we met, Jane, just broke our hearts thinking of her own 4-year-old daughter in the Philippians. I could hardly stand the thought of her caring for our daughter while her own daughter and husband were so far away. She hopes to live here for at least four years! Fina was actually married and divorced to a local man so she has permanent residency status here and no kids. It's funny to be called Madame S and Sir J... feels much too formal but I suppose we could get used to it, ha!
J planned our first trip last week; we leave for 12 days in Egypt next month. As excited as I am for the trip, I'm also very anxious about making the trip with a toddler. We'll be traveling throughout the country so it's literally planes, trains and automobiles. Add boats to that as well since we'll be cruising the Nile too. My list of concerns include getting sick (nearly everyone does) and the taxi's without a car seat. This is a bone of contention between J and I since I always insist she sit in one whenever possible and he is more relaxed about it. I was just about to spend loads of $$ online purchasing a special (easy) travel car seat (yes, this would be our third seat, I am obsessed) when we had dinner with another family a few nights ago. They have traveled to Egypt with their four four kids and said to give up on the car seat idea because there would not even be seatbelts in the taxis! This, in possibly one of the worst traffic dense regions in the whole world! Please pray, it is SO hard for me to enjoy myself when I feel like I'm putting her life at risk. We would drive a car there if we could but it's the one place J is not even allowed to drive. We have been discussing how to pack light but again, with a toddler who we have to bring diapers, milk and food for (can't trust it everywhere) it will probably leave J and I with one outfit a piece. On a happier note, the cruise down the Nile looked much more luxurious on the website than what I had pictured in my mind!
Did I already mention that the other day I saw a woman driving while also feeding her baby a bottle on her lap at the same time. Ahhh... I know I'll get used to it but it is hard for me when the traffic deaths here are such an epidemic. No wonder I'm getting a little stir crazy stuck in the house all day :) I'm passing the time reading Queen Noor's book, which is much more interesting the second time now that I can picture where she is talking about. It really is a fascinating book on the history of the region over the past 40 some years and easy read with a lot of the culture thrown in. I'm still surprised that I can't get a "cultural orientation" class over here. I've joked that the only thing I know is what my Lonely Planet guide tells me! On that note, I'll call it a week! Best, S.
Our house (& guard!)
Typical J in his shorts while K is in her hat and winter coat, it's chilly here- 40-50's but at least it's sunny, I love the sunshine. The guard is supposed to make us feel safe but really it's the awesome security features inside the house that I love.
Our first lunch out
Our first week here we were lucky enough to be taken out for lunch by one of J's old DLI profs. Great meal and exceptional company- even if I didn't understand half of the conversation. Trying a local specialty!
This is me trying kanafa, a sweet treat that locals LOVE. The place was packed and it wasn't half bad. The bottom layer was gooey cheese and the top was sugar/honey and who knows what else! Even K liked it!
King Abdullah Mosque
I guess this is the only mosque open to visitors but we didn't go in this time. 
Our hole in the wall lunch place
We ate at this great restaurant but as you can see, it was no frills! The pita was laid practically on the table and as you can see, no utensils. The food was awesome though and we left absolutely stuffed for $4 (yes, for both of us!) K loves falafel and the hummus and fuul were pretty darn good too. Top of the Roman theater
From the top, you can see just how steep it is. I was terrified that J would fall climbing up and down it with K on his back. Interesting view though so worth the climb.
View from the Roman theater
Standing on the Roman Ampitheater, overlooking the city center with the citidel behind on top of the hill.Fun with the bidet!
We had a minor flood in our bathroom last week when K managed to clog the bidet with TP and then turn the water on. That's what we get for forgetting to shut the door! She loves the bidet though, too much so. At least someone makes use out of it, haha!Sunday, January 20, 2008
Our new kitty!
They say everyone here adopts a cat eventually because they are all over the place. This is the perfect cat, she stays outside our kitchen window all day long and keeps me company. Since Jorn is allergic we won't have one in the house and I'm not really a cat person either for that matter, but I do love this kitty! Every morning K runs to the kitchen and looks for her kitty, we practice, "what does the kitty say?" all the time.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Week 1
Well we officially completed our first week here! Yay! It went by so quickly, almost a blur...probably because we were so tired!
