We arrived, and have wandered

We are in Amman! Finally home again, at our new post, after a rather long summer. Oh, we had a very nice summer, but it was a long time to be ‘in transit’. It is so good to be ‘stopped’!

Our flights were wonderful and we arrived in the evening shortly before sunset so we were able to see a little of the city before it got dark. I felt bad for our very friendly driver because he was late to his evening meal. Iftar, the breaking of the fast, occurred about the time we arrived; our flight was delayed an hour. We saw families who had stopped their cars beside the road to have their meals – some with small BBQ’s going.

Many people had told us that it was very dry and brown here, it is a desert(!), but we were surprised that it is actually quite green and the rolling hills are very pretty. There are a lot of trees, and clear blue skies. We’ve also had quite a bit of cool rain and pleasant breezes in the few days we’ve been here.

Our first day here was extra busy as we were headed into the Eid holiday. The Holy month of Ramadhan has come to an end and families are traveling and celebrating. Everything closes. We were able to accomplish quite a lot in the one day, including visiting the kids’ new school, shopping, new phones, internet, etc., but for the weekend, we have simply been chilling out and getting used to things. A very relaxing way to make a new start!

Our new home is lovely. We had been advised that some homes were small, that there was limited storage, etc., but I suppose that depends on what you are used to. We just spent the last five years in an apartment, that, while a good size for our family, had very cramped living areas. The living room and dining room were small and it was really difficult to have more than one friend/family over at a time.  Not so in this place! There are less rooms, but the rooms we have here are so much more functional! They’re more ‘livable’. We have the same issued furniture as we did at our last post – familiar for the kids! – and I cannot wait until we get our stuff so we can start personalizing. I wanted to get some photos of the kids checking out our new home, but they were so excited and ran around too fast to photograph!

Here is Honor-blur romping through the living room. I missed Brian as he zoomed out of the picture to the left.

The kids ran off and claimed their rooms before we even got back to see them. Good! No squabbling at all over who got what!

I have the big kitchen I had my fingers crossed for.  I have lived, yes, and have even functioned well, in itty-bitty tiny windowless kitchens, the size where you can touch cabinets on either side of the room without shifting your feet. But I like to cook and I have a lot of cooking stuff… it’s so nice to have a place to store and use it!

… and after living in a 3rd floor apt for 5 years with full sun/miniscule balconies, and a cramped hallway entry, both of which prevented us from having any real, personal, outdoor space at all, here, we have a garden!

We have also managed to get out into the city a bit. I love all the flags we see around town.

.. as well as the various artwork everywhere.

There are a bunch of familiar sights :)

And not so familiar… are we at Space Mountain?

We’ve seen a number of beautiful mosques.

and churches

We are finding that everything is very well signed! Now we just have to learn our place names so we know what all the signs are referring to.

Before our first day had ended, the kids asked if we could extend this assignment. I think they are glad to be ‘home’ again. (We are too.) I’ll sign off with a few more photos of the spectacular views we’ve seen driving near the city, and see if you agree with them.

 

(coming soon: photos of Jerash!)

PS: Admin note: I found about 14 comments in my comment moderation bin - I didn't know I had one of those as I don't moderate. Sorry if you thought I was ignoring you. All lost comments have been published. Thanks!