jordan: upgrade (plus bidets)

Hearing the alarm ring at 4:30 in the morning and exchanging groggy farewells with the staff of our hostel, we began last week a long and treacherous journey to our salvation, only comparable to our ancestors setting out for Ellis Island. The seven or eight hour bus ride from Cairo to Nuweiba was long and uneventful, as expected. We passed the time by sleeping and staring blankly out at the far-stretching desert. It seemed we would finally escape the trials faced in Egypt.

Arriving in the port of Nuweiba, however, reminded us that we were not yet into international waters. The ticket office for the ferry would have been damn near impossible to find, had we not met some helpful Jordanian students studying in Cairo. Then, we had to wait for hours in the beating sun on hot black concrete. Finally obtaining the tickets, we were waived through a gate and security checkpoint by scary, shouting men with guns. Our Jordanian counterparts, however, were kept behind. For once in our lives, we were glad to have U.S. passports.

The ferry was less long, equally uneventful, and mainly full of Arab emigrates and a crazy old woman who offered us bread and pantomimed instructions to us. Liz and I then proceeded to sneak into Jordan without visas (on accident, mind you) and make our way to Amman.

Ahhhhhh. Jordan. It's so much calmer in contrast, in fact, that—to tell the truth—we've been a bit bored since we've arrived. But, finally finishing up the worst of our two-week long orientation and moving into our respective apartments (in my case) and homestays (in Liz's case), life is, as the LG products that seem to dominate the electronics market in Jordan would say, good. Liz's host mom is a hair stylist and her host dad a make-up artist. It doesn't get much better than that. And they've given my roommate and I an apartment swanky enough for any drug lord. I'll upload pictures of Liz's homestay family as soon as I get them, but for now, check out where the rich people (and me!) live in Amman.

our sitting room. we're not really sure what to do with this.

our oven exploded when the landlady turned it on. i don't think we'll be baking many apple pies.

my king-size bed in my master bedroom.

bidet.

the view from our balcony. yes, we have a balcony.