It was a cool, overcast, rainy day. It is the first day Jordan has had rain in 8 months. You can tell by the roads that is has not rained in a while. It looks like there is a thin sheet of ice on the roads. It was hard getting up hills because the roads were so slick from being wet.
My day started with mint tea, man I love that shit. I could have 20 glasses a day. Went in the field to observe taps being installed on water mains near pump stations and reservoirs. The crews shut of the supply valve for water, weld a hole into the pipe, weld in a threaded tap that contains a check valve, come back later and install devices used to measure flow.
We were working in old Amman. In an area where the poverty stricken live. If you can picture using whatever material you can get to build your home, this is what it looked like. Anything from used sheet metal, to used blocks and mud to fill voids. I saw many buildings with tarps held down with bricks to keep out the water when it rains. I will get photos of these dwellings, it is really something to look at. It is just like you see on National Geographic, or the news. Barefoot kids running around pestering our workers.
I had a Jordanian food call a Filaphia, all vowels are soft. It is basically a beef or chicken rolled into pita style bread. It resembles a chicken or beef soft taco. It is served with different stuff, like cucumbers, olives, some sort or mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. I did also hear that the pita types of bread here are subsidized by the government. You can get 5 kg of bread for 1 JD, or $1.40. If you figure there is 2.2 lbs in 1 kg, that amounts to a great deal of bread for very cheap. That helps out the very poor people.
I was talking to a local. He saw a picture of our two dogs Molly and Titan. He commented that he had two German Shepherds and some sort of English lapdog. The Muslim religion requires that dogs must stay separate from the praying area of the home. So, no dogs are allowed in the house. He told me that if a dog licks your hands or face, that you must wash your hands and your face 7 times before you eat, drink, or pray. WOW. My dogs lick the shit out of me, and they also live in the house. I will wash my hands once before eating, and after using the restroom, but I don't wash my face. Unless of course it's a wet, slobbery kiss. All dog owners know that type of kiss, the one that catches you by surprise.
FYI, it is 5:30 PM here, and it is dark already.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Day 4
Today is the Sabbath Day for the Jordanians, so traffic was nil because nobody was working. I went for coffee with Ken and a client around lunch time, and then Ken and I drove down to the First Circle. By the way, Ken is a ADS cohort that is based out the Erlanger Office. He has been in Amman a few years.
Amman is laid out as "The Circles" being geographic locations. The First Circle is old Amman, where the city was first settled. No, I don't know the year. The First Circle has many English speaking people and is a tourist area. I saw a place called Chili Way, and Ken told me it was very similar to a Gold Star. HELL YEAH, can get my chili fix. They also have a pancake and waffle joint called the Bake House. The First Circle is on a hill side, with the Roman Citadel on the hill directly on the other side. There is about a 500' elevation difference, but you can't tell because the hillsides are littered with roof top restaurants.
The Roman Citadel has ruins and an amphitheatre dating back to 1 AD. Back in the Jesus days. A great deal of what is written in the bible took place within 100 miles of this location. JC's baptism site, the incarceration and execution of John the Baptist, Mt. Nebo where Moses led the people from Egypt to the Promised Land, and much more.
The "Circles" are basically roundabouts with a bypasses that goes underneath the four way intersection. The Circles get progressively larger the father away from downtown Amman. For example, my hotel is located near the Third Circle. The further away from the first circle, the newer the buildings are.
I also got to see the apartment that I will be moving into next week. It is in an embassy area, so there are armed guards at each corner of the block. El Concord, the sub contractor has hired another security guard outside of the building. He gets paid 40 JD a week because of the long hours. That works out to about $70.00. Ken told me the guy that does maintenance at the building washes his car also for 1 JD inside and out. He makes 15 JD (about $26.00) a week and that is considered a good salary in Jordan. So, if you think you don't get paid enough in the US, you need to quit bitching. Think about this for a second. The average lunch with a Pepsi or Coke, runs from 6 to 7 JD. (About $10 to $12) I have no idea how the maintenance man supports a family.
The apartment is nice. It is a fully furnished, 3 bedroom, 2 bath,with a full kitchen. It is about 850 sq ft. so it is much bigger than the hotel room. It already has a new mattress, new curtains, linens, wireless Internet, and satellite TV. The only things I will need to purchase is laundry detergent, and groceries. It has a balcony for all bedrooms and living room that has a fantastic view of the city. I will provide photos once I move in. The good part is, the apartment is all mine. I will not be sharing with anyone else. It is within walking distance of 3 or 4 supermarkets, a large shopping area, and English bars. It is located near Sixth Circle.
