Getting Settled

It's been a busy few days here in Amman. I arrived on the same flight from Chicago as three other Fulbrighters. The flight was fine, and I am grateful to have had sleeping pills because I was stuck with a middle seat. Yikes! The two young women next to me were very nice, however, and I even got to chat with them about Amman (they are both from Amman). The girl to my left spoke pretty good English and she even studies at the University where I'll be teaching. Initially we talked about where she lives and how she commutes to the University. Before we even had time to take off, I had been offered a ride home from the airport (in typical generous Arab fashion). I kindly turned down the thoughtful offer as our Fulbright commission arranged for a ride to a hotel in town for myself and the three other Fulbrighters who were on my flight. I managed to arrive to my house (which has no address) from the hotel thanks to the taxi driver willing to call my flatmate twice along the way. One piece of luggage did not make it on the plane but it was delivered to the house this morning. Honestly it was kind of nice to not have to lug everything home with me from the airport on Thursday. My room is large and the bed and closet are very nice. My Jordanian flatmate speaks perfect English and her son is adorable. It's a new and comfortable house with a large outside patio. Most all of the buildings around mine are under construction and there is a lot of dirt and construction rubbish. I fear what the weekday will bring in terms of construction noise but I think I'll be busy during the week so hopefully it won't be a problem. Now that I have all of my luggage, I can definitely say that I'm all settled in my house, which is more than I can say about the dust all around me."Hachew!" ... excuse me! On Friday, my first day here and also the holy day, I met up with three other Fulbrighters to go on a SIM card adventure. We didn't think it was going to be an adventure but we ended up spending the whole day traveling by various taxis around the city. This was due partially to the fact that all of the shops were closed until early afternoon. We went to a flea market, visited the Citadel, got our local phone numbers (amazingly easy and affordable because this is not America), and even made it to the chic expat neighborhood Jebel Webdeh for a nice lunch. I ordered a citrus mint drink that is now my absolute obsession. I’ve had three in the last two days. Essentially it’s fresh lemonade with mint blended together. It comes out green and looks a slightly unappetizing but it’s delicious. I arrived home fairly early on Friday and fought the urge to take a nap by catching up on Showtime’s Masters of Sex. I had downloaded the first episodes of season two for the flight but once I realized who my company was, decided that would not be very culturally sensitive viewing on a flight to Jordan. Once night fell I decided to venture out to finish my book at a café near my house. There, I had my second lemon mint drink and a tasty roasted eggplant salad. There has been nothing I’ve consumed that I didn’t absolutely love. I'm hoping to keep that streak going for a while. Today was an even better day but I need to sign off for now as it’s 2am and I have an early morning tomorrow which marks the beginning of a week of in country orientation. I hope you all are well. I’ll be in touch soon! Love, Hannah