Syria is known for it's Crusader castles and J enjoyed getting to see them up close.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Qala'at Salah ad-Din
Syria is known for it's Crusader castles and J enjoyed getting to see them up close.
The fam in front of the Citadel
The Citadel in Aleppo was the only really impressive thing to see there, in my humble opinion of course! It was massive and still very much intact.
Looking out on Aleppo
Whenever we could we ate at rooftop restaurants which had beautiful views of the city (much, much prettier at sunset with the minerets lit up, otherwise a very ugly place in our opinion)
Inside the Hive
It was nice and cool, they had electricity with a fan and tv running. The older ladies brought us tea and the kids offered us oats of some sort. They had photos on the wall of the cleric from Hezbollah but we enjoyed them none the less :) btw, we saw many Hezbollah photos in Syria taped to cars etc., a shame- they otherwise would have seemed so nice!
Beehive Houses
On our way to Aleppo, we made a detour to visit the Beehive houses. Not quite sure the background on them, just know that they have been there-and continuously inhabited- for hundreds of year. The kids greeted us excitedly and then invited us into their hive for tea.
Scenic view from our (ghost) hotel in Hama
I thought this was one of the more picturesque views we've had, unfortunately the town was nothing like the picture. It was the eeriest place I've been, J said it was like an episode out of the Twilight Zone. We were followed everywhere we went, mostly from harmless kids who just annoyed us and when it was time for dinner we couldn't find a restaurant anywhere!!! We drove all over and ended up having to skip dinner because everything was closed. To the town's credit, they did have a massacre there 25 years ago where up to 25,000 people were killed by the govt. as punishment for their uprising.
Although the Lonely Planet usually gets it right, they were wrong on this one, it was not a good place to spend the night. They were right in calling our hotel a "mausoleum" however (it was the only near decent place to stay in the town). The hotel was huge but we felt like the only people staying there so it kind of freaked us out! It was absolutely deserted (I told the front desk that I hoped they had at least given us the best room!) Later that night we ran into three American guys who were also staying there- and they thought they were the only guests. That did help me sleep a little better though.
The Norias in Hama
In front of the obligatory photo op in Hama, one of the strangest places I've ever visited! What amused me the most was right after we took this photo, a man walked by with his three wives, I wish I could have taken a picture- it was the most stereo- typical thing I've seen, man walking in front, three wives (totally covered) following behind with children. In Hama I saw more women with black fabric covering their ENTIRE face than I've seen anywhere, for the life of me I don't know how they could see a thing!
Maalula
When we left Damascus our first stop was to this village because it is one of only three villages in Syria that still speak in the language of Jesus, Aramaic. It is a mixture of Arabic and Hebrew and slowing dying out, unfortunately because it's one of the world’s oldest languages. At this stop we ran into a group of Iranian tourist who were just wonderful to us, when they heard that we were American they got excited and ALL wanted their photograph with us so we had to stand there while they took turns coming up for a picture. (Is this how a celebrity feels?) Iranians are sometimes demonized in our press but this was one more example of how the people and their rulers are not the same.
Syrian-North Korean Alliance
This is a painting of the two countries former leaders, taken at the October War museum, sponsored by the NK's. We got a lifetimes worth of propaganda there!
Dinner time
We also found the best restaurants anywhere to be in Syria- although by the end of the trip we were SO SICK of kabobs! It's going to take me a long time to want one again.
Break time
Walking around the Old City of Damascus wore us out but we loved stopping by this place for their slushies- just like a DQ Mister Misty, yum!
Bye Bye Birdie
Outside of the Mosque they have this place to feed the birds, K LOVED running around trying to catch them. She really wasn't supposed to be in there but because she was so cute and had everyone watching her they let her. This made me think of you Janners, you would have hated it! :)
Picture time
She was also hounded for photos everywhere we went, here she is at the Mosque handling it like a pro! She thinks the camera is called "cheese" and it's just too cute to correct her so when she asks to hold it she always says "cheese please"!
Our little diplomat
K made so many friends at the Mosque, I just kept thinking that despite the fact that our countries are "enemies" these kids just love eachother, if only we could leave our negotiations up to them! World Peace :))
Umayyad Mosque
This is Islam's 4th holiest site. I was just excited to be there because I remember watching Diane Sawyer reporting from there last fall, although she got to wear a much prettier abaya than mine, talk about a pain to wear- the hood kept falling down and I would get naughty looks from people ;) We all had to walk around barefoot which made me concerned about catching some sort of foot fungus, haha but we really enjoyed our time there. K just ran around and around....
St. Paul's Chapel
Damascus is full of Christian history so this is K and I posing near the basket (guessing not the real basket :) that Paul was lowered from to escape the angry Jews in 2 Corinthians.
No need to pack the toys!
People often ask me if we pack many toys for K when we travel but we learned after the first trip that she is more than content with the hotel phone, remote, and her most favorite, the mini-bar! Just don't ask me how many times we get charged for "missing items"...
