WELCOME TO AMMAN - OUR FIRST COUPLE OF WEEKS

As you might know we have recently moved to Amman, Jordan, and are slowly settling in. It doesn’t feel like home yet, but it will.

It takes time after each move to really feel settled. You need to find the grocery store, the Embassy, the (swimming) school, make new friends. You need to figure out what you can buy (coffee) and what you need to make yourself (pizza dough). Once you solve these logistical puzzles, you can throw yourself into exploring far and wide but so far we are enjoying every minute of our new adventure.

With fashion in mind, there is a lot to be said. The main, and most commonly talked about concern, is that of the female dress.

Amman is definitely liberal to an extent; you will find Jordanian women dressed in anything from the Niqab (fully covering attire, save for a modest slit for the eyes), to stereotypical western clothing (the exception being that arms and legs are covered most of the time). The recommendation for westerners is not to go native on this one. Dress modestly, covering bare arms, legs and chest and you’ll be fine. This won’t make you invisible from the stares I find! I still stand out being tall and blond.

We didnt have a car the first couple of days, so Alexander and I explored the city by taxi. I noticed a large part of appearing at ease with Amman is down to self-confidence in the trials of navigation. When in the taxi (the preferred mode of transportation) I found it hard to hide my panic as I struggled to locate their non-existent seat belts. It is also wise, upon finding a taxi, to make sure they switch on the meter after you get in. I made this mistake a couple of times and ended up paying 10 times the usual price. I learned as well to not accept a fixed price, as this will always be higher than the actual journey cost.

With regards to actually finding your way around, you must first overcome a somewhat unnatural obstacle; there are some maps, but no one adheres to them. So my only choice is getting acquainted with the local landmarks as these will act as homing beacons for your drivers.

Apart from hopping in and out of taxi’s in Amman we also already went on our first trip! We drove to the Dead Sea! I was surprised by how much the Dead Sea stings! I guess it makes sense. Alexander had a couple of mosquito bites on his arms and legs so he was all about heading back to the childrens pool. I had a Dead Sea mud wrap and I will tell you that stuff is MAGICAL.

Something I noticed in the past 3 weeks is that Jordanian people adore children. Everywhere we went people would offer assistance, they have such patience for normal child shenanigans and you can just see the joy in their eyes. I can’t express to you strongly enough how overwhelming the sense of the value of family is in Jordan.

I hope that you will consider taking your family to visit Jordan (please get in touch if you do decide to come this way!) This country is the ideal place to experience the middle east in a safe environment with modern amenities and a strong tourism infrastructure. Seeing my son try new foods, hearing him say “thank you” in Arabic (“shokran”), and feeling his little heart grow as his worldview expanded exponentially in just a matter of days – well, it is life changing, for my husband and I, and certainly for him. I wish you all such magical experiences!

Soon more about our new adventure! Have a lovely Sunday!