Day 7

My day started again with mint tea.  It is quite entertaining working in the El Concorde office.  There is an engineer who left his job a few months back.  His mom called the boss at El Concorde and asked if he could have his job back.  His fucking mom!  Keep in mind, this is a college educated, degreed engineer and his mom is asking if he can come back to work.  There is an extreme lack of maturity with the young men over here.  They act like 2 year olds fighting over a lollipop and going to their parents (Ken) to tattle tale on each other.  I am pretty sure it has do with prearranged marriages.  The typical age for the men to get married is around 26 to 27.  So they basically live at home until they are married to someone that their dad picks out.  They typically marry within the tribe to keep money within the tribe.  I am assuming wealth is important to tribal status. 

In the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan water is extremely scarce.  The water system is pressureized certain days a week to ration water use.  The water is stored in sealed tanks on the roof tops.  It is the Arabic culture that they keep the sidewalks in front of their houses clean.  So I have seen, even though water is scarce, them hosing down their sidewalks.  I have a photo of a new pipeline that will bring in water from the aquifer wells in the montains.  This is a million dollar step in bring more water into Amman.

The US government and Germany have given Jordan 2.75 Million MORE dollars to improve infrastructure and fully pressurized water system.  The US and other European nations have an interest in keeping this country clean and safe. 

Back to the cheap labor thing in a previous post.  El Concorde hired me a driver, who acts as a translator, and mediator with the locals.  I am not used to people waiting on me, in fact, I don't even go get my own lunches.  It is nice, but I kinda feel like I am missing out on the cultural experience.

I stopped by the Duty Free store here in Amman today to get some liquor and some smokes for my driver.  The store had no fucking bourbon.  Is it too much to ask to get a bottle of Jimmy Beam?  I had to settle for Jack Daniels.  They have Jim Beam at the hotel, but it is about $17.00 a drink.  Not a bottle, for a drink.  I got stung on that one the first night here.  See Day 1.  American liquor is taxed heavily.  I acually paid $26.00 for a 750 mL of Jack, at least I can get more than two drinks from the bottle.

An engineer at the office can get me handmade Jordanian daggers for 25 JD.  I think I will get one.  I have seen some pictures of them and they are really nice.  The only problem is, this is the same guy that put in his resignation yesterday.  I may not see my 25 JD if decides to not come back to work.  This is a guy that is a constant distraction to the other Jordanian office personel.  He is always talking about his expoits in the US about getting a masters degree at some BS college in San Fran.  I think the school's name is South Eastern San Fransisco State Bay Area Institute of Technology.  Joking, but it is something like that.  He is one of those condescending, know it all types, that has to argue and question people above him when intructed to do a task.

I am being kicked out of my room tomorrow because the are doing maintenace on the whole 17th floor.  WTF?  I am going to be relocated somewhere else in the hotel.  It is just a pain in the ass to pack up my shit and move.  Front desk said I can get the bellhop to help me move.