Friday, June 6, 2008
Road trip: Syria
Tonight we are packing to leave for Syria and preparing for a 12-day road trip around the country (actually, J is packing and I am procrastinating). I am really looking forward to it but also trying not to get too excited just in case we have some drama trying to cross the borders. I have heard all sorts of stories about this and given our luck, I am half expecting it! We do have the visas but just because you have a visa doesn’t necessarily mean you can get in. We’ll try to keep you posted once we actually cross the border if we have Inet access. The shopping in Syria is supposed to be amazing so we’re leaving a lot of room in our car for souvenirs (as usual, that’s what I look forward to the most!). Also, two of the oldest cities on earth are there, Damascus and Aleppo so that should be interesting from a history standpoint. And yes, Syria is one of the five countries on that famous Gov’t “List” we are always hearing about! Overall, I want to have an open mind and learn as much as I can about this fascinating country- I don’t know a whole lot about it yet but I’m sure we’ll come away with a new perspective on the region. I hear the people are exceptionally kind. There is a lot happening there now with a possible peace deal with Israel being attempted and nuclear inspectors paying a visit.
We had a good, busy week doing lots of fun stuff with other toddlers. I’m sure the socialization is good for K since she spends a lot of time alone with me in the house. She has really changed since turning 19mos, I always said she was an easy kid but now she keeps me on my toes. I am beginning to understand what all of you have been warning me about for so long, the “get into EVERYTHING” phase. It just makes me so tired. Not to mention she went from needing 15 hrs of sleep to 13 in a matter of a week, I just wasn’t quite prepared for that : ) Gone are my days of sleeping in until 8 or 9! J was away for a few nights and I kept thinking about all of my military friends who spend 15 mos. alone with their children as single moms. It must be SO hard. I send all of you a big hug and wish I could treat you to a pedicure or something – although you deserve much, much more. I’m sure I’ll be writing soon about how she took the fish out of the bowl and ate it, LOL.
Then we had some minor drama- as I was taking her out this week and putting her in our HOT car (it felt at least 100 degrees outside) I threw the car keys on my seat like usual, shut her door and walked around to get in the driver’s seat when I heard the car lock. I couldn’t believe it! We have a new security system in and apparently, it automatically locks the doors after a minute or so. Thank God, I had my cell still in my pocket but I panicked and grabbed a tool from our garden so I could break the window and get her out. Too many stories engrained in my mind of kids dying in hot cars. Thankfully, I got a hold of our wonderful mechanic first, who was at our house in 8 min. with three guys who were able to get her out within another 5 min. She was so good the entire time- hot I could tell but never cried. When we pulled her out, she was covered in sweat. I think I would have broken the window if it took a minute longer. The mechanic was so nice, he didn’t even charge us. Boy did I learn my lesson with our new alarm.
Talked to my friend in Cali the other day, gas is $4.15/gallon there at the cheapest place.
We decided to do the math and see what we were paying here (they sell it in liters) and we are paying #3.68/gallon, not much less. It would be hard to get rid of the SUV now but downsizing sure is tempting isn’t it?
On a less depressing note, I am really proud of J this week because he graduated 3rd in his class (a percentage pt. away from 1st)! I don’t know how he managed given that the class was entirely in Arabic. He spent the first week thinking he was going to flunk out and then he rocked it. Way to go J! He also made some nice friends who keep texting him saying, “I miss u”. The guys here are SO funny; these messages crack me up because most guys in the States wouldn’t send such messages to other men. Not surprising given that public affection between men and women is rare (I’ve never even seen two people holding hands!) public displays of affection among men is very common and exaggerated. Well, that’s all for now! Wish you all a great couple of weeks, off to pack....
We had a good, busy week doing lots of fun stuff with other toddlers. I’m sure the socialization is good for K since she spends a lot of time alone with me in the house. She has really changed since turning 19mos, I always said she was an easy kid but now she keeps me on my toes. I am beginning to understand what all of you have been warning me about for so long, the “get into EVERYTHING” phase. It just makes me so tired. Not to mention she went from needing 15 hrs of sleep to 13 in a matter of a week, I just wasn’t quite prepared for that : ) Gone are my days of sleeping in until 8 or 9! J was away for a few nights and I kept thinking about all of my military friends who spend 15 mos. alone with their children as single moms. It must be SO hard. I send all of you a big hug and wish I could treat you to a pedicure or something – although you deserve much, much more. I’m sure I’ll be writing soon about how she took the fish out of the bowl and ate it, LOL.
