Learning to drive and other musings....

I finally got behind the wheel - a milestone, yeah! Actually, it was easy; J and I practiced driving last fri. am while everyone was in Mosque so the roads were empty. He helped me find the salon, the spa and the Dr. so now I'm all set for daily survival :) oh yah, the grocer and DVD store too! We bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee, old but in good condition, the best thing about it is the tinted windows- I love them because it is v. annoying at stop lights here when people frequently come up to your windows and start knocking on them to sell you stuff like gum, flowers, newspapers etc. They don't leave you alone when you tell them no either- thankfully, now they won't be able to see K very well- that was the freaky part, having a bunch of people gather around your car staring at your child! It's a little hard figuring my way around here because no one would ever use street signs; it’s all done by markers. So when someone says "behind the Abdoun mall" that could mean anything within a four block, 360-degree radius of the mall. As much fun as it is to move and discover new areas, to me there is just nothing more stressful than not knowing my way around! (and even worse, not knowing who to ask!) We'll see how I do when I start venturing out on my own this week... I'm sure I'll have at least one breakdown somewhere. But I didn't have to worry about passing a driver’s test here like in GE, I think they could care less about road rules!

I had lunch at the Ambassador's home last week! Okay, truth be told, he wasn't actually home but it was still fun to visit the cool house and pretend to be a VIP for a moment. I attended an Arabic cooking demonstration in his kitchen by his chef who was absolutely amazing. I swear I've never had such good food in my life! It was really fun to watch her prepare things using ingredients I've never heard of- they use dried yogurt and dried limes a lot here. I think I have seriously fallen in love with Middle Eastern food. We have a bakery a couple of blocks from our house that makes the most delicious hot and fresh pita and the hummus store is just down from there where you can get a large container for less than a buck. I'm not sure I'll be able to buy the Costco version of hummus anymore after eating the real deal.

So we are contemplating not getting a decoder for our TV after all and going the year without channels. I go back and forth on this... I miss my GMA a lot and I'm convinced that I'm really missing out on a lot of useful (and not so useful but juicy) info. but then again, we have so much more time during the evenings! J says if we can't have DVR then he doesn't care. I've been trying to read the local (english) paper to keep up on the world and it's been so interesting. The stories are very different of course. The ones from Gulf entertain me the most. How they outlawed the purchase of roses on Valentines day because it's an "evil" holiday, or all the mannequins in the shop must now be headless, I'm sure to prevent temptation. They are always hanging someone ... today I read on MSN about the guys who were arrested for flirting. Saudi Arabia is one place I want to know more about. I have an old friend (Canadian) who lives there so I'm making my list of q's to ask him when we get together next. The best book I read last year was The Princess by Jean Sasson. Eye opening! Recommend this for your book clubs! The lady I met in Egypt thinks it's all crap and that the women in Saudi are lucky and happy. I'm not so sure.. that place really scares the heck out of me. J will visit soon (I can't get a visa) and I want a photo of the Muttawas- the religious police. I can't wait to hear all about his trip!! And, back to the newspaper, that darn Danish cartoon thing has really got people fired up again! Every other article is about some demonstration against the Danes. This is the best scenario to describe the perfect culture clash. Freedom of speech vs. Protection of values- it really takes an effort to think beyond your culture to understand this conflict and even when I try my hardest, I still lack the empathy because of how engrained the American ideals are in my way of thinking. I will continue to try to make local friends so that I can ask them to explain this and other things to me. I'm sure I'll never agree but it is powerful to understand.

We finally met some American neighbors with a child K's age. They are missionaries building a Seminary in Amman. So interesting, both left very lucrative jobs (Engineer and Architect) to work non-profit building churches, orphanages etc. around the world. They're only here until the end of the summer but I keep telling them that I hope their construction project is delayed like every other construction project and they stay longer. Their seminary is starting to receive some attacks from both the Govt. and the orthodox churches here. It's going to be interesting to watch how it all plays out.. students are having a harder time getting Visa's and Evangelical groups are being attacked in the press. Although, there is a lot more religious freedom here than elsewhere so that is a blessing!
Well, I’ve got a sink full of dishes waiting for me. Darn that dishwasher! :)