At last...

Third time's the charm!

It was really a beautiful day today. I celebrated by finally visiting the Roman Amphitheatre, Odeon theatre, Nyphaneum and market in downtown Amman. 

I also bought some things, ate some foods, listened to some songs, met up with some old friends, and generally did some smiling and feeling happy. Amazing what a little sunshine can do.

I couldn't resist taking pictures of this family.  The husband had a slick sense of style, the women had amazing designer purses and their boys were super adorable:

One year older and wiser too...

I couldn't find anyone willing to humor me for "Birthmonth" this year.  But I did manage to stretch the celebration out over the last bit of the month.  

A cake party from the Young Women, dinner with the co-workers, a day of Skype, email and Facebook well-wishes followed by another cake party from the Visiting Teacher.  Mix in a few adorable handmade birthday cards and slew of packages containing Skittles, a British mini-series and new things to wear.  All in all, it was a pretty good start to a new year.

This package got ripped open in the mail.  Luckily the DPO kindly put it in a plastic bag, saving the Skittles from spilling out and being lost forever.

Nightmares...

I awoke, sweating and heart pounding, from a terrible nightmare last night. 

When I finally got my bearings and was fully awake, I realized that said nightmare involved packing up, moving back across the world, and then arriving at my new house only to realize I had forgotten to pack, and thus lost forever...my bathroom. 

Yes - it is truly terrifying to leave behind forever toothpaste, facial scrubs and a large collection of various delicious smelling soaps.

Snow...

I am on a roll these days - so many pivotal moments in my life that must be shared!

I woke up at 4:30 this morning to thunder and a very panicked dog. I ignored both and went back to sleep. When I woke back up at 7:30, I discovered that the thunder was apparently a part of a snowthunderstorm! 

My fondest dreams have come true - I am finally participating in my very own Snowpocalypse! (I missed Snowmageddon in 2010 and Snowzilla of 2011 and am still jealous of everyone's stories of epic snow adventures).

I was actually able to make a snowball, which I threw at the dog, as the only other living creature in sight was my guard (who has an AK-47 and would likely not have taken kindly to a projectile launched at his person). I feel kinda bad because the dog can't really fight back and was clearly disturbed (as you can see in the below video) but I really couldn't pass up an opportunity to have a snowball fight in Amman, Jordan (note: that is snow falling in the background, not rain):

The following pictures depict dangerous scenes of treacherous garden paths, snowdrifts so deep I could barely get my door open, streets and goat-grazing pastures choked and dangerous with ice and slush, a mosque roof about to collapse under weight it was not built to bear, and a Burger King in peril. Also - my best attempt at a self portrait featuring a snowball and an awesome air kick.

If I should be swept away...

There is a fierce storm raging outside.  Or at least I feel like there must be, based on the cross-winds sweeping through my apartment.

After being scared three times over the course of this afternoon by the sudden slam of a door, I was finally able to determine that it was not a ghost (first theory), robber (second theory), or cat (third and usually the correct theory) but some strange meteorological phenomenon controlling the movement of my doors:

Note: I'm only pretty sure it is not a ghost.  After watching all six seasons of Supernatural, I learned that ghosts can choose to be invisible to the naked eye but they cannot hide from a camera lens.  Although Supernatural could be wrong...!

Kitty Hissy Fit...

In order to avoid judgement from the soon-to-be-returning pet owners, I put the cat here:

And combed out this:

And boy was he unhappy.  As expressed through kicking, hissing, clawing, and making desperate, athletic, crazed attempts to leap out of my arms.  I had no idea cats were so strong.  Or resentful (please see below baleful kitty stare, post brushing):

Rain, rain, go away...

Come again another day.  In the last two months, we have had three days without rain.  It does make for some entertaining dilemma's for the dog, who must screw up his courage to leave the safety of the porch everytime I open the door and he sees a front yard full of puddles.  

Happy Valentines Day...

I'm not sure why stop light vendors haven't made it to the States. In Jordan, there is a whole cottage industry built around taking advantage of the face that we are captive audiences as we sit in our cars.

Normally they sell Sponge Bob Square Pants stickers, small plastic balls designed to look like watermelons, light-up oversized plastic glasses and tissues. But they do change their product lines for special occasions. I really wish I'd gotten one of these...

Yep...

I pretty much wish my job was to concoct videos for OK Go:  

(this might also be a song that I often sing along to heart-feltedly in my car)

Much more successful...

Today involved a trip to the "Sight of Jesus Baptism" and the Dead Sea Panorama. 

I duly listened to the propaganda. "The Bible says in John 1:28 'These things were done in Bethabara BEYOND Jordan, where John was baptizing' so clearly as you see Jesus had to go from Jerusalem across the river into Jordan. So clearly as you see there was no baptism on the side of Israel, but only on the side of Jordan".

I took pictures. I took my coat off halfway through the tour because it was so hot, probably 20 degrees warmer down in the valley. I drank some water and then filled my empty water bottle with water from the River Jordan (overflowing after a month of rain and more rain). I dipped my fingers in the river, cool and crisp. I thought about wading across to the Israeli side but my tour guide said "they will shoot you".

The view from the Dead Sea panorama was, you know, it was okay. An expanse of blue water, meeting the blue haze of the Judean desert and hills surrounding Jerusalem, meeting the blue, blue cloudless sky. One day I hope there is a camera that can actually record what the eye sees. Until then, here you go. My best efforts at capturing today. 

Bet you didn't realize John had a MegaChurch:

Israel on the right, Jordan on the left.

To cross or not?

 

It is rather cruel to have so much useless water in the middle of the desert.

What could possibly be better than a Dead Sea vista? A Dead Sea vista with a herd of camels!

Closed...

Sadly, my efforts to have an amazingly wonderful tourist experience were thwarted. For 40 minutes, a very nice taxi driver drove me all around town. Unfortunately none of the places he took me were places I actually wanted to go, namely the Roman Forum. Apparently, if I had just said "Ruman ruins"...

We did finally find it (as we crested the top of a hill, I finally saw them, far down below) but it had closed. So, I took a picture of the Arabic sign, for next time, and then wandered through the markets. On the plus side, I did get some delicious strawberries.

(Closed) Ampitheatre

(Closed) Nyphaneum

Scary Roman Ruins Cats

Look all you want, boys.

Driving a hard bargain...

King Hussein Mosque