Then we had some minor drama- as I was taking her out this week and putting her in our HOT car (it felt at least 100 degrees outside) I threw the car keys on my seat like usual, shut her door and walked around to get in the driver’s seat when I heard the car lock. I couldn’t believe it! We have a new security system in and apparently, it automatically locks the doors after a minute or so. Thank God, I had my cell still in my pocket but I panicked and grabbed a tool from our garden so I could break the window and get her out. Too many stories engrained in my mind of kids dying in hot cars. Thankfully, I got a hold of our wonderful mechanic first, who was at our house in 8 min. with three guys who were able to get her out within another 5 min. She was so good the entire time- hot I could tell but never cried. When we pulled her out, she was covered in sweat. I think I would have broken the window if it took a minute longer. The mechanic was so nice, he didn’t even charge us. Boy did I learn my lesson with our new alarm.
Talked to my friend in Cali the other day, gas is $4.15/gallon there at the cheapest place.
We decided to do the math and see what we were paying here (they sell it in liters) and we are paying #3.68/gallon, not much less. It would be hard to get rid of the SUV now but downsizing sure is tempting isn’t it?
On a less depressing note, I am really proud of J this week because he graduated 3rd in his class (a percentage pt. away from 1st)! I don’t know how he managed given that the class was entirely in Arabic. He spent the first week thinking he was going to flunk out and then he rocked it. Way to go J! He also made some nice friends who keep texting him saying, “I miss u”. The guys here are SO funny; these messages crack me up because most guys in the States wouldn’t send such messages to other men. Not surprising given that public affection between men and women is rare (I’ve never even seen two people holding hands!) public displays of affection among men is very common and exaggerated. Well, that’s all for now! Wish you all a great couple of weeks, off to pack....
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Lunch, local style!
Yesterday one of J's friends invited us to his house for lunch. It was quite the experience for us. Starting with the AK-47 gun fire that scared the HECK out of me when I was entering their house. Turns out the neighbor is getting married and that's how they celebrate such events here. Celebratory gun fire is actually illeagal (a taxi driver was recently accidentally shot while driving thru a neighborhood) but I don't think many people care about this law. The meal was delicious and we were so happy to see spoons so we didn't have to use our hands. No one spoke much English but it was heartwarming to relate with another mother, nursing her newborn, the way only mothers can relate- despite the language barrier. I got a kick out of watching her care for her tiny baby and seeing the cultural diferences such as putting yogurt on the pacifier to encourage sucking. K adored holding the baby too and I realized, she is def NOT a baby anymore :( The families were so kind to us, they showed us around their town which included a spot in the woods where they picnic every fri. (J and I were amazed to see SO MUCH trash everywhere, although the land itself was pretty in the States you would have thought it was a garbage dump since apparently, no one cleans up after their picnics). We also went to a stream where the women were dipping their feet and washing their clothes. I just can't get enough of watching women in other cultures live their daily routines, so fascinating! We are sure spoiled in the US! It was pretty hot so I couldn't help but wonder how they managed wearing the long, black abayas and head coverings all of the time. We ended the day at the home of the wife's family. The men sat outside and drank coffee and K and I sat inside with the women (since they were uncovered). She has eight sisters and they all treated us like we were visiting royalty. Poor K though, she had gotten really tired after a long visit and wanted to rest but they insisted that she entertain them all by dancing (even going so far as to turn on dance music on TV). She was not in the mood for entertaining but they did do a little dancing for us, funny!
Jerusalem Snapshots!
The first is a pic of the girls at the Jordan border BEFORE all of the drama on the Israeli side when we were all still happy campers. The next is one of my favorite pics ever, K on a camel with the Old City of Jerusalem in the background. She is OBSESSED with camels (or Jamels as we say in Arabic). Lucky for her, she gets to see them all over the place. We even count them as we're driving along the road.
Also, a photo of all of us at our favorite place in the Old City, the Western Wall. This is such a powerful place! Lastly, a shot of K pretending to be Liam Neeson at the end of the movie.
My beautiful girl!
K loved relaxing in Aqaba and couldn't get enough of the water, even some dips in the Red Sea. She is quite a seasoned traveler now and knows that the first thing we do in a new hotel room is jump on the bed!
Mukawir
On one of our side trips we visited Mukawir, location of Herods castle where John the Baptist was beheaded. It was an amazing site, I'm told that it looks like a mini-Masada. We found the place completely empty and we enjoyed the steep hike to the top, overlooking the Dead Sea and Israel on the other side. The really cool part was that there were caves everywhere, it would have been so neat to do some excavations there. I imagine that it looked just like Qumran (directly across the Sea) where the Dead Sea Scrolls were accidentally found by a shepard boy.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Downtown Amman
We took T and P downtown for lunch and sightseeing (although looking at the buildings behind us you will see that it's really not all that scenic). We also came upon a Mosque during Fri. noon prayers and you can see that they stop the traffic since the men overflow onto the streets. Finally, a shot of us at our favorite local place for lunch eating what else, hummus and pita!
Dead Sea Trip
The first photo is a pic of my dad dipping his foot in the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized. The water looked pretty green and yucky to us but someone did actually jump in and go under.