Arrival, Sun. Jan. 6:
Our flight over was fine, deff a no frills airline but only 9 1/2 hours from JFK so not too bad. Upon arrival I was surprised at how small the airport seemed. Things would have been great except we had three bags missing, our pack and play and ALL of my luggage! For some reason I was convinced that I would never see it again (no one could tell us what to do- they just said to check back the next day so I didn't feel very reassured). This was my first "I want to go home moment" (I had been warned that there would be several during the first week,thankfully, I can only recall a couple). We were pretty tired as it was around 5:30 in the evening and we had all been up most of the night. All we wanted to do was find a bed but our sponsor picked us up and said that we were going to his house for a dinner party with our mutual friends from Egypt who were only in town for one more night. Ahh... we had no choice but to find the energy and on arrival we were blessed with great hospitality and the chance to eat and relax. I decided to leave the dinner around 8:30 because poor K was so tired, my girlfriends drove me to our new home and gave me a quick tour. I was impressed right away, esp. to see food in the fridge and the master bed made up. I thought the furniture was very nice and I liked the layout. J didn't end up coming home until 1o that night so it was a little strange to be all alone in a new place.
The rest of the week was actually pretty relaxing, I joke that we have never had such an easy move! J was able to recover my luggage the next evening and we had the internet and our first shipment set up within two days. Being able to skype family is wonderful- we all had fun talking to eachother from different sides of the world. My prayers of moving into our home and the Inet right away were answered. The house also brought many pleasant surprises. All one level so no stairs to worry about with K, purified drinking water from the kitchen sink and a washer and dryer within the unit. I usually try not to have any expectations so that I'm not disappointed moving somewhere, this time I was positively delighted because assumed things would be more challenging in those two regards. The only downside to where we are living is getting used to no dishwasher and also not knowing any Americans in the neighborhood. Hopefully we will find some but I expected to be surrounded by other Americans and instead they are spread out within a 10min. radius of the Embassy. We have met a couple of the local neighbors though and they were very nice with excellent English.
After two days of being stuck in the house, I finally got out to my first tour of the Embassy and safety brief in order to get my security badge. The Embassy was nice (again, not having any idea what to expect), the people were exceptionally nice and the only unpleasant time was the security brief and thus, my next and last of the week's I want to go home moments. Without giving the details here, I just know that I always have to be aware of my surroundings (yes, mother!) and remember that I am a "western woman" [read: easy].... of course, I knew being a woman would make it more difficult for me than for J but I really wasn't prepared for just how much more I would be scrutinized. Again, not going into the details, I didn't expect to have to do anything more than dress conservatively but now I know that there is more to it than that. Ahh, it will be an interesting year! I also worry about the traffic and crazy drivers but I am working hard to keep things in perspective. I am not a worrier by nature so I am dealing with that by praying more of course :)
We got out for our first event in the city with one of J's old professors and his friend, another professor, who took us to lunch. I didn't understand half of the conversations but entertained myself by watching the people at the table next to us. I could only see the woman's eyes so I was interested to see how she ate. The family ate with their hands and looked/dressed very traditional (what I would think of as saudi-like) dress. Our first lunch out was amazing, the food was so good! A couple times I worried about getting ill, but that's just normal for me now after two bad spells of food poisoning in Greece and Vietnam- I'm always concerned about getting sick in another country! I actually felt a little yucky for most of the day (yesterday) but have no idea what from since I have been trying to be careful. I'm thrilled that K hasn't had any reactions to the change in water, milk, meat ect. things deff taste different though, the cheeses esp!
We've been grocery shopping twice, on the Embassy and locally and it was shocking to see the prices. Expired cake mix for $4, salsa for $5, Folders coffee for $20 etc! I think twice now before I eat anything because I don't want our stash of shipped food to run out too quickly. I was also taken on a drive tour of the city yesterday by my sponsor. It was amazing to see the crazy traffic up close and very intimidating! I know I'll need to drive soon but I hope it will be easier than it looks, insha allah!
