Sunday, June 21, 2009

Ginormous Bug Bite and the Royal Jordanian Film Comission

Several days ago I got what I thought was a mosquito bite on my achilles tendon.....and by this evening it looks more a bee sting, spider bite or something similar. It doesn't really hurt but i hope this goes away soon because it sure does look funny. If it keeps spreading I'll get it looked it and you know what....going to the doctor and getting treatment is a lot cheaper than in the US so no worries!!

I moved into my apartment with Sine and Nadia yesterday evening. I really loved staying with Melissa and Taurik; they were very helpful and extremely hospitable. I have been told that Middle Easterners are very hospitable but they even exceeded my expectations and now I know that I have a family here who's willing to help me and answer my questions, or eat grilled cheese and watch the Daily Show.

A couple of hours after arriving at the apartment I was introduced to at least six of Nadia and Sine's friends and we all went out for a nice meal to celebrate Sine, Ahmad and Nabeel's birthday. It was my first experience out at traditional restaurant and boy was it tasty. We all shared a spread of hummos, baba ghanouj, tomato and cucumber salad, pita bread, yogurt, pizza's, different meats and of course, tea. Before we left, a chocolate cake was brought out with three fire cracker looking things that were spouting out flames; it looked like it was it straight out of Ace of Cakes. The cake presentation was pretty impressive but I must say, I still prefer sheet cake from Kroger with buttercream frosting. I'm sure I'll find something I like just as much soon.

I'm sitting here chatting here Ahmad, Sine's language partner, and it turns out that he has relatives in Toledo. One of my neighbors works at the organization I contacted here in Amman regarding volunteering several hours a week. Small world.

In twenty minutes, I'm heading out to see part of the refugee film festival put on by the Royal Jordanian Film Comission in partnership with the UNHCR. World Refugee day was yesterday and there seem to be numerous events going on throughout the week. Thursday there is a play put on by Iraqi refugee children regarding their experiences as refugees. Although it's going to be in Arabic, I would like to go and see what I can understand and if I'm lucky, there will be someone there to give me an idea of what's going on. Be prepared for some heavy heart wrenching blogs ahead.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous6/24/2009

    Sounds like a yummy meal! Don't worry, we'll have a nice slice of Kroger cake when you get home :)

    -MaryAnn

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  2. Anonymous6/27/2009

    You are so lucky to have met so many wonderful people. I must say, I am a lot less worried about you now, and being able to read your blogs and see your beautiful photos is very comforting. I'm sure it is for your mom too. Love you.

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  3. Hi Heather,
    Thanks for this post from a few years ago. It is making me feel better. My wife just arrived in Amman (Canadian) and got just such a bite and I figured I'd come online and research it.

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