In the second pic J and I were getting ready to mud wrestle! LOL
Finally, J and I having a very relaxing time, floating in the Sea and taking the obligatory photo of us reading the newspaper. The only problem was since the water is nearly 9x saltier than the ocean, any little cut you have really stings! We all found out about a few cuts we didn't even know we had. Worth the pain though!
Up, Down and All Around!
My parents left Friday after a great, roller coaster of a visit! It was sure hard to see them leave but I’m happy about all of the wonderful new memories that we will laugh about for years to come. Despite a couple of obstacles that came our way, we had an amazing time together. A little recap of our last two weeks…
Just before they arrived I attended a luncheon with someone I’ve always been a little curious about, the woman who wrote the Once a Month Cookbook that I love. Turns out she used to live in Jordan and was back here visiting. It was fun telling her what I tell many people, how her book revolutionalized my life! : ) If you are like me and don’t feel like spending an hour in the kitchen every afternoon this concept is for you! She was amazing! I’ve always been very grateful to my friend Gloria, from Germany, for sending me a copy of that book. She must have known years before I had K that seeing a freezer full of meals would give me great satisfaction!
Then, off to the airport to pick up my parents, Pep was in a happy mood because like J’s folks, she was bumped up to 1st class. I think visiting us is good luck! She said they had to drag her off the plane- 13 hours was just not long enough, haha! The next day we headed to one of my favorite resorts in Jordan on the Dead Sea, stopping at the site of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River along the way. We spent the rest of the day floating in the Dead Sea (awesome, much more fun than I could have imagined!) and baking ourselves in the special mud that is supposed to have healing powers.
In the evening, we had a blast sitting outside with my mom and watching a very elaborate wedding reception take place. Although we were not invited guests, surely we had as much fun as those who were! From our grassy spot on a hill overlooking the festivities we made some new friends, three guys that were hanging out so they could listen to one of the wedding bands and generously supplying us with the beverages so we could celebrate along with the “real” guests. The wedding was over-the-top expensive and a great treat to watch the wedding procession as they marched around the resort grounds dancing, banging on instruments with musicians traditionally dressed leading the way. We even heard that Sadaam Hussein’s daughter was in attendance but unfortunately, we didn’t spot her. We saw enough fireworks that night to make up for July 4th. The only really crummy part was that the LOUD music did not stop until after 3am which must have kept the hundreds of guests at the hotel awake (including us!) for most of the night. I can’t imagine a hotel in the US would ever get away with such a thing but there was no use in our complaining because this wedding took priority over us getting a good night’s rest. At least it did cure their jet lag!
A couple of days later my parents got a tragic first-hand view of the Jordanian traffic situation when I was driving them home from the mall and we all witnessed an elderly man (crossing the road on a v. busy highway) hit by a car. I saw him just ahead of me and was able to hit the brakes in time but sadly, the car on my right did not. I saw the whole thing thru my rear view mirror, which was awful. I’m sure the man was killed instantly and our hearts broke for everyone involved in the accident. There was nothing we could do but pray. Although it used to annoy me when I saw people walk out into busy streets (all of the time) now it just makes me angry. I guess I can only chalk it up to the unique sense of fatalism that they have here. I continue to pray that we will make it thru an entire year with no major driving incidences.
Another day I took my parents and K on a sightseeing trip to a couple of Crusader castles, Petra and also down to Aqaba on the Red Sea. We had a fantastic trip and they enjoyed the scenic drive and fun stops along the way. Aqaba was beautiful and we spent 24 hours doing nothing but swimming and relaxing. Our room had a view of Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia not far off. What a cool lookout spot that was! My only fears about the trip were getting lost or having car trouble in the desert. On our way home (it’s a four hour drive from Aqaba to Amman thru the desert) my dad and I were celebrating the fact that the trip had a been a breeze! We had no problem getting everywhere and the car had been running great. I swear, no more than 5 min. after that, I was going up a huge hill (in the middle of nowhere) and my car died! Amazingly I was able to quickly pull off the road in the ONE SPOT that actually had a place to pull off (there is no shoulder on this part of the Desert Highway because of the mountain). I was pretty much in shock at that moment given that it was the middle of the day and VERY hot. We were still 3 hours from home. The car had given me no notice, there wasn’t a light or a smell or anything it was just all of a sudden (we later found out it was an electrical problem in the Jeep’s computer) My dad led us in a quick family prayer and I called J for advice. While he called the tow truck, I wished for a taxi because I did not want to spend the next 4 hours sitting on the sand. A minute later, I saw a taxi in my rear view and I was able to flag it down. The car was full but the driver called his friend who reached us five minutes later. Amazing! We filled the car with our luggage and hit the road for home. J on the other hand was heading south with a tow truck so we were able to meet up with him another hour and a half up the road and told the tow truck where to pick up the Jeep. The entire thing only got us home 30 minutes later than we planned, can you believe that? All we could do was say thank you God!