The most fun we had the first week was attending an Embassy birthday party. Lots of friendly people, good food and drinks! I deff needed the red wine by Fri. night! It was more upbeat than I expected, a great DJ who kept the party rocking- I loved hearing the arabic music! May have to take those belly dancing classes here afterall :) Also happy to meet another gal with a daughter identical to K's age. The playgroup starts this week and I'm really looking forward to meeting other moms. (Do they struggle with the carseat/traffic issues as much as I do?) Also, K has been a bit fussy, her molars are coming in and I know that she's in pain and also feeling the enormous about of change we're undergoing. It's funny to watch her listening intently to the Arabic conversations she hears, I can see her brain struggling to understand what's being said. They really do love babies here and everyone waves to her or tries to make her smile. I've been told having her along on our the trips will make things go much easier for all of us! J is getting really excited to travel and has some great trips planned for us. I know once we start getting out the time will fly. It's almost overwhelming now to think about all of the places we need to visit. I pray esp for safe and easy travels but I'm sure there will be many stories to come. We've already enjoyed hearing about the trips of our friends here- I can't wait to swap stories. I am just not looking forward to J's solo trips at this point. I'm sure after I have a few friends and in a routine it will be easier, I just hope to doesn't leave me anytime soon :)
So, all in all I'd say we had a pretty good first week. MUCH easier than I anticipated and no tears yet (although I'm sure they'll come eventually :) again, skype helps SO much! The only issues I'm facing at the moment is what to make for dinner (we really need to stop ordering out but it's so hard to spend $ at the grocery store when the prices are outrageous, at the least the restaurants seem reasonable!), we also need a car and a good nanny. There are already things we need a sitter for and it's stressful not knowing who to call! (wish grandparents lived closer!) I pray we find someone who's terrific. I also need to get out and go for a walk, starting to feel a little housebound with a busy toddler who is into everything! Hopefully, I will feel comfortable enough soon. We were really lucky the first week to have a three-day weekend (thurs-sat) and this coming weekend again with MLK, J's got (fri-sun) off. We plan to get out and start discovering some of the cool things in the city! Let's hope Week 2 is just as good!
Arrival, Sun. Jan. 6:
Our flight over was fine, deff a no frills airline but only 9 1/2 hours from JFK so not too bad. Upon arrival I was surprised at how small the airport seemed. Things would have been great except we had three bags missing, our pack and play and ALL of my luggage! For some reason I was convinced that I would never see it again (no one could tell us what to do- they just said to check back the next day so I didn't feel very reassured). This was my first "I want to go home moment" (I had been warned that there would be several during the first week,thankfully, I can only recall a couple). We were pretty tired as it was around 5:30 in the evening and we had all been up most of the night. All we wanted to do was find a bed but our sponsor picked us up and said that we were going to his house for a dinner party with our mutual friends from Egypt who were only in town for one more night. Ahh... we had no choice but to find the energy and on arrival we were blessed with great hospitality and the chance to eat and relax. I decided to leave the dinner around 8:30 because poor K was so tired, my girlfriends drove me to our new home and gave me a quick tour. I was impressed right away, esp. to see food in the fridge and the master bed made up. I thought the furniture was very nice and I liked the layout. J didn't end up coming home until 1o that night so it was a little strange to be all alone in a new place.
The rest of the week was actually pretty relaxing, I joke that we have never had such an easy move! J was able to recover my luggage the next evening and we had the internet and our first shipment set up within two days. Being able to skype family is wonderful- we all had fun talking to eachother from different sides of the world. My prayers of moving into our home and the Inet right away were answered. The house also brought many pleasant surprises. All one level so no stairs to worry about with K, purified drinking water from the kitchen sink and a washer and dryer within the unit. I usually try not to have any expectations so that I'm not disappointed moving somewhere, this time I was positively delighted because assumed things would be more challenging in those two regards. The only downside to where we are living is getting used to no dishwasher and also not knowing any Americans in the neighborhood. Hopefully we will find some but I expected to be surrounded by other Americans and instead they are spread out within a 10min. radius of the Embassy. We have met a couple of the local neighbors though and they were very nice with excellent English.
