Odds and Ends

I have three weeks left in Jordan, so really there is not a whole lot more to cover. I just figured I’d cover all those little things that didn’t fit into any other post.

1.     Maid. Jordanians are clean freaks. You wouldn’t know it by the state of the sidewalks, but they are. No Dust Allowed seems to be the motto. Take out the trash every day, sweep the floor—lest there be ants, and keep everything neat and tidy. You’d be kidding yourself if you think I do this all the time. Nope. I have a maid.

           

Her name is Magda and she comes on Sundays. I think she’s Sri Lankan. Or maybe Indonesian. At any rate, she cleans the bathrooms, the kitchen and even our rooms. I always look forward to Sundays because my room is vacuumed and my bed is made. The dishes are even clean AND put away in             the cabinet. The only thing I really don’t like about having a maid is that she puts everything away in different spots. That is probably why I have lost so many things on this trip.

Another thing about Magda, and hired help in general, is that they are all minorities. Most maids are from South Asia, and most “guards”—those who take care of the apartments are Egyptian. So are waiters. Funny (or maybe not) joke about Egyptians—They are called the Mexicans of Jordan. Maybe             because they are everywhere and they stare? I don’t know, but it is kinda funny.

2.     Canned Corn- Around the university there are several stands selling corn. No, not corn on the cob. Just—corn. There is a giant steel vat that has gobs and gobs of corn. They serve it in this tiny Styrofoam cup with a spoon. I don’t understand why, but people line up for the stuff. I have yet to try it.

3.     Notes on Cabs- I’ve pretty much exhausted the subject, so this is my final observation. Cars here are expensive I guess—the import tax. So, despite the state of a car, people will still act like it is brand new. Some cars around here are incredibly nice, but others are, well, not. Cab drives with the worst looking taxis will get super angry if you shut the door to hard. “al boaba shwaya shwaya” which roughly translates you better shut this door softly—it’s my baby.