Tired of adventure, we were hoping for a “boring” trip to Jerusalem when we left a couple days later. We were excited about the trip because we were bringing our housekeeper, Jane, along. This was Jane’s DREAM to go to Jerusalem so for the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to make someone’s’ dream come true. Sounds like a reality show doesn’t it? We left early that morning because we knew that the border could be a pain and take awhile. We had already called both borders a few times just to double check things and we felt like our trip was as organized as it ever could be. We got thru the Jordanian border with no problems but at the Israel border, they decided that J, K and I would not be allowed to enter because we didn’t have the special stamp in our dip passports. This especially stunk because we had previously sent our tourist passports (that don’t need a stamp) back to the US to obtain a Syrian visa and we hadn’t gotten them back in the mail yet. We were all kind of in shock because all of a sudden our trip was ruined. Since this was my parents and Jane’s only chance to go to Jerusalem, I told them they HAD to go on without us. We found them a taxi, gave them the hotel info and the city guide and sent them off. We were SO sad to turn around and head back to Amman alone. Talk about depressing! We also knew that taxi’s in Jerusalem were going to cost them hundreds not to mention, they had had no time to plan what they wanted to see or do.
On a whim driving home, J decided to check his mail box just in case our other passports had been returned from the US. Surprisingly, they were sitting in the post box and we turned right around to head back down to the border. Unfortunately, when we got to the Jordanian border, the office was closed for the day but right before we were about to turn back in defeat, someone decided to be kind and helped us get across the border. We breezed thru the Israeli side and were on our way up to Jerusalem to meet them by 2pm. Of course, knowing me I insisted on surprising them! What I hadn’t anticipated was the SHEER NUMBER of tourists/cars that were in the Old City that day and even though I had found out where they were (discretely) when we got there, there were thousands of people! After about 15 min. of sitting in horrible traffic J growled that it would take a miracle to find them and we should give up trying to surprise them. At that VERY moment, I looked out the window and saw my dad! It was awesome! They were shocked and SO thankful we had shown up when we did because they couldn’t find the shuttle bus they had been looking for and were feeling kind of lost. Again, we just had to say thank you God!
We ended up having a great time touring Jerusalem together. We saw the Dead Sea Scroll book of Isaiah that will only be on display for 3 months in celebration of Israel’s 60th anniversary. My dad’s knowledge of history and the Bible far exceeds ours so he kept us informed along the way and we often joked that he was spoiling our fun with his cynicism or reality checks like King David probably wasn’t really buried in the tomb we visited. It became a funny inside joke everywhere- at least we all agreed that Oskar Schindler probably really was buried in his grave so that visit was worthwhile! That’s the problem with Jerusalem, so many amazing things to see but being able to tell what’s legitimate and what’s not is another matter. The best part for all of us was indulging Jane and making sure that she had the time of her life. It made it so much more fun and special for all of us to see it thru her excited eyes.
After we returned from Israel, J and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary! Although our church wedding was on the 4th of July, we spontaneously eloped on the 27th of May. I’m sure it’s the most spontaneous thing I’ll ever do, I was wearing cut off jeans and a t-shirt! We stopped at the mall afterwards to buy J a ring and celebrated over dinner at the Olive Garden. Too bad we couldn’t find an OG here for traditions sake, ha! After 9 moves in 10 years, it feels like we’ve been married a lot longer. One thing is for sure; 10 years ago, we would have never imagined that we’d be living here! I’m grateful that thru the many zigzags of life, God has remained faithful. Kind of makes me look ahead to the next 10 with absolute wonder.
My parents finished out the rest of their visit in great spirits. A few side trips, many games of whist and spades, and more hummus and pita than I needed (aren’t you sick of that yet?) Now we all just can’t wait to go back home for Christmas.
Just before they arrived I attended a luncheon with someone I’ve always been a little curious about, the woman who wrote the Once a Month Cookbook that I love. Turns out she used to live in Jordan and was back here visiting. It was fun telling her what I tell many people, how her book revolutionalized my life! : ) If you are like me and don’t feel like spending an hour in the kitchen every afternoon this concept is for you! She was amazing! I’ve always been very grateful to my friend Gloria, from Germany, for sending me a copy of that book. She must have known years before I had K that seeing a freezer full of meals would give me great satisfaction!
Then, off to the airport to pick up my parents, Pep was in a happy mood because like J’s folks, she was bumped up to 1st class. I think visiting us is good luck! She said they had to drag her off the plane- 13 hours was just not long enough, haha! The next day we headed to one of my favorite resorts in Jordan on the Dead Sea, stopping at the site of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River along the way. We spent the rest of the day floating in the Dead Sea (awesome, much more fun than I could have imagined!) and baking ourselves in the special mud that is supposed to have healing powers.
