Tip #429: Mother’s Day in Jordan

“I find, by close observation, that the mothers are the levers which move in education. The men talk about it . . . but the women work most for it.”  Frances Watkins Harper

Today is Mother’s Day in Jordan and it is a VERY big deal. Maha D, who has two children, received congratulatory calls every few minutes all day long!

This evening, Cassie invited me to accompany her and Kareem to a good Italian restaurant just about a block from the hotel. Kareem never made it (he was visiting family) and Cassie and I had a devil of a time getting a table because the restaurant was booked solid for Mother’s Day. They offered us one table that was almost in the kitchen and definitely in the path of every waiter. However, we took it and the food was excellent and the service wonderful. As a matter of fact, the maître de assumed that I was Cassie’s mother- wished me a Happy Mother’s Day- and gave me a white rose! Isn’t that nice? Cassie was also very sweet, treating me to dinner.

The only (major) drawback to our dining experience is that it became very smoky with cigarettes. I had to jump in the shower as soon as we got back to the hotel.

My big news is that I am planning to go to the Dead Sea on Friday. It is about an hour away from Amman and I’ve been given very clear instructions- not to stay in the water longer than 20 minutes (because the salt content is so hard on the skin), to cover myself with the black mud, etc., etc. They told me that the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth. I’ll have to check that out on the web.

Anyway, a taxi driver they know and like (I’d tell you his name if I actually knew it, maybe Abdul?) will drive me there, where I’ll stay for a few hours, and then drive me back to Amman.

I had originally thought about going to Petra, which is several hours away. That would entail sleeping over. I could pack up all of my stuff (which I just spent several hours ironing!!!), check out of this hotel, check into a hotel in Petra, then check back into this hotel. If I did that, Ecodit would pay.

Cassie told me that she just goes for the night, gets a room at a hotel in Petra but retains her room here at the Intercontinental. She ends up paying for the stay in Petra, but avoids all the hassle and inconvenience of checking out and back in. That was what I planned to do, going on Friday and coming back on Saturday- until Lina reminded me that I needed to set up for the training beginning on Sunday. I’ve been here just under a week and I definitely have not adjusted to the idea of Friday and Saturday being the weekend.

So, Petra will have to wait until after both weeks of training are over.

I also want to walk to Rainbow Street, which is about a 30-minute walk from the hotel. It is in the old section of the city and has lots of restaurants and shops. I keep hoping I’ll get back to the hotel with enough daylight left (and enough energy!) to go there. Today we didn’t leave the office until after 6 p.m., so we got back to the hotel after dark.  I’ll have to wait for a weekend day (maybe Saturday either before or after we set up for the training- with the participant number hopefully known by then).

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

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