We're bacckkkkk!!!

We're back!  Honestly, I have a really good excuse this time for my delay in blog posts.  Bill found us a much better internet provider today, but lately we have had horrible internet service! Imagine it is the year 1996. Dial up internet. Except worse.  Seriously.  I timed a Facebook post the other night and it took 18 minutes. Insane!  So you can see why there was no way in BLEEP I was going to attempt a blog post.

This may also have contributed to why I had such a rough couple days last week.  It started with a few text messages received early morning from various family members. You know the type..I miss you, I miss the girls, etc.  Followed by a stressful day at work.  Followed by hearing from expat friends about families and friends coming to visit and realizing that the likelihood of our family coming to visit is slim to none.  All of this combined with the fact that I couldn't Skype or Facetime anyone back home b/c of our crappy internet made for a difficult end to the week. In fact, I am sure it was the feeling of being cut off from the family and not being able to be in touch when I needed to be.  We are somewhat used to being away from the family for long durations of time. There were multiple years where we were the only ones living in Colorado (Bill's son and family are there now) and we only got home to see our CA family once, at most twice a year.  However, if I really needed to get home I could jump on a plane and be there in a matter of hours.  Whatever the case, I've moved past this, and although I still miss the family and friends back home, we know we will truly appreciate and value the time we will have together this summer. Errr... after touring Europe, spending a few days in New York, and.. you get the picture ;-)

So, what's going on here in Jordan? We are settling in. Getting used to being here, and are starting to get routines in place.  Also planning some fun trips,because as you may remember it is our dream to see the world and share it with the girls.  Next weekend we will be visiting some of the Jordan tourist sites through the awesome efforts of the social committee at school.  We are headed to Aqaba, Wadi Rum, and Petra- oh, and camping overnight.  Should be quite the adventure!

The following week is the Eid holiday. We are off to the island of Cyprus for 5 days/4 nights, again organized through the school social committee. A fantastic price we just couldn't pass up! Looking forward to some beach and pool time.. relaxation! We are also planning our Christmas break trip- Italy to celebrate our 10 year anniversary! So excited about all that we have coming up. The other day I was thinking about my childhood, and how different my kid's childhoods are.  The first time I left the state of CA I was 17 and that was only to nearby Nevada.  By December, Hailee will have visited 5 countries, and Charlee 4. Who would've thought??

To end this post, I thought I'd mention a few differences (the not so obvious ones b/c obviously there are differences living in another country and different culture)

-8.10.12 is October 8, 2012 not August 10, 2012

-Metric system (Seriously America, why do we have to be so difficult?  Everyone else in the world uses metric. Why again do we use two systems??).  My issue is I used it so rarely in the states I have to train my brain to 'think' in metric. 

-When women greet each other, we kiss on both cheeks.  Guys often do the same.

- Driving is crazy. I'm not even sure why there are lines painted on the roads because no one actually uses them. Oh, and honking.  Everyone honks, all the time. No really-all. the. time.  Just to let you know they are there?  

-Most stores other than grocery are closed until 2 on Fridays b/c of Friday prayer. (Great time to do grocery shopping)

- Candy and soda- cheap!!  (not great news for weight loss, but definitely for the wallet) Still trying to figure out why I can buy 3 Snickers for less than 1 USD.  Same with soda.  It really doesn't make any sense.

-Delivery. Almost everyone delivers.  You can have McDonalds, KFC, full course dinners, dessert, even breakfast delivered. Quite nice for those nights when you just don't feel like cooking!  

- Utilities bills and cell phone coverage is also pretty cheap.. compared to what I paid in the states.  I prepay our cell phones.  Grand total of my cell phone this month, 10 JD, less than 15 USD and I had minutes left over.

- Butt sprayer.  I don't know the official name for it, but you know what I'm talking about and I still find it very awkward.  We have them at work, and we are supposed to throw the toilet paper we use in the trash, so that means you really need to use this foreign, strange contraption.. and well, I'm going to leave it at that, lol.

- I lost 1 kilo last week (2.2 lbs). Despite the ice cream and snickers I ate over the weekend.  Brilliant!  (a word I use quite frequently now.. I blame it on my British colleagues ;)

Also, send us mail!!  It would be fantastic to walk in to work and have mail from family and friends back home. Postcards, cards, pictures would be fab, anything really. We just want to hear from you...and love getting 'snail' mail. Seriously, go write us a letter. 

Amy Nelson & Family
International Academy- Amman
PO Box 144255 Amman 11814 Jordan

We'll be waiting for that letter ;-)