MacGyvering...

While in Ethiopia, I fell in love with a rug, made by the Arat Kilo Childcare and Community Development group. The purchasing part was easy. But how to get it back to Amman? The group folded the 8x5 foot rug up and tied it with two small pieces of twine. But they had no box or bag for me to put it in. It was too big for my suitcase and too heavy and awkward to hand-carry onto the plane.

Luckily, all the shopping we did had produced lots of plastic bags. And five dollars to the concierge produced a roll of duct tape and a pile of newspapers. Using only the bags, newspapers, duct tape and a pair of nail clippers, we created what looked like a small pink and black mummy. It was pretty primitive but it did the job - my rug arrived on the conveyer belt in one (rather ridiculous looking) piece in Amman.