Arrival and Eid

I arrived in Amman Wednesday evening without much difficulty.  Nothing much has changed in the airport since I was here last.  While going through customs I had a conversation with a nice young lady from Iceland who is here in Amman for 5 months.  Her family had come with her to get a feel for where their daughter would be spending the next few months and as it turns out, she doesn't have an apartment yet so we are in the process of looking for something together.  It is truly amazing how a simple conversation can lead to something else....in this case, possibly a roomate - or at least a friend here in Amman.

I am currently staying at the Nefertiti Hotel, which is quite suitable and easy on the pocketbook.  The only strange thing is the "shower" which consists of two nozels and a hose, but all in all it works.  I have breakfast in the mornings made by Abu Imrad (spelling?) who is a very kind man who also showed me the proper way to make Turkish coffee.

Eid was in full swing when I landed and there were hoards of people on the street.  Traffic has been disastrous, even worse than Chicago traffic (if you can believe that!) but things have eased up in the last day or so.  

I was lucky enough to be able to observe and participate in the traditional Eid festivities, which are quite different from the holiday celebrations I am used to.  Of course there are feasts and wonderful meals but there are also visits from relatives.  The visits are somewhat short with folks just catching up, but everyone sits in the sitting room (not sure what else to call it) and they are served Arabic coffee and a sweet pastry.  The talking continues for a bit and they are offered chocolate and that is about it!  One of the things that was very different for me was that the visitors would not let you know ahead of time they would be coming, they would just show up.  In the States, that probably wouldn't fly.  It was very interesting to see it all come together - the doorbell would ring and everyone would move as if they were performing some sort of act.

I am enjoying the food, but am a bit frustrated with the language, or perhaps the lack of my ability to speak it at this point!  Lessons will start soon and I have already picked up quite a bit.  

Things should settle down soon and I will get a better idea of the atmosphere in Amman without the madness of a holiday.

Salaam