In the evening, we had a blast sitting outside with my mom and watching a very elaborate wedding reception take place. Although we were not invited guests, surely we had as much fun as those who were! From our grassy spot on a hill overlooking the festivities we made some new friends, three guys that were hanging out so they could listen to one of the wedding bands and generously supplying us with the beverages so we could celebrate along with the “real” guests. The wedding was over-the-top expensive and a great treat to watch the wedding procession as they marched around the resort grounds dancing, banging on instruments with musicians traditionally dressed leading the way. We even heard that Sadaam Hussein’s daughter was in attendance but unfortunately, we didn’t spot her. We saw enough fireworks that night to make up for July 4th. The only really crummy part was that the LOUD music did not stop until after 3am which must have kept the hundreds of guests at the hotel awake (including us!) for most of the night. I can’t imagine a hotel in the US would ever get away with such a thing but there was no use in our complaining because this wedding took priority over us getting a good night’s rest. At least it did cure their jet lag!
A couple of days later my parents got a tragic first-hand view of the Jordanian traffic situation when I was driving them home from the mall and we all witnessed an elderly man (crossing the road on a v. busy highway) hit by a car. I saw him just ahead of me and was able to hit the brakes in time but sadly, the car on my right did not. I saw the whole thing thru my rear view mirror, which was awful. I’m sure the man was killed instantly and our hearts broke for everyone involved in the accident. There was nothing we could do but pray. Although it used to annoy me when I saw people walk out into busy streets (all of the time) now it just makes me angry. I guess I can only chalk it up to the unique sense of fatalism that they have here. I continue to pray that we will make it thru an entire year with no major driving incidences.
Another day I took my parents and K on a sightseeing trip to a couple of Crusader castles, Petra and also down to Aqaba on the Red Sea. We had a fantastic trip and they enjoyed the scenic drive and fun stops along the way. Aqaba was beautiful and we spent 24 hours doing nothing but swimming and relaxing. Our room had a view of Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia not far off. What a cool lookout spot that was! My only fears about the trip were getting lost or having car trouble in the desert. On our way home (it’s a four hour drive from Aqaba to Amman thru the desert) my dad and I were celebrating the fact that the trip had a been a breeze! We had no problem getting everywhere and the car had been running great. I swear, no more than 5 min. after that, I was going up a huge hill (in the middle of nowhere) and my car died! Amazingly I was able to quickly pull off the road in the ONE SPOT that actually had a place to pull off (there is no shoulder on this part of the Desert Highway because of the mountain). I was pretty much in shock at that moment given that it was the middle of the day and VERY hot. We were still 3 hours from home. The car had given me no notice, there wasn’t a light or a smell or anything it was just all of a sudden (we later found out it was an electrical problem in the Jeep’s computer) My dad led us in a quick family prayer and I called J for advice. While he called the tow truck, I wished for a taxi because I did not want to spend the next 4 hours sitting on the sand. A minute later, I saw a taxi in my rear view and I was able to flag it down. The car was full but the driver called his friend who reached us five minutes later. Amazing! We filled the car with our luggage and hit the road for home. J on the other hand was heading south with a tow truck so we were able to meet up with him another hour and a half up the road and told the tow truck where to pick up the Jeep. The entire thing only got us home 30 minutes later than we planned, can you believe that? All we could do was say thank you God!
Tired of adventure, we were hoping for a “boring” trip to Jerusalem when we left a couple days later. We were excited about the trip because we were bringing our housekeeper, Jane, along. This was Jane’s DREAM to go to Jerusalem so for the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to make someone’s’ dream come true. Sounds like a reality show doesn’t it? We left early that morning because we knew that the border could be a pain and take awhile. We had already called both borders a few times just to double check things and we felt like our trip was as organized as it ever could be. We got thru the Jordanian border with no problems but at the Israel border, they decided that J, K and I would not be allowed to enter because we didn’t have the special stamp in our dip passports. This especially stunk because we had previously sent our tourist passports (that don’t need a stamp) back to the US to obtain a Syrian visa and we hadn’t gotten them back in the mail yet. We were all kind of in shock because all of a sudden our trip was ruined. Since this was my parents and Jane’s only chance to go to Jerusalem, I told them they HAD to go on without us. We found them a taxi, gave them the hotel info and the city guide and sent them off. We were SO sad to turn around and head back to Amman alone. Talk about depressing! We also knew that taxi’s in Jerusalem were going to cost them hundreds not to mention, they had had no time to plan what they wanted to see or do.
On a whim driving home, J decided to check his mail box just in case our other passports had been returned from the US. Surprisingly, they were sitting in the post box and we turned right around to head back down to the border. Unfortunately, when we got to the Jordanian border, the office was closed for the day but right before we were about to turn back in defeat, someone decided to be kind and helped us get across the border. We breezed thru the Israeli side and were on our way up to Jerusalem to meet them by 2pm. Of course, knowing me I insisted on surprising them! What I hadn’t anticipated was the SHEER NUMBER of tourists/cars that were in the Old City that day and even though I had found out where they were (discretely) when we got there, there were thousands of people! After about 15 min. of sitting in horrible traffic J growled that it would take a miracle to find them and we should give up trying to surprise them. At that VERY moment, I looked out the window and saw my dad! It was awesome! They were shocked and SO thankful we had shown up when we did because they couldn’t find the shuttle bus they had been looking for and were feeling kind of lost. Again, we just had to say thank you God!