After two days of being stuck in the house, I finally got out to my first tour of the Embassy and safety brief in order to get my security badge. The Embassy was nice (again, not having any idea what to expect), the people were exceptionally nice and the only unpleasant time was the security brief and thus, my next and last of the week's I want to go home moments. Without giving the details here, I just know that I always have to be aware of my surroundings (yes, mother!) and remember that I am a "western woman" [read: easy].... of course, I knew being a woman would make it more difficult for me than for J but I really wasn't prepared for just how much more I would be scrutinized. Again, not going into the details, I didn't expect to have to do anything more than dress conservatively but now I know that there is more to it than that. Ahh, it will be an interesting year! I also worry about the traffic and crazy drivers but I am working hard to keep things in perspective. I am not a worrier by nature so I am dealing with that by praying more of course :)
We got out for our first event in the city with one of J's old professors and his friend, another professor, who took us to lunch. I didn't understand half of the conversations but entertained myself by watching the people at the table next to us. I could only see the woman's eyes so I was interested to see how she ate. The family ate with their hands and looked/dressed very traditional (what I would think of as saudi-like) dress. Our first lunch out was amazing, the food was so good! A couple times I worried about getting ill, but that's just normal for me now after two bad spells of food poisoning in Greece and Vietnam- I'm always concerned about getting sick in another country! I actually felt a little yucky for most of the day (yesterday) but have no idea what from since I have been trying to be careful. I'm thrilled that K hasn't had any reactions to the change in water, milk, meat ect. things deff taste different though, the cheeses esp!
We've been grocery shopping twice, on the Embassy and locally and it was shocking to see the prices. Expired cake mix for $4, salsa for $5, Folders coffee for $20 etc! I think twice now before I eat anything because I don't want our stash of shipped food to run out too quickly. I was also taken on a drive tour of the city yesterday by my sponsor. It was amazing to see the crazy traffic up close and very intimidating! I know I'll need to drive soon but I hope it will be easier than it looks, insha allah!
The most fun we had the first week was attending an Embassy birthday party. Lots of friendly people, good food and drinks! I deff needed the red wine by Fri. night! It was more upbeat than I expected, a great DJ who kept the party rocking- I loved hearing the arabic music! May have to take those belly dancing classes here afterall :) Also happy to meet another gal with a daughter identical to K's age. The playgroup starts this week and I'm really looking forward to meeting other moms. (Do they struggle with the carseat/traffic issues as much as I do?) Also, K has been a bit fussy, her molars are coming in and I know that she's in pain and also feeling the enormous about of change we're undergoing. It's funny to watch her listening intently to the Arabic conversations she hears, I can see her brain struggling to understand what's being said. They really do love babies here and everyone waves to her or tries to make her smile. I've been told having her along on our the trips will make things go much easier for all of us! J is getting really excited to travel and has some great trips planned for us. I know once we start getting out the time will fly. It's almost overwhelming now to think about all of the places we need to visit. I pray esp for safe and easy travels but I'm sure there will be many stories to come. We've already enjoyed hearing about the trips of our friends here- I can't wait to swap stories. I am just not looking forward to J's solo trips at this point. I'm sure after I have a few friends and in a routine it will be easier, I just hope to doesn't leave me anytime soon :)
So, all in all I'd say we had a pretty good first week. MUCH easier than I anticipated and no tears yet (although I'm sure they'll come eventually :) again, skype helps SO much! The only issues I'm facing at the moment is what to make for dinner (we really need to stop ordering out but it's so hard to spend $ at the grocery store when the prices are outrageous, at the least the restaurants seem reasonable!), we also need a car and a good nanny. There are already things we need a sitter for and it's stressful not knowing who to call! (wish grandparents lived closer!) I pray we find someone who's terrific. I also need to get out and go for a walk, starting to feel a little housebound with a busy toddler who is into everything! Hopefully, I will feel comfortable enough soon. We were really lucky the first week to have a three-day weekend (thurs-sat) and this coming weekend again with MLK, J's got (fri-sun) off. We plan to get out and start discovering some of the cool things in the city! Let's hope Week 2 is just as good!
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