First Days in Jordan

I arrived in Jordan safely. The Royal Jordanian flight was very good and it was easy to move through customs. From departure through customs took only ten minutes. I had an easy ride into the city to settle into the Jesuit Center. A good night's sleep ensued.

Last night, I could not sleep at all. I finally fell asleep around 6:00 a.m., which rearranged my plans for the day. I awoke around noon. I hope I can fall asleep earlier tonight. Because Friday is the first day of the weekend, vendors set up tents in the open air market below. Activity ceased around 1:00 a.m., but one car had its panic alarm sounding off until early this morning.

I drove the car today through Amman's Streets. I traveled to Jabal Webdeih, which is the French-settled area. French cafes and pastry shops still operate there. One of our churches is located in this section right off of Paris Square. I hope to find a coffee house here for regular visits.

I drove to Sports City and was much surprised at what I found. Gate 2 is an open entrance way and it leads to public swimming pools. It certainly looked inviting. I was trying to find the walking trails, but instead I came across Petra Stadium where soccer is played. Many ball fields are around, but mostly kids play soccer in the streets. The tennis and basketball courts were filled with soccer games. I can see there is more activity in the park and I'll try to get there for daily exercise walks. Jordanians can be proud of this facility. Now, if they could only keep the place clean, it would be a jewel for the city.

I navigated the streets just fine. It is macho driving and Boston driving has prepared me well. I visited the nearby Toledo Hotel, which appears to be a fine hotel for guest. I might even use the pool in the building. I'm glad to begin to connect the dots in this sprawling city. Most of the buildings are white because they are either limestone or marble. There are quite a few attractive house designs, but the infrastructure of the city needs safety work and  beautification. Night-time though is when the city looks nice. The laser lights beamed onto buildings adds a refreshing splash of color. The evening temperatures hover around 70 degree Fahrenheit and there are no amounts of bugs or mosquitos to interrupt a roof deck meditation.

The television shows are wanting. We get six or seven news stations and after an hour and a half, I remarked to my community member, "We've just watched depressing news. I feel down." One CNN show was on human trafficking in Northern Sinai, mostly of Eritreans. Brutal torture and extortion are common among migrant workers. Fortunately, most of the harvesting of organs has ceased. Another show was about trash harvesting in Mozambique; a third show was about successful innovation of trash harvesting by Egyptians in the massive trash sections of the city. All the while, the commercials were dotted with appeals to a wealthy, comfortable lifestyle.

It is 9:00 p.m. and the vendors are busy at work taking down their market tents. I hope I fall asleep relatively soon.