The US media portrays this area as there is a suicide bomber on every corner. Simply not the case. The four days that I have been here, I have seen nothing but generous, respectful people, that will bend over backward to help you out. Jordan has always had the tendency to avoid conflict and war, it has been that way for hundreds of years. Jordan is a safe haven for Western negotiations with the rest of the Middle Eastern countries. In some ways, they are like Switzerland.
Amman is laid out as "The Circles" being geographic locations. The First Circle is old Amman, where the city was first settled. No, I don't know the year. The First Circle has many English speaking people and is a tourist area. I saw a place called Chili Way, and Ken told me it was very similar to a Gold Star. HELL YEAH, can get my chili fix. They also have a pancake and waffle joint called the Bake House. The First Circle is on a hill side, with the Roman Citadel on the hill directly on the other side. There is about a 500' elevation difference, but you can't tell because the hillsides are littered with roof top restaurants.
The Roman Citadel has ruins and an amphitheatre dating back to 1 AD. Back in the Jesus days. A great deal of what is written in the bible took place within 100 miles of this location. JC's baptism site, the incarceration and execution of John the Baptist, Mt. Nebo where Moses led the people from Egypt to the Promised Land, and much more.
The "Circles" are basically roundabouts with a bypasses that goes underneath the four way intersection. The Circles get progressively larger the father away from downtown Amman. For example, my hotel is located near the Third Circle. The further away from the first circle, the newer the buildings are.
I also got to see the apartment that I will be moving into next week. It is in an embassy area, so there are armed guards at each corner of the block. El Concord, the sub contractor has hired another security guard outside of the building. He gets paid 40 JD a week because of the long hours. That works out to about $70.00. Ken told me the guy that does maintenance at the building washes his car also for 1 JD inside and out. He makes 15 JD (about $26.00) a week and that is considered a good salary in Jordan. So, if you think you don't get paid enough in the US, you need to quit bitching. Think about this for a second. The average lunch with a Pepsi or Coke, runs from 6 to 7 JD. (About $10 to $12) I have no idea how the maintenance man supports a family.
The apartment is nice. It is a fully furnished, 3 bedroom, 2 bath,with a full kitchen. It is about 850 sq ft. so it is much bigger than the hotel room. It already has a new mattress, new curtains, linens, wireless Internet, and satellite TV. The only things I will need to purchase is laundry detergent, and groceries. It has a balcony for all bedrooms and living room that has a fantastic view of the city. I will provide photos once I move in. The good part is, the apartment is all mine. I will not be sharing with anyone else. It is within walking distance of 3 or 4 supermarkets, a large shopping area, and English bars. It is located near Sixth Circle.
The US media portrays this area as there is a suicide bomber on every corner. Simply not the case. The four days that I have been here, I have seen nothing but generous, respectful people, that will bend over backward to help you out. Jordan has always had the tendency to avoid conflict and war, it has been that way for hundreds of years. Jordan is a safe haven for Western negotiations with the rest of the Middle Eastern countries. In some ways, they are like Switzerland.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Day 3
Day started off the same as it did yesterday. Traffic was a bit busy this morning being the day before the Sabbath Day. Arrived at the office, and was served the morning hot tea with mint leaves, then of course coffee at Starbucks with a client. Had a meeting with the client at the El Concorde fabrication shop with more hot tea with mint leaves. This is like a Friday in the states, but the workers only work until 2:00 for their six day work week.
There was not much that happened today. I actually had a Jordanian lunch called a Saj. It is basically a type of bread and the method they cook it. They cook this wrap of a round grill called a Saj, I guess this is why they call it a Saj. It is like a long fried chicken wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, funky ass pickles, and condiments. A local told me that it was spicy, and to me it wasn't even closed to spicy. I don't think that the translation of spicy here Arabic is what it means in English. I could have brought over a bottle of hot sauce that would have lit their assholes on fire. They haven't tasted spicy.
Another observation that I made today. The women here do not serve in restaurants, hotels, or bars. It is a very interesting culture. I came beck to the hotel early today and notice that the housekeepers that were cleaning my room were men. Muslim men don't want their women being seen by other men.
