Take two

So ends my first week of work, with a deep sense of satisfaction and well-being. I feel comfortable here like you wouldn't believe, I haven't felt the culture change at all. It will probably hit me eventually, but I think it's so easy because this is all I was ever looking for in this trip - it's hot and sunny, the people are friendly and welcoming (it feels a lot like Algeria, in the daytime too!), work is interesting, and there's that linguistic challenge I was yearning for, without being too overwhelming. I can still function with my minimum of Arabic, but it's everywhere enough to give me that extra push I needed to buckle down and learn it in an environment conducive for it.

I feel I need to contextualize my experience with Jordan so far, so as to bring down your expectations (hell, who am I kidding, you probably have no expectations at all, that was a little presumptuous). Anyways, what I'm trying to say, especially to those who have been following Breanna's trip - that's not what I plan to do in Jordan. Have fun I mean. No, I'm kidding. I mean my relationship with Jordan doesn't feel (so far anyways) like a 'love at first sight' kind of relationship, more of the 'let's be friends first' type. I have no ambitions to travel much for the first little bit, I'm just enjoying the day to day life here. This might sound lame, but this is what I've come to Jordan for, and I'm ok with that. I will travel around in the fall. I go to work (in a cab - to and from totals 3$), I work with the great people at the Embassy, I come home, make dinner (still trying to figure out the what to cook with the ingredients and appliances I have here - it's not much different, but those who know me know it's a production when I cook at home, and if I can't try to reproduce all that without all I have, so I'll learn to love creating something different in the kitchen here), pull out my major paper work and put in a couple hours on that (which, call me a nerd, but I've been really craving the concentration to do), chat with my roommates somewhere in there, go to bed and start all over again. Of course, with this as my work station (this is only half my apartment, I was really lucky to find this), it's not too discouraging to come home to more work!

Other achievements this week, successful grocery shopping and directing the cab drivers to work, home, downtown, back home (I had only travelled with my roommates the first couple days)... I never thought I'd say this, but I'm just itching to get into a routine here - life was such a roller-coaster the last little bit, I'm trying to settle down into something.. in Jordan! Part of that routine I hope will be visits to my neighbour's, who had us over last night for tea, biscuits and After Eights. She's baking us apple pie and chocolate cake tonight :) Lovely woman, I look forward to getting to know her better. I'm also just waiting to confirm Arabic lessons, that'll most certainly be part of my routine - I still have plans to come back to Canada fluent (note the leadership training in action - when you set your goals in writing, and announce them publicly, there is greater push to achieve them and better chances of success ;)

All that said and done, I do plan to go on a day trip to Madaba (and somewhere else) tomorrow, with the Canadian visitors we got last night. Friendly, typical Canadians - one's just coming in from India, through Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania (not in that order), and the other's dream life will probably be in a summer camp back home. Because I never plan my tourism, I don't know what exactly we're going to see, but I'm sure it will be lovely. And I did go back to that falafel place with them after work today (we finish early Thursday afternoons), followed by some sun and relaxation on a terrace. I suppose I'm not all work, no play - it's just not very exciting play :) To celebrate, I took my first pictures in Amman, from where we were sitting (that's it up there).

On that note, I will leave you for now. I will surely have more to say after tomorrow's trip, and hopefully some nice pictures. I hope you are all well, I send you all my love.