The year is winding down and several exciting things have
happened.
To begin, my mom and sister came to visit. That was a lot of
fun. They successfully covered all of Jordan in the span of a week. I met them
at the airport and helped them rent a car and then direct them to my house. My
mom got her first taste of driving in Jordan on that ride. She soon realized
that she was the only person on the road using her blinker or following any
signs or speed limits. After spending some days here, she equated driving to
go-karts and I quite agree.
Here’s a list of all the places they saw:
- In Amman: Citadel, Roman Amphitheater, Hashem’s Falafel,
Habiba’s, King Hussein Mosque, The Royal Automobile Museum, City Mall, the
restaurant next to Bab Al-Yemen
- Outside Amman: Wadi Al Seer, Salt, the ruins in Jerash,
Dead Sea, Madaba, Mount Nebo, The Baptism Site, Wadi Rum, Petra
The Jordan River - that's Israel on the other side
The site where Jesus was baptized
I accompanied them almost everywhere, except they did the
Wadi Rum and Petra trip while I was in school. My favorite part of their trip
was our stay overnight in the Dead Sea. We stayed at The Movenpick, which is
the most fabulous hotel/resort I have ever stayed in. My host family has a
cousin that works there so she got us a discount, which was awesome. She also gave us a wonderful fruit basket and a tray of sweets!
The resort was absolutely stunning. Our room had a balcony
and wasn’t too far away from anything in the resort. The Beach Area included a
summer infinity pool, a winter pool (basically a giant hot tub), a kiddie pool
(complete with child-size lounge chairs), an adult infinity pool (next to a bar
area), and the actual Dead Sea. I’ve never seen or swam in an infinity pool and
I have to say, it’s pretty incredible.
The summer infinity pool. It's beach on one side and pool on the other side of the divider.
Sunset at the Dead Sea
I, of course, had not packed for a 5 star resort. Luckily,
my sister, Queen of Fashion, had something suitable I could steal. We had a
Jordanian buffet for dinner, which was delicious. I had been voting for the
Italian restaurant since I have not had real Italian food in a while. But my
mother pointed out she did not fly halfway across the world to eat Italian food
in Jordan. She was right, but still…pasta…cheese…
These next morning we ate a breakfast buffet, which was
delicious. It’s one of the things I miss the most about America. They had cereal!
And doughnuts! And toast with butter! And waffles! And they made me a pancake
in the shape of a turtle! They even had milk! It was wonderful.
My turtle pancake and waffles!
All in all it was great to see them and I’m so glad they
were able to see what my life has been like living here.
My sister and me
My mom and me
Next adventure: Jordanian hospitals.
I ended up in the emergency room very early one morning with
bad stomach pains. They did some testing and I had a parasite (entamoeba
histolytica in case you were wondering) as well as a severe infection. I was in
the ER for a couple hours and then they sent me on my way with five different
prescriptions to take. Overall, my experience there was fine, except there was
no soap in the bathroom. And no toilet seat. The toilet seat was
supposed to come out and around when you pushed a button (so it would be more
sanitary) except the button did not work. Slight issue.
So I went home with my medications and dozed off throughout the
morning. I ate about five noodles for lunch, tried to take my post-meal medication,
and I threw up. Back to the hospital. Except this time we went to a different
one. They admitted me and said I should spend the night. I got hooked up to an
IV and that’s where I stayed for the next 44 hours. My doctor was really
awesome. He made sure I knew everything that was going on and why. The first
night, after the nurse took my temperature, he called me on my cell phone to
let me know that the nurse just informed him I had a slight fever and he was
checking in to see how I feel. I was touched.
I had several visitors over the course of the two days. My
host brother was there the most. He was really great about the whole ordeal. He
brought me my laptop, movies, hairbrush, and clothes. My host mom and Lama came
to visit me as well. My friend Amanda came to visit the first night when I was
still not doing so hot so kudos to her for that. The mom and daughter of the
family I babysit for came to visit me the second night. The girl made me a card
and they brought me a pack of Kit-Kats. I want to thank everyone who came to
visit – it meant a lot to me.
My get well card :)
Little tidbits about hospital #2:
- There was a cockroach in my room but the janitor came and
killed it.
- They did an excellent job cleanliness-wise. My room and
bathroom was mopped and wiped down twice a day. They emptied the trash even
more frequently than that.
- When I had my chest X-ray, I was told to strip down to my
underwear. I left my bra on because it didn’t have any metal. The technician (a
male) told me I had to remove my “breast holder” as well. I found it funny, but
I figure that’s probably the literal translation of the Arabic word for bra.
- I had a balcony and an excellent view of the city;
however, I was connected to an IV in my bed so I couldn’t go on it often.
- The second night, I didn’t have a roommate.
- Also on the second night, two women came into my room,
waved at me, and walked onto the balcony to sit. I wasn’t sure if they were
patients or visitors. The next time the nurse came in I asked her who they
were. She says to me “what people?” and I pointed to the balcony. She then
starts talking (loudly) to them in Arabic. “Why are you here?” “We come here
daily” “It’s not allowed!! Not allowed! There is a sick person here!” …So then
they left.
- There are no visiting hours. You can show up almost
whenever.
- There are no hospital gowns. You can wear your own clothes the whole time.
Only 9 more days and I’ll be back in the US!
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