We ended up having a great time touring Jerusalem together. We saw the Dead Sea Scroll book of Isaiah that will only be on display for 3 months in celebration of Israel’s 60th anniversary. My dad’s knowledge of history and the Bible far exceeds ours so he kept us informed along the way and we often joked that he was spoiling our fun with his cynicism or reality checks like King David probably wasn’t really buried in the tomb we visited. It became a funny inside joke everywhere- at least we all agreed that Oskar Schindler probably really was buried in his grave so that visit was worthwhile! That’s the problem with Jerusalem, so many amazing things to see but being able to tell what’s legitimate and what’s not is another matter. The best part for all of us was indulging Jane and making sure that she had the time of her life. It made it so much more fun and special for all of us to see it thru her excited eyes.
After we returned from Israel, J and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary! Although our church wedding was on the 4th of July, we spontaneously eloped on the 27th of May. I’m sure it’s the most spontaneous thing I’ll ever do, I was wearing cut off jeans and a t-shirt! We stopped at the mall afterwards to buy J a ring and celebrated over dinner at the Olive Garden. Too bad we couldn’t find an OG here for traditions sake, ha! After 9 moves in 10 years, it feels like we’ve been married a lot longer. One thing is for sure; 10 years ago, we would have never imagined that we’d be living here! I’m grateful that thru the many zigzags of life, God has remained faithful. Kind of makes me look ahead to the next 10 with absolute wonder.
My parents finished out the rest of their visit in great spirits. A few side trips, many games of whist and spades, and more hummus and pita than I needed (aren’t you sick of that yet?) Now we all just can’t wait to go back home for Christmas.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
For all the tired momma's out there!
This made me think of my dear friend (of 20 yrs now!) Natalie, who has three busy young boys at home. Nat, I'm sure you could have written these tips yourself, only I hope you would have said the Walrus should be drinking a martini while sunning himself ;)) Miss u! (Make sure to click on the pic so you can read it!)
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day!
To all the wonderful mothers I know, and mother's-to-be, I wish you a FANTASTIC day! I feel really blessed when I think about my Mom, Mother-in-law, and Grandma's today and what role models they are to me. Sometimes (like others I'm sure) I wonder if I can ever measure up to my mom when it comes to raising my own daughter. The following questions run thru my mind: Will I drop whatever I'm doing at any given moment, at least once a day, just to chit-chat? (Hopefully K even wants to talk to me that much!) Will I remember all of my daughter's friends from high school on, and continue to ask about them now and then? Will I promise to watch Oprah everyday in case something that that could potentially save her life one day is discussed? Will I remember to make bran muffins immediately after my daughter gives birth to alleviate any potential for constipation? Will I be the example that my mom is to me in caring about (and for!) the people that cannot care for themselves, including her mantra that "people matter more than anything"? Will I sit my daughter and her husband down for fun tasks such as figuring out their personality type or their "love language" because I really care that they have a great marriage? Will I remember to lovingly fill her inbox (both voice and electronic) with messages such as 'don't forget to watch for deer' and 'The Bachelor's on Oprah today'? Will I forgive her for moving halfway around the world routinely? (never!) Will I tell her, often, that she looks great (when she really needs to hear it), is a fabulous decorator (not true but v. appreciated) and a good cook (again, not true, but effort rewarded so also appreciated). When she comes to visit, will I wake up early to serve her coffee cake in bed and stay up late enough to watch all the really fun shows? More importantly, will K look at me and also wonder; "How would I ever make it a day without my mom???" I love you mom, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. See you THURSDAY!!!!!! A mud wrap at the spa awaits :)))
Weekly Update (snore, snore)
It's been a fun week since I last wrote- nothing too notable although J did lose a fingernail at work (Ouch) and has used that to his full advantage (no baths, dishes or extra details of any kind) ha-ha, can't blame him because I'm quite sure that I'm the one who taught him the old injury line! :) It is healing quickly, thank goodness for all concerned. He’s got some really great stories about working with the Jordanians up close and personal, cocktail party fillers for years to come! Let's see, we went to a party at the Ambassador's house last Sun., he was very funny and I loved that they served hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad and lemon bars! Not what I pictured eating at the Ambassador's but it was fantastically reminiscent of home (we are starting to tire of Jane's distinctly Filipino dishes, God bless her). We also went to a party at the Marine house for Cinco de Mayo. This is the house that all the Marines live in and entertain in occasionally. If I were a Marine this is where I would want to live no doubt (it's gotta beat Fallujah by a long shot). K finally got her first molar in, I've only been expecting it's appearance for two months now. One down, one to go, poor girl! I never knew I could be so happy to see a tooth! Oh, and we have cable TV now! Just when I had come to peace with not knowing what was happening in the States (Idol and so on) J decided that he wanted it. It had kind of become a challenge for me, could I really go an entire year without Diane (Sawyer, that is)? Well, it looks like my addiction to GMA can finally start up again, although with all of the weird times here I'll have to watch it in the evening instead. (I’m still contemplating if this means I should give up my addiction to red wine in exchange?) We are too late to get into Idol I think. Anyhow, no more living in a bubble!
