You Mean You DON'T Have a Snowman on Your Car?

So, we were on our way home the other day and passed a restaurant when what to our wondering eyes did appear? Yes, a snowman. On top of a car. How 2010...

Sadly, my phone refused to take a picture of it (I think it was too cold, like me.) But, happily CousinBean was along and managed to get this picture. Excuse the tilt, but beggars can't be choosers...

When we saw this, two things came to mind. First, where do you live that yo hot enough snow for that big of a snowman. Second, how clever to take your snowman with you wherever you go...

Personally, I think a snowman is the car decoration for 2010. I'm only wishing I had one. I hope you enjoy the picture as well.

Happy hood ornaments!

Is that a Dummy in the car, or are you the Idiot?

This headline caught my eye this morning for one simple reason... I SO though about doing this before. Back when we lived in big city America and I commuted an hour each way every day, I watched the folks zooming past in the HOV (high-occupancy vehicle, aka carpool) lanes, and thought about getting an HOV dummy. There were a couple of things that held me back. First, we didn't have the money for one. Second (and more important), it was hard enough dressing myself, no way I'd manage to get 2 of us dressed and out the door early in the morning, teehee.

I also thoughts about the type of explanation that would be required if a police officer did pull me over and decided I'm not that good at pulling a fast one. Smooth-talker I am not. So, I never implemented this HOV plan. Now I see that someone else did and got ticketed for her trouble. Well, I guess the question in the case is - who is the bigger dummy?

Happy Plastic Pals!

Maybe Late But An Overachiever At Heart? Couldn't Stop At 50...

So, since my 50 things post only took me through the first two yeas of my blog, I had to ensure that as my love affair with Jordan changes, those changes are represented. So, I figured in for a penny in for a pound, and here's the pound.

1. Outrageously affordable emergency room visits (and yes, I wish I didn't know this one)
2. Opportunities for creativity (see my post on using cookie sheets as sleds)
3. Pea soup fog reminding me to give thanks for sunny clear days
4. Snow mermaids, where else could you make them and not have them be the most unusual thing on the block?
5. A vibrant blogosphere that speaks out in support of regionally persecuted bloggers (Fouad and his 138 days in prison definitely spoke to us)
6. Legos are still available
7. Bumping into bloggers everywhere: Professional association meetings, ICT forum, wedding receptions, everywhere
8. Dates are written backwards making you feel you've never missed anything
9. Convoluted sentences published in magazines (aka anyone can be a writer)
10. Being welcomed into the Queen Latifah International Airport
11. Crazy high-quality paper for magazines
12. Pictures for weddings and events are ready in 2 days
13. Homesickness transitions into missing the US because Jordan really IS home
14. Old men in dishdashas (you know the long dress things) with sport coats
15. Endless staircases providing a constant sense that Amman has somewhere to be
16. Jordanian hospitality
17. Arableesee and the fact that students of Arabic can understand chunks of conversation
18. Making cakes, something I NEVER would have done in the US, it would have remained an undiscovered talent
19. Double-bookings pre-school style (or maybe that the kids have enough friends to BE double-booked)
20. You have to guess what open 24 hour means because it doesn't mean 24 hours
21. CEOs of large companies comment on your blog (I've had the CEO of Pharmacy One and the CEO of Aramex)
22. Even RAISINS dry out!
23. You go to work and your street number is 21, when you come home, it's 19
24. The only building on a block-long street is number 3
25. Kindergarten graduation involves tiny caps and gowns
26. T-Ball, enough said
27. Visceral connection to Palestine and Palestinians
28. Women of niqab, hijab, and hair commingle happily
29. The pure foreignness and beauty of the call to prayer
30. HelperBean (who should be the first item on any Top 50 list)
31. Interactive whiteboards and teachers with mikes in first grade
32. Bilingual and even trilingual education starting at 4 years old
33. You can actually find signs for a 0% sale
34. Nermeen Murad's refreshing, bold ability to say it like it is
35. Sisters in Amman: communities and finding a place where you fit - no matter how unlikely a place it is
36. Livestock in the streets (sheep crossing anyone?)
37. Christmas cookie decorating parties with people who don't celebrate Christmas
38. The anticipation people feel toward that first rain of the year (and nearly every rain actually)
39. Strong sense of personal safety
40. Taxis could actually get the passenger to help push the car out of a circle when it runs out of gas - and pay for the privilege
41. The ability to take a short vacation (long weekend really) trip to glamorous destinations like Dubai and the Dead Sea
42. Smaller kids making the Beans average rather than tiny
43. The fact that people won't use crossing bridges over airport road, but I have actually seen a herd of sheep using it!
44. The entire Konouz family
45. Fluency in Arabic is actually attainable for the Beans
46. Being 15 minutes late isn't rude... it's early
47. Speaking in Arabic makes people assume you're anything but American (I've had French and German in the last 2 weeks or so), although what does that say about us Americans?
48. The sights and sounds of the balad
49. Young bloggers who challenge, inspire, and generally get people thinking
50. Jordanian pride of home leading to Top 50 parties and tweetups

