I SOOOO boosted the Jordanian economy today!

Hello friends:
Another excellent day - truly. And i think I singlehandedly sent the local economy into 2008...easily.
Actually today was remarkable because it was a Men's day. Our 3 women US colleagues all became ill and took a very slow in-house morning. The driver, our education escort and Vivek and I chose to drive into Amman to wait for our 2 Jordanian colleagues to complete some paperwork at the Ministry of Education and wait for Hanan to arrive by bus from Aqaba (4-hour bus ride.)

Well, well, well! We returned to the souk or marketplace which actually is many many blocks of retail, cafes and bustling street life. It was so energizing (BIG city alert) to walk the streets and see so many people ( and realize how isolated and Western our accommodation is - big sigh.)

I had a short list which quickly expanded to a full backpack and a full shopping bag. Our collective and individual energies were puuuurrrrfectly in sync and mutually respectful. We shopped, walked, talked, had tea, saw a toilet of um, er, eh unique condition - photo ONLY upon request :0 ;)

I purchased music, DVDs, local cologne and a few other items that must be seen to be thoroughly enjoyed.

Retail is conducted decidedly differently and very easy - we were both grateful for Dr. Saleh's company to clarify and ask questions and offer advice
This was all before noon.

We returned to collect our female friends and drove to Madaba, the closest town about 15 minutes away and had a splendid and grand late lunch in a beautiful restaurant and ate Bedouin influenced food...yum
Cucumbers here beat ours by a kilometer - must find similar ones upon my return - small, crunchy, less watery and full of flavor.

The women had a women's only event hosted by the mayor's wife at the Hilton. we hurried to downtown Amman and left them for about 2.5 hours. Well, what do 3 happening guys do in a city of 2 million people on a Wednesday night?....Vivek needed to pick up his repaired glasses. OOOOooopps - where were they - in the largest and newest mall in Amman. Soooo what did we do????
SHOPPED and soaked up mall culture as we've never seen it. WOWOWOWOWOWOW

Um ,er, eh, I did buy some things - but ya gotta see 'em and the prices are unbelievable.

So much more to say and show...but fatigue is setting in again. I write these posts between 11:30 pm and 1:00 a.m.

And tomorrow several of us are skipping breakfast to sleep.
We have a GREAT day ahead of us.

These photos are from dinner tonight - any guesses?
And please enjoy the menu translation.
Thanks for reading and thanks to those who drop a note back. I relish and treasure them from so far away.

FOR THE KIDS
Hi Hi Hi or Marhaba:
So who has some thoughts on the food ideas I last left you thinking about?

Well, here it is.
Passing food around the table. Do you do that at your house? I grew up doing it, i do it with my family and friends. You know when you sit down to an empty plate at the table and there are bowls or plates full of food ready? You take some and put it on your plate and pass the bowl to the person beside you.
It's just not done that way here. When our Jordanian colleagues sat down (in Seattle) and suddenly saw people reaching and passing the bowls and plates they were so surprised! They had to stop and just watch. They liked it but had never seen anyone do that before.

Here the food is placed on the table and empty plates are stacked nearby. Everyone gets a plate and fills it as they wish and then sits down to eat (at the same table.)

Often when we do that in the U.S. it is called a buffet or buffet style eating and is usually done when there is a large group. Have you seen that or done that before?

Just reminds us how things can be done differently yet still 'work"

Ok, here's today's scoop. Did you hear or read my grown-up blog?
So, I had some great meals.
Can you guess what the food pictures are?
Write to me and tell me if you wish....i bet you can come close!
hugs