There was not much that happened today. I actually had a Jordanian lunch called a Saj. It is basically a type of bread and the method they cook it. They cook this wrap of a round grill called a Saj, I guess this is why they call it a Saj. It is like a long fried chicken wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, funky ass pickles, and condiments. A local told me that it was spicy, and to me it wasn't even closed to spicy. I don't think that the translation of spicy here Arabic is what it means in English. I could have brought over a bottle of hot sauce that would have lit their assholes on fire. They haven't tasted spicy.
Another observation that I made today. The women here do not serve in restaurants, hotels, or bars. It is a very interesting culture. I came beck to the hotel early today and notice that the housekeepers that were cleaning my room were men. Muslim men don't want their women being seen by other men.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Day 2
I am slowly learning that the sense of urgency does not exist in this culture, except from driving. The drivers here are HORRIBLE! They have no sense of spatial awareness. Other cars will run up on you with no regard or sense to your vehicle. I was constantly hearing skidding, locking up the brakes, and horn happy fuckers. I guess I would be horn happy if I had to drive in this madness. I need to pay attention and beware when crossing the street.
When I arrived at the El Concorde - ADS offices here this morning, the day started of with a cup of hot tea with mint leaves. Very delicious. The offices have servants! I am shocked at what these "laborers" do for the office folks. Their only job is too make tea or coffee, and take out the trash at the end of the day. It is like indentured service, with not very well paid people. They are considered a lower class of citizen, we not even allowed to associate with them. That means no lunches with them, and no after work dinner drinks.
After arriving at the office, and talking work for about 30 minutes, it was time for coffee at Starbucks down the block. By this time, half the morning is gone. The people here are very relaxed when it come to work. This goes back to the first sentence. Keep reading....
Had a meeting with the client today. We talked about getting our equipment out of Customs. This is how it works. The client needs to draft a letter. The letter is sent to Water Authority of Jordan WAJ. From there, it needs a total of 8 stamps and signatures. Ink style stamps like when you get your passport stamped. This letter sometimes gets delivered to the next person to stamp and sign, most of the time it ends on sitting on a desk in limbo. I can foresee that is someone's job to hand this letter to the next person, and it is not getting done. Wait, I am not done. As it gets passed thought these 8 people it needs to be signed by the HNIC at WAJ. Then the letter might get released to the customs officials. ADS has had this letter drafted and sent to WAJ for over a month, and it still missing signatures and stamps.
Once it gets to customs, there is a 48 hour window when the property can be retrieved. This also may include a handful of Jordanian Dollars to "expedite" the process. Known as "slicking the hand".
Went to the Jordanian equivalent of Best Buy called Smart Buy. I got a prepaid phone for local calls. In case I am involved in an accident, I can call the office guys. I just found out today, that if you are in an car accident, and someone gets hurt, no matter whose fault it is, the police will lock you up. They do this for your protection from the opposing family. The opposing family has the RIGHT to seek revenge from you within 72 hours. The whole eye for an eye thing. Isn't that fucking crazy? It seems like this being the law, that drivers would be more careful.
When I arrived at the El Concorde - ADS offices here this morning, the day started of with a cup of hot tea with mint leaves. Very delicious. The offices have servants! I am shocked at what these "laborers" do for the office folks. Their only job is too make tea or coffee, and take out the trash at the end of the day. It is like indentured service, with not very well paid people. They are considered a lower class of citizen, we not even allowed to associate with them. That means no lunches with them, and no after work dinner drinks.
After arriving at the office, and talking work for about 30 minutes, it was time for coffee at Starbucks down the block. By this time, half the morning is gone. The people here are very relaxed when it come to work. This goes back to the first sentence. Keep reading....
Had a meeting with the client today. We talked about getting our equipment out of Customs. This is how it works. The client needs to draft a letter. The letter is sent to Water Authority of Jordan WAJ. From there, it needs a total of 8 stamps and signatures. Ink style stamps like when you get your passport stamped. This letter sometimes gets delivered to the next person to stamp and sign, most of the time it ends on sitting on a desk in limbo. I can foresee that is someone's job to hand this letter to the next person, and it is not getting done. Wait, I am not done. As it gets passed thought these 8 people it needs to be signed by the HNIC at WAJ. Then the letter might get released to the customs officials. ADS has had this letter drafted and sent to WAJ for over a month, and it still missing signatures and stamps.
Once it gets to customs, there is a 48 hour window when the property can be retrieved. This also may include a handful of Jordanian Dollars to "expedite" the process. Known as "slicking the hand".
