Day 25

Some of the things that go on here in Amman never cease to amaze me.  There are these trucks that drive around and deliver propane tanks.  They play music over a loudspeaker like an ice cream truck.  You hear this peppy music coming down the street and it is not ice cream, it is a fucking gas truck. 
The locals have asked me what I put in my mouth.  I explained to them simply as possible that it is "Smokeless Tobacco", like cigarette tobacco that doesn't burn because it is moist.  They have never seen smokeless tobacco before.  They call my dip chewing gum.  I had a chuckle about that.
There is a McDonald's near my apartment, along with a Burger King, Popeye's, KFC, Hardees, Applebees, Fridays, Fuddruckers, and Chili Way (Same as Gold Star).  The Gold Star Chili Recipe was copied by for Jordanian brothers from Skyline, Dixie Chili, and Empress Chili back in 1964, 1965.  Two guys came back to Jordan with the recipe for the chili.  They had an altercation, and went two ways.  One guy runs Chili Way, and the other runs Chili Express.  I was talking to the guy that owns Chili Way near my apartment, and he was surprised to hear that I was from the Cincinnati area.  He told me that he spent 15 years in Cincy and the guys that run the Gold Stars in Cincy are his cousins. 
We had lunch for the first time at McDonald's.  I was asking my driver what the medium sized black bags were for.  The driver told me that they were delivery bags.  They were swapping them out on some sort of charger, I guess to keep your Big Mac Combo warm as it is being delivered on a bike.  I have never been to NYC, but I imagine it being like Chinese Delivery.  The receipt has a McDelivery number on the top.  How about that shit?  You can get super sized without leaving your house!  I bet the liquor stores would deliver beer for a JD or two.

Since I have been moved into the apartment, I am back to the old school way of drying my clothes.  Since the air is so dry and windy in this area, the clothes dry in about an hour.  I stick them on a clothes rack with clothes pins.  I set those wet bitches on the balcony, and they are dry an hour later.  It is kinda nice having your clothes dry in fresh air. 

It is Olive Season here in Jordan.  The farmers put plastic down around the bottom of the trees, then they whack the tree and pick up the olives that fall out.  It is really quite entertaining to watch this procedure.  Just because you are not whacking, doesn't mean that olives are not still falling.  A couple of engineers in the office have olive groves.  I can get fresh pressed olive oil from the office folks, I just need to ask for a small can, or I will get a 5 gallon can.