But, since I really can't go an entire blog without at least one editorial, the whole honor killings thing here is really starting to upset me. In the last couple weeks they've had two (six for the year so far) and the stories are so tragic I can barely repeat them. For instance, one girl, 16, was married off and tried to leave her husband because he was evil and kinky and her parents didn't believe her. When she ran away, the police brought her back to her family after the father stated in writing that he wouldn't harm her. Sure enough, that same day he electrocuted her for "shaming the family" by trying to leave her husband. This is just one of many stories. Turns out the father got only a 6 month sentence. We may be giving Jordan 9 billion dollars (more or less) over the next few years; I hope to God that we can find some way to influence the Govt. when it comes to these types of crimes. Unfortunately, though, the problem for women in Iraq is many times worse. There, these types of crimes (and so many more) are happening daily. A friend here, who works for the UN specializing in the cases of Iraqi women, told me it is an absolute tragedy what is happening now to women there. Last year they had roughly 133 honor killings. The thing that makes these honor killings especially lewd is that they are socially acceptable is this culture. Not to everyone of course, because there are plenty of Muslims who would like to change the laws on this, but to enough people that there really isn't a great backlash against it. It's funny, I never thought of myself as a feminist, but, as happens to a lot of women living over here, you really do become one. When you start to see how bad women in other countries have it (and it is much better in Jordan than other places) it just plain p*sses you off! Thank God I’m an American woman and thank God for all of the women who blazed our trail!
But, since I really can't go an entire blog without at least one editorial, the whole honor killings thing here is really starting to upset me. In the last couple weeks they've had two (six for the year so far) and the stories are so tragic I can barely repeat them. For instance, one girl, 16, was married off and tried to leave her husband because he was evil and kinky and her parents didn't believe her. When she ran away, the police brought her back to her family after the father stated in writing that he wouldn't harm her. Sure enough, that same day he electrocuted her for "shaming the family" by trying to leave her husband. This is just one of many stories. Turns out the father got only a 6 month sentence. We may be giving Jordan 9 billion dollars (more or less) over the next few years; I hope to God that we can find some way to influence the Govt. when it comes to these types of crimes. Unfortunately, though, the problem for women in Iraq is many times worse. There, these types of crimes (and so many more) are happening daily. A friend here, who works for the UN specializing in the cases of Iraqi women, told me it is an absolute tragedy what is happening now to women there. Last year they had roughly 133 honor killings. The thing that makes these honor killings especially lewd is that they are socially acceptable is this culture. Not to everyone of course, because there are plenty of Muslims who would like to change the laws on this, but to enough people that there really isn't a great backlash against it. It's funny, I never thought of myself as a feminist, but, as happens to a lot of women living over here, you really do become one. When you start to see how bad women in other countries have it (and it is much better in Jordan than other places) it just plain p*sses you off! Thank God I’m an American woman and thank God for all of the women who blazed our trail!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
K days
K could spend the entire day on the phone which already makes me a little nervous for the teenage years ahead. Usually she's talking to "dada" and her conversations go on and on (and on).
And.. a pic of her at the "fun factory" (aka germ factory) today. We went with our Jordanian friends Majd and Assad. She is betrothed to Assad in 25 years, that is if he can afford her (LOL) you see, in the Mid East, the men have to pay a lot of $ to the bride in order to marry her, usually in the form of v. expensive jewelry and gold. Also we would need him to convert :)
Ball night
Last night was the Military Ball, we had fun and again, it was another wild night for the Embassy crew- I had to drag J off the dance floor after my feet decided they couldn't go on (oh and my shoes broke, Cori- the ones I wore in your wedding, can you believe I still have them?) I decided to go "Hollywood" this time and copied my dress after Katherine Heigl's Oscar dress, just printed off a picture from the net, brought it to the seamstress and viola!
A friend here owns a jewelry store so she let me pick out $6,000 + worth of diamonds to wear, so fun! (too bad I had to return them today) It was nice to feel glamorous for a little while though. I couldn't resist playing a joke on J and telling him that I actually bought the jewels on a shopping trip, the first time I've "gotten him" in a long time.
The best part of the night was J, after 10 years of marriage he doesn't shock me very often but last night he did. He performed an army skit in front of everyone that was HELARIOUS; he really hammed it up and surprised the whole room. So many people told me that it was the best one they'd seen! I would have taped it had I not been so stunned by his acting skills. He had the entire room captivated. What a night!
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