I had to fudge a tad on the last 6, but they're the things I would have written without checking my blog, so I think they count. You know, it's posts like these that remind me of why I really do love living here so much. I hope you'll join in this celebration of Jordan with me...

Happy Overachieving!

Bowing to Peer Pressure, A Real Top 50 Things I Love About Jordan Post

Since I've been challenged and shamed about my lack of Top 50 things, I decided to go whole hog. I went back over the first two years the Bean family spent in Jordan and found things I'd blogged about enjoying in Jordan. Please join me for MommaBean's top 50 of 2006 and 2007!

1. Endless circling: ala Chevy Chase in European Vacation, once you get in you can't get out
2. Misspellings on menus (to date my favorite is Pier with cohool, which edged out trible blend of cheeses by a nose)
3. Baka'a refugee camp: the tenacity, love of home, and spirit of the people in their defiant refusal to call another place home
4. The government' signage calling circles squares, geometry refresher anyone?
5. The Bean's fun wheeeeing through tunnels (the first few months)
6. Interpretive driving
7. Fabulous hair cuts for tiny fees
8. The Dead Sea, enough said
9. Zoos that feature house pets, you know dogs and cats
10. Fabulous breezes, really truly noteworthy breezes
11. Creative parking
12. The competitive advantage of the huge handed guy at Osra Hummus
13. Fabulous furniture built for next to nothing
14. Anything can be delivered
15. The Jaaha (askage) before the wedding (especially the bag pipes and the debkeh troupes)
16. Creative grocery store placement (call it hide and seek with food)
17. Excellent schooling in Arabic for all ages
18. Garbage men, the hardest working fellows in Amman
19. Cheap vegetables (once upon a time at least)
20. Middle of the road driving (or fear of commitment)
21. Signage embarrassment (Libby's Ass Juice anyone? Pub and Grill?)
22. Holiday Greetings by SMSs
23. Amman's new curved concrete suspension bridge
24. Petra: a New Wonder of the World
25. The Beep-Beep Culture
26. Gratuitous Circles
27. Creative Spelling (butiey shop anyone? a trip to the saloon for your hair, perhaps?)
28. Pet Monkeys being taken for a walk
29. 1 JD DVDs, need I say more?
30. People who floss during New Year's Eve concerts at a 5 star hotel
31. Creative car towing, no rope needed, just gimme some twine
32. Baby cologne for stinky babies
33. Slim Fast on the candy aisle, give up already...
34. Casual royalty (or how I've met 4 royals already)
35. Creative contraptions (cinder block as emergency brake, rag as gas cap)
36. A single blog can change the world (or at least silly sign, Shawarma and More?)
37. Amman is a small, small world (aka how I can never go anywhere and not see SOMEONE I know)
38. Sweet sound of birds singing outside my window
39. Queen Rania: Beauty Queen and brains too, what a package!
40. Mosque Tops for sale in the balad
41. Golden Skies
42. Assempling Points
43. A World-Class Children's Museum
44. Sense of Humor replaces wasta in exchanging the driver's license
45. Heart shaped potatoes
46. Strikingly funny mistakes in classified ads (from reputed oil companies to the mirror required reversed image)
47. New sheep carriers - trunk and backseat of a vintage 1980s Datsun
48. Time for art projects with the Beans
49. The rarity of rainbows in Jordan and how special they become
50. Concrete bound fire hydrants

If you are stumped by any meanings, check out the original posts... April 2006 to December 2007 ;).

Happy Jordan Love!

Why is it SO hard to practice Arabic?!

So, El 3atal's cousin (bint 3ammo) has come to town from Sweden for a semester at the University. As a result, of