Some things never change!

The best thing about Jordan is that in some ways it never changes. I think it’s for that reason that it always feels like home. I came to this conclusion yesterday after paying visits to a number of government institutions to take care of some pressing paper work. The experience was typically Jordanian and one that has just become expected when dealing with public intuitions.

In addition to battling bureaucracy and incompetence, we (my sisters, mom and I) had to drive all over town (Hubby at the wheel) in pursuit of the designated public edifice, which keep relocating on the days you need them for reasons impossible to fathom. But it is actually when you are inside a government building that you realize Jordan’s rapid national development has skipped this vital public interface.

What I experienced yesterday was something I’ve been experiencing here for as long as I can remember: Very dirty, unattended buildings, men gathered about a small window who have absolutely no knowledge or respect for queues and of course “smoker friendly” environments, evidenced by cigarettes in both visitor and employee hands. And, of course, we are greeted by sleepy workers, their infamous Jordanian grumpiness and the message: “We don’t do these things here sister. Go to our other office across town!”

After three hours of driving across the city from one public building to the other we didn’t manage to take care of a single thing, returning home disappointed –- a typical Jordanian situation. Ah, it feels like home!

I do understand the need to keep things authentic in Jordan. But really, this authenticity would not be altered if smoking was banned from government buildings or if they hired one or two workers to clean things up once in a while! But then again, perhaps things would not feel so like “home” if these issues were resolved. Maybe, maybe not!

Quick update

Joelle door montageOver the last few days we’ve been keeping ourselves busy socializing and meeting up with friends and family. I know I have said it more than enough times here but I’m extremely happy to be home in Jordan.

Last evening we went to see my cousin Zaidoun and his wife Mirna who just gave birth to a girl they’ve named “Joelle.” She is so precious and takes a lot after her dad. I was so touched seeing the ways Zaidoun chose to show his happiness and love for his daughter. One of those is a top-notch, extremely creative flash website he created: www.joellekaradsheh.com. Zaidoun’s talent and experience in multimedia really paid off here. The website is really something else and a great idea for new parents (Dalia, are you out there? Take a look.)

Another impressive bit of celebration was this 2-meter montage of Joelle’s pictures shown here that he shot, designed and hung on the door of mom’s hospital’s room just one hour after Joelle was born. I was told it blew everyone’s mind. I’m really so happy for them and their newborn, who is already the recipient of oodles of love!

After our brief visit, we headed to the movies. The film of choice this time was Ocean’s Twelve, which we picked primarily because of the number of big stars involved. But I was disappointed and thought the first, Ocean’s Eleven, was more engaging and had a better storyline. This one had nice camera work but just didn’t compare with the first, which I enjoyed tremendously.

It is 10:12am now and I awoke with a runny nose and scratchy throat. The sudden change of weather from Doha to Amman (and perhaps the busy schedule) was bound to hit me sooner or late. It arrived sooner that expected.

The blogger chit-chat!

GruppeLast night we had our first Jordanian bloggers meet-up and believe me when I tell you, it was tons o’ fun. Seven bloggers showed up: Roba, Isam, Ammar, Nader, Zaid, the husband and I. As I expected, our Jordanian blogging community is exceptional. [Click any pic for an enlargement]

Everyone is smart, friendly and articulate with a great sense of humor. After we gathered and introduced ourselves we spent a couple hours discussing various issues ranging from the Iraq War to the advent of internet in Jordan to the art of blogging … of course.

For those interested, I will do my best to highlight what went on last night:

IsamIsam, the programmer behind Jordan Planet, talked intensely about the importance of blogging and the image of Jordan it creates for the outside world. He revealed many ambitious ideas for Jordan Planet including creating an Arabic version of the site. Citing the success of Persian bloggers, he pointed out how powerful blogging can be.

RobaRoba expressed some frustration with the lack of awareness about blogging in Jordan, particularly among the youth. “Very few of my friends know what a blog is,” she complained. She also blamed the lack of internet access in Jordan for the limited success of blogging in the kingdom.

NaderNader shared Roba’s frustration, saying the friends that knew of his blogging labeled it a “waste of time … They just don’t get it,” he said.

AmmarMeanwhile, Ammar is convinced that many Jordanians don’t realize that they have the right to express themselves. He discussed how the concept of speaking out is just not injected into today’s youngsters and never taught to kids in schools.

ZaidZaid, our quiet blogger, said that the reason he doesn’t blog that often is due to his inner fear of being misunderstood. But he promised to try to post more regularly.

Ammar and I discuss a pointThe husband and photographer of our gathering (who also made a bonus image for the event) weighed in on the technical side of blogging and what works best to perfect the art. As for me, well, I was loud and obnoxious as usual. I had a blast!

Home, cold home!

SoldiersSo I’m home in Jordan and life couldn’t be better. I missed my family a great deal and being with them again means the world to me. One of the many good things about being here now is the cold weather. Yes, I missed that feeling. Last night it was 1 or 2 degrees Celsius (Back in Doha it was 20 – see the weather pixie below). I was freezing but I loved it, naturally, after over a year of living in the desert.

Tabla player and dancers during Egypt trip segmentAs soon as we got home we were greeted by mom’s delicious delicacies. God I missed her food. The dinner was followed by lots of chatting and catching up and playing with Amy and Jessica who get cuter by the day! They were so excited by the chocolate and gum we brought that they were bouncing all over the place with their mouth’s packed with sugary sweets.

After eating, and chilling a bit, we decided to go to the YWCA’s Christmas concert. Tania is playing in the choir’s band and managed to get us tickets for the event. We bundled up and headed to the concert, held at Al-Hussein Cultural Center in Ras Al-Ein.

This year’s concert had an international theme, as carols were performed in different languages and the story was presented via the journey of young Santa’s helpers that travel the world to try in search of a key that will grant them access to the city of Bethlehem, closed by an Israeli checkpoint. It was great fun.

I’m including some pictures [click for englargements] and maybe later some video of the event when bandwidth allows (a first for this blog if we can make it happen) to give you some idea of the atmosphere of the concert. Overall, I’m ecstatic to be back in Jordan and really looking forward to every single minute of the upcoming two weeks!

Entertaining news item of the day

This one is from the Guardian

Oh what a lovely jail

Al-Qaida supporters detained in Saudi Arabia have appeared in a television documentary about al-Haer jail, 25 miles south of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and delivered rave reviews of life inside.

"I swear to God, they [the jailers] are nicer than our parents," said Othman al-Amri, once No 21 on the kingdom’s list of most-wanted terror suspects.

The programme, broadcast on Saudi television late on Monday, included brief footage from inside the jail, showing clean facilities and beds lined next to one another.

It signalled a new effort by the authorities to encourage militants to give themselves up and to allay suspicions that they would be ill treated if they did so. But persuading them to opt for al-Haer may prove difficult.

I am sure that after airing this program the militants are lining up around the block to turn themselves in. Well, you know, clean sheets can be tempting!