Daily Life

There are big metal boxes on each rooftop to store the water for the week. On Saturday everyone scrambles to do laundry and take baths while the water is running to refill the tanks; on Sunday we start to conserve again. This morning I was dismayed at the lack of hot water in the shower; turns out I'm supposed to switch on the water heater for 40 minutes before expecting anything, then turn it off so the motor doesn't burn out. The switches are by the front door (!?). Also interesting about the front door is the fact that you have to lock it from the inside with the key just like you unlock it from the outside.

There is no land line operating in the apartment, so I bought a used cell phone today for only 21 dollars. (Yay!) This was after a trip to the bank to exchange money. The taxi driver and I had a typical conversation:

Me: Medina Riyadiah, please.
Driver: Where in Medina Riyadiah?
Me: The bank.
Driver: Which bank do you want to go to?
Me: I don't know. Is there more than one?
Driver: There are five. Which one do you want? Bank A, Bank B?
Me: I don't know. Which one is best?
Driver: Which bank do you want?
Me: It doesn't matter.
Driver: Well, I don't know which bank you want.
Me: I don't know.
Driver: Here we are at the Arab Bank.
Me: What about that other bank?
Driver: We passed that one already.
Me: Ok, this one is fine.....

This was after taking someone's advice to go to Medina Riyadiah and ask for "the bank".

Interaction in the bank:

Me: I'd like to change some money.
Teller: Tlwkejrlekjalkj?
Me: (blank look)
Teller: (smile)

Unfortunately I still can't understand colloquial too well. Hoping to rectify that...

We have a nice balcony from which I can overlook the city- a perfect place to sit and meditate. Of course the pall of smog is quite visible as well. There seem to be no end of noxious smells to partake of. Naturally I have to put on a veil to sit outside, since others can see me from balconies and rooftops.

It's possible to get much more help here than in the U.S. E.g., the bagger at Haboob's grocery will go out to the street carrying your bag and flag down a taxi for you. (Ah, luxury!) There's also a person in the apartment building who takes out the trash (which you leave outside your door) and will even go shopping for you! I'm definitely planning to call on him, especially when I need more bottled water. The way to get hold of him is to pick up the phone and press a certain button. My roomies were cracking up earlier today because they were laboriously explaining to him in Arabic that we need two fans. He must have lost patience, and ended with English: "I come right up." Time to don the veil again.

This neighborhood is called Hayy (or Khay?) al-Kharabsheh, or since there are two Kharabshehs, alternately called by taxi drivers "Kharabsheh al-Ajaanib", the foreigners' Kharabsheh, because so many foreigners have come here to study, and apparently have been coming and going for the last ten years.

Yesterday evening I met the brother of a friend, and the wife of his other brother, and we went with their daughters to the Maronite church on the outskirts of Amman. There were sheep and a donkey pastured next to it. I was able to understand most of the homily, and follow along fairly well in the missal. How nice to get to church, the first time since the fighting started.

For more info on Amman, this article is nice: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amman