Poser on the mountThis is a quick update from Jordan. We arrived home safe and sound after an exciting exodus from Doha. I don’t have the time to get into the details of what happened during our last hours in Qatar but let me say that we ended up with more stuff for our flight than allowed without extra cost and even had to call for help.

The flight itself was smooth but we were dead tired from all the packing, cleaning and general stress of the past month. But we are now in Jordan surrounded by our loved ones and already stuffed with mom’s delicious food. Life can’t get better.

I’m going through a number of different emotions as I’m sitting right here in my old room at my parents’ house. First, I still can’t believe that we left Qatar for good. It is just too good to be true. Qatar no longer occupies a place in our life. Second, I feel I never left Jordan. Somehow, I feel I have lived here uninterrupted all of my life. In a nutshell: I belong here and nothing in the world can change that. Third, I’m excited about the upcoming adventure we are about to embark upon. But this constant gypsy lifestyle is making me even edgier than normal. I’m pining for stability.

On a different note, today is Easter in Jordan, as Christians here follow the eastern calendar. We went to church in the morning -– something I have not done since last Christmas — then drove all the way to Madaba, where we had lunch at an Arabic restaurant near Mount Nebo. Lunch was followed by a quick tour inside Mount Nebo, which we hadn’t visited since our wedding. We took loads of family pictures and spent the rest of the time chasing the kids. All in all, it was a fun day. Ah, it’s so good to be back home.

Ah, before I go, I heard something a very interesting last night. Apparently, the novel The DaVinci Code has been banned in Jordan. Copies of the book were taken from the shelves after local churches objected to the content of this best seller. To my knowledge, Jordan is the second country in the Middle East after Lebanon to ban the book. Anyway, time to hit the sack. I will do my best to post updated dispatches during our stay.