So we are here and there are many things to write about and yes, I’m very excited. Let me start with the flight from Doha to Amman. It was nearly perfect. For some reason we were upgraded to the business class. Jeff believes it was because we are silver card members in Qatar Airways “Privilege Club,” which gives us most all of the business class benefits, like lounge use. But I’m convinced it was because of my contacts with the airline that let me pick a seat without regard to “class”. Who knows and who cares! We really enjoyed the luxury: video on demand, bed-seats, lots of room!

We were greeted at the airport by my parents, Brigitte, Mark and kids and my dear friend Lana. We went straight to my parent’s place to settle in and distribute the gifts.

But as soon as we got to the house, an earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale hit Amman. Perhaps not surprisingly, we didn’t feel a thing, as the tremor itself was overwhelmed by another earthquake: the greetings and hugging of screaming kids, family and friends. Ah, Jordan, I’m glad to be here!