Things that make you go hmmmm....

Just like the old song says; this is my ongoing list of things that make life here, well, interesting (and not always in a good way):

-A friend of mine watched 27 Dresses recently at the theater; she was ticked because they edited out all of the kissing scenes, which cut the movie practically in half. Turns out they do this to all movies so it is not recommended to watch a romantic comedy here! (good movie btw)
-The milk here is ultra-pasteurized so it doesn't need to be refrigerated until opened, and then once it is, you only have 3 days to drink it (our milk is always going bad).
-People don't ride bikes here and if you do, it is well known that people (esp. boys) will throw rocks at you.
-Birkini's, you just have to google them! We really got a kick out of our visit to a Dead Sea resort, the Italians were in the skimpiest bikinis and the more modest women wore lots of spandex (even the young girls).
-People don't recycle here in the same way we’re used to. Here, you throw everything in the trash (or ground) and then people (i.e. Bedouins) go thru the dumpster later and take out the "recyclables".
-It is against the law for cops to pull over women driving alone at night. This law I love!
-The weekend thing is crazy, every country has their own version; in Oman it's Wed and Thurs, UAE, it was Sat and Sun, in Jordan it's Fri and Sat. I can only imagine trying to do business internationally here!
-This one makes me the saddest; they still have "honor killings" in Jordan, maybe a dozen or more a year. This means that male family members who kill a female member under the pretense of "preserving the family honor" will receive leniency in court, maybe only serving a year or two for the murder (if). The most recent case happened last month to a woman, walking alone at night with a foreign visitor. Her brothers killed both, although there was no proof of sexual relations ever occurring. I guess it just "looked bad" to the brothers. Man, I really hope they change the laws on this!!!!!
-We walk by Abbas’s house every night, hoping to get a glimpse of him. Last month he had Condoleezza Rice over- we got there too late to see them but sure would have been fun. Yes, we are stalkers, but in a good way! Like I said, makes life interesting and I've never had a famous neighbor before(even if no one in the US knows who he is, haha!)

more to come