Ahlaan wasahlaan (welcome to Jordan)

Yes, we've decided to do that thing I swore we wouldn't do... the family blog. First and foremost, it's a place for us to remember our time here. Even if no one reads it, this will serve as a sort of scrapbook for us.  But there are a few people, mostly family probably, that want to hear more than our (Amanda's) frequent posts on Facebook and we can use this blog to explain things in more detail.  Also, as my friend Jennifer said to me the other day, there are things that we see and experience every day here that are beginning to seem ordinary to us, but they're not ordinary. We are living in the middle of the Middle East, and we are getting to know this country and region in a way few people will ever get to and so we'll try to share some of the more interesting things, or our piece of the Middle East.

We've been living here in Amman for just over two months now, six months for Preston, and we are officially now past the honeymoon period where everything was exciting and new and we were running on adrenaline. We are really enjoying it still, but it feels like home now, or at least home away from home, and no longer like a long vacation.  It's actually a bit of a weird limbo to be in -- we know this is not our permanent home and yet we want to dig in and build community while at the same time we are sort of acting like tourists and taking advantage of everything the country and the region has to offer. So far we seem to be walking that line pretty well. After traveling here for years, Preston knows a lot of people. But I was also lucky to make some great friends almost upon arrival through a Facebook group for international women in Amman, and since then, a few more at the school.

So, first a bit about everyday life here.  When we told people we were moving here, we pretty much universally got one of two reactions:  I'm so jealous...I wish my family could go on an international adventure. OR Oh my gosh, aren't you scared to live over there. Will you feel safe?

Years ago, I would have had that second reaction as well but since Preston's been traveling here for work for so many years, and we had the chance to visit Jordan ourselves for vacation last year, I didn't have a single worry about coming here.  I feel like the chances or risk of something happening here are the same (or less?) as in the States and on top of that it's been a relief not to feel the stress of daily gun violence. I had really gotten to the point at home in DC where it was something that was on my mind on a daily basis and there was an ongoing fear just below the surface whenever Preston and I, or the whole family, went to big events like the U2 concert, the National Christmas Tree lighting, opening night of Star Wars, etc. I don't have that fear here. This weekend I went to a Jordanian vineyard less than 15 miles from the Syrian border, on a regular basis I take Uber around the city, we walk home at night in the dark, sometimes alone.  All of these are things I never imagined doing just two months ago, but the people and the lifestyle of Jordan have been such a welcome surprise that we already feel quite comfortable here, while being smart and cautious about certain things the same way you would anywhere.

That being said there were a few things I had to get used to in terms of how they tackle security here. The first night we arrived in Amman, we pulled up to our house and there were two armed guards waiting out front. That was a coincidence because they don't guard our house specifically, but rather, our block, and they rotate where they stand. Although we don't live in a compound, we have many diplomats in our neighborhood, which is about the same size, or slightly smaller than our neighborhood at home, and there are probably about ten pairs of guards that roam that area. They wear bullet proof vests, carry machine guns and their presence, for now, is more reassuring than not.

The school buses that take the children to the many schools around Amman all have logos emblazoned on their sides, except for our school... the American School. This is also a safety precaution, and parents are told that the buses purposefully change their routes on a regular basis to avoid being followed. The American School was also built next to a mosque, strategically of course, to keep it safe. There are guards outside the school and the kids practice drills like they do in the US in case of active shooters. When you go to the mall or a grocery store, your car trunk is checked and your door handle is swiped for explosives.  These are all things you notice once and then they become ordinary.

Our neighborhood is a bit hilly and excellent for some mildly challenging morning and evening walks which we do each day.  In addition to passing the guards, the other constant feature in our neighborhood are the apartment managers, or bawabs as they are called here, who go out early in the morning to wash the cars.  Every building has a bawab who is responsible for taking out the trash, maintaining the gardens and donning rubber boots and carrying a bucket to try to counter the constant assault of dust on everything. You have to sweep the house every day here and you get piles, literally, piles of fine gray sand that permeates window screens, grabs onto shoes, coats ... everything.  Ironically, it doesn't seem to bother Gus's asthma at all which leads be to believe its more of a mildew in DC that is a problem for him. Okay, I digress. If you've read this far, I promise in the next installment I'll tackle something more interesting than dust and security. Here's a shot our the guards on our block.  And here's an interesting story on the Bawabs of Cairo.