Halleluja!

Looooook what IIIIII got todaaaaaaay!:

 

Boo-Yah!

So the airline website said they had my luggage but wouldn't respond to my emails. Since I am supposed to work tomorrow (maybe) I decided to suck it up and make an excursion to the airport, about a forty minute drive. I went down to the taxi station because I knew I could get a fair price, only to find no cars and one old man behind the counter who didn't speak a word of English. After a great deal of pantomiming and flipping frantically through my Arabic phrase book, as well as a few failed interpreters, he finally understood that I wanted to go to the airport (MaTaur! MaTaur!) but didn't have a flight; and I finally understood that he was hard of sight and hearing. After he called for a cab he sat next to me and encouraged me to practice some Arabic. We had a struggled, and extremely simple conversation, and he gave me a high five when I busted out an "Insha Allah," in regards to my lost luggage. When the taxi driver arrived, the first thing I asked him was if he spoke English. He laughed, "Of course!" and we were off.

 Ahmed, my cab driver was the man! We talked about everything: our favorite cars, houses in Jordan compared to America, the Arab revolutions, Mubarak's trial, Palestine, the history of Jordan, how Saudis have more money than they know what to do with, bridges to Jerusalem,the population of North Carolina, olive trees, roman ruins, new construction in Amman, Obama's trip to Saudi Arabia and a million other things I can't remember. I learned that Ahmed used to work for the city water commission in Khartoum, Sudan. He had an interesting take on the recent split of South Sudan. "Country is stronger together. Like the states United. How many you have? Fifty yes? Fifty states united, one president. Say this is wood." He took out a plastic shoehorn from the glove box. "Is example. Wood is strong together. But if cut in half, not as strong. Arab countries used to be like this, one president. You travel without passport. Now not as good." I think I got the gist of what he was saying. We also listened to some Arabic hip-hop which Ahmed really seemed to enjoy.

Traveling all the way across Amman I also learned that people here drive like crazy and do not obey traffic laws.

This is just a suggestion.

Ahmed got very angry when he saw an undercover cop.

When we got to the airport Ahmed really came through for me. He came in with me and helped me navigate the insane and intricate bureaucracy that is the Queen Alia Airport. For some reason the Saudi airlines had to stamp my paperwork. After many signatures, security checks, and a pat down, I had my bags. Ahmed gave me his number and said he would drive me anytime. He suggested that I go see Wadi Rum when the moon is "complete." Needless to say, he got a very good tip. Also: police in Jordan have BIG guns, especially at the airport.

I saw some camels but was too busy cit-chatting to get a picture.

After I got back I went apartment hunting with Roland. We looked at an AMAZING place. Seriously the best apartment I've ever been able to afford. Fully furnished, huge, and the landlord even offered to replace the TV with an LCD big screen to sweeten the deal. Here's the view from the roof:

Man I hope we get this place.

So now I have all my clothes, my toiletries and my razor. All in all a good day. Alhamdulillah!

Oh yeah, and I saw a one-eyed cat:

There are stray cats everywhere.