by Natasha Tynes | Jan 21, 2007 | Everyday me!, Food and Drink
We took my mom out for breakfast to our local IHOP last weekend. All was fine and dandy until the waitress decided to inform me that the kitchen confused my order such that my seafood omelet would be delayed.
The waitress came to our table and then looked at the husband, who had earlier given the waitress all of our orders while mom and I were busy chatting. She glanced at me and then switched back to Jeff. "Does she speak English?" she asked, referring to me.
I guess, somehow something about me said "I do not speak English." Or was it maybe my earlier chatter in Arabic with mom? Oh well!
by Natasha Tynes | Jan 17, 2007 | Jordan, my nation
Jordan’s ancient city Petra was officially declared a candidate Tuesday in the contest to name the new seven wonders of the world at a ceremony amid its rose-colored stone buildings. Contest founder Bernard Weber presented Jordan’s Queen Rania with Petra’s official candidacy at the event that included a presentation on the way the city’s first inhabitants lived.
The New 7 Wonders of the World contest was launched in 2001 by Weber’s Geneva-based NewOpenWorld Foundation, which aims to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments. It relies on private donations and revenue from selling broadcasting rights. Twenty-one sites around the globe are vying to be declared wonders of the world. Source: [The Associated Press]
Well, of course, I’m excited. I’m not surprised, though, as Jordan embarked upon an effective marketing/awareness campaign to encourage people to vote for the ancient site. When I was at the Jordanian embassy here in DC several months ago covering an exhibition on Petra, I was pleased to see fliers encouraging voting for the historic site. I even made mention of this in my article:
The event comes at a time when Petra is competing for a spot in the "New Seven Wonders of the World" competition along with 20 other heritage sites. The competition, organized by the Swiss-based non-profit New 7 Wonders Foundation, is the first international voting campaign seeking to highlight leading cultural and historical treasures deemed worthy of global recognition. Visitors to Vidales’ exhibition were notified of the competition through fliers that were available at the venue. The fliers encouraged voting for Petra.
Jordanian bloggers also deserve some credit for spreading the word. Oh happy day!
by Natasha Tynes | Jan 8, 2007 | Everyday me!, Food and Drink
I haven’t updated this blog for a little bit. The reason: We’ve been busy eating. For the past two weeks or so we have been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of food available for consumption, courtesy of my mom’s cooking and a myriad of dinners that we’ve been invited to by friends and relatives.
A number of my parents’ friends that happen to live in our area have celebrated my parents’ arrival by feeding us copious quantities of wonderful Jordanian/Arabic food. All of my cravings from last year have been sated. So far I have savored Mansaf, Maglubeh, Warg Dawali, Knafeh, Ma3moul, among other delicacies.
We’ve really been humbled by the degree of generosity and kindness we have encountered. My parents were even invited to a dinner by Ajlounieh’s parents, whom they had never met before. Tonight, we are invited to dinner at Leilouta’s place. Arab generosity never ceases to amaze me.
We took my mom out for breakfast to our local IHOP last weekend. All was fine and dandy until the waitress decided to inform me that the kitchen confused my order such that my seafood omelet would be delayed. 