Went to the Jordanian equivalent of Best Buy called Smart Buy. I got a prepaid phone for local calls. In case I am involved in an accident, I can call the office guys. I just found out today, that if you are in an car accident, and someone gets hurt, no matter whose fault it is, the police will lock you up. They do this for your protection from the opposing family. The opposing family has the RIGHT to seek revenge from you within 72 hours. The whole eye for an eye thing. Isn't that fucking crazy? It seems like this being the law, that drivers would be more careful.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Day 1
Got to the CVG airport and shot the shit with and old buddy that works at Wolfgang-Puck. I have known him from previous travels. Flight to JFK was slightly delayed, about 40 minutes. I originally booked an exit row seat for quick and easy access to restroom in case some heavy drinking went on beforehand. The flight to JFK was empty, so I ended up with an entire exit row to myself. I got the window seat also. I flew over our house, and I cannot believe how close we are to Scott High School. No wonder I can hear the marching band playing sometimes in my backyard.
At CVG, waiting for the plane to board, I was sitting next to an older woman who was a stroke victim, on her way to Israel for more spiritual healing on a mission trip. WOW she was very nice, but on a whole different religious level than me.
I thought that JFK was kind of a shithole, very rundown with cramped terminals, and rude ass TSA staff. I finally got out of there.
The flight to Amman was LONG. I got no sleep, but was entertained by some new release movies. I finally get to the hotel around 5:30 Jordan time, 10:00 AM Eastern time and fell straight asleep.
I was awakened by the front desk asking me if everything was OK with my room. I know she was trying to be nice, but it pissed me off.
I got cleaned up and proceeded to explore the hotel because my Internet did not work. I didn't bring a LAN cable, and the one in the room didn't work. I also think I blew out one of the electric sockets here in the room. OOPS! As you can tell, I got a new cable from the front desk.
It is unreal the security at this hotel. The tested the car for gunpowder residue and ran it through a scanner before we could get to the main entrance. Myself and my bags were ran through a scanner, just like security at the airport. I guess that is one way to keep violence down in Jordan. It appears to be a nice city, everything seems to be under construction. There are some badass cars here, I have already seen a couple of Ferrari's, Maserati's, and high end Mercedes.
Went to one of the bars here at the hotel, spent about $100.00 on 5 Beam and Cokes. My asshole puckered when I saw that check.
I think I was getting solicited by a Russian prostitute. She was trying to talk to me in (drunk) broken English and trying to get me to buy her a drink. Keep in mind, the only thing that I did understand out of her mouth was that she had cirrhosis of the liver. WTF, and you want me to buy you a drink? I promptly left after that masquerade. The bartender apologized and said she needed to be thrown out.
I need to be in the lobby at 8:00 AM tomorrow, so I am about to hit the sack.
At CVG, waiting for the plane to board, I was sitting next to an older woman who was a stroke victim, on her way to Israel for more spiritual healing on a mission trip. WOW she was very nice, but on a whole different religious level than me.
I thought that JFK was kind of a shithole, very rundown with cramped terminals, and rude ass TSA staff. I finally got out of there.
The flight to Amman was LONG. I got no sleep, but was entertained by some new release movies. I finally get to the hotel around 5:30 Jordan time, 10:00 AM Eastern time and fell straight asleep.
I was awakened by the front desk asking me if everything was OK with my room. I know she was trying to be nice, but it pissed me off.
I got cleaned up and proceeded to explore the hotel because my Internet did not work. I didn't bring a LAN cable, and the one in the room didn't work. I also think I blew out one of the electric sockets here in the room. OOPS! As you can tell, I got a new cable from the front desk.
It is unreal the security at this hotel. The tested the car for gunpowder residue and ran it through a scanner before we could get to the main entrance. Myself and my bags were ran through a scanner, just like security at the airport. I guess that is one way to keep violence down in Jordan. It appears to be a nice city, everything seems to be under construction. There are some badass cars here, I have already seen a couple of Ferrari's, Maserati's, and high end Mercedes.
Went to one of the bars here at the hotel, spent about $100.00 on 5 Beam and Cokes. My asshole puckered when I saw that check.
I think I was getting solicited by a Russian prostitute. She was trying to talk to me in (drunk) broken English and trying to get me to buy her a drink. Keep in mind, the only thing that I did understand out of her mouth was that she had cirrhosis of the liver. WTF, and you want me to buy you a drink? I promptly left after that masquerade. The bartender apologized and said she needed to be thrown out.
I need to be in the lobby at 8:00 AM tomorrow, so I am about to hit the sack.
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