Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Nadia Leigh's Wanderings
After three flights, which crossed multiple time zones, I arrived in Amman -- the capital of Jordan -- at 3am on the 23rd. After some negotiations, a bunch of waiting around, and two cab rides, I arrived in Ayn Moussa, which is supposedly the well of Moses. I was welcomed by famillair faces who recognized me from last year.
As soon as I arrived tea is put to boil. It is almost bedouin tea, minus the sugar (I'm trying to kill, and not feed, the single-celled organism in my stomach. All day I struggled to stay awake. I honestly couldn't figure out how many hours I had been awake for, atleast a day and half.
It is wonderful to see my friend Rakad, who works in the bazaar/corner store (not on the corner) next to the hostel where I sleep [on the roof for 2 Jordanian Dinars(JD)]. He took me to Wadi Araba where we drove on the road that he and his brothers built; pointing out where he made lunch for his brothers, where the tire exploded etc.
A part of the hospitality that Rakad has extended to me is that his shop is my shop and his home my home. I've learned the prices for the most commonly bought goods, 10 fils (1/10th of a JD) for a small bag of lays chips, 10 fils for a glass bottle of pepsi, cola, orange soda, sprite, etc. as long as the bottle is returned, 10 fils for ice cream. Most of the purchases are done my small children who carefully choose how to spend their 10 fils. I like working in the shop and trying my arabic out on the customers. If I wanted to, I could work in the shop full time (which probably means from 6 am - 12 pm 7 days a week, with the occasional day off). As tempting as the offer sounds I think for now it is best that I finish my studies.
Since I'm sleeping on the roof, the mosquitos have become my friends, and each morning I wake up to the call to worship. Two nights ago, all of the wild dogs in two went crazy and howled all night chasing each other, which caused the horses to go running in the street -- it was an eventful evening.
Stay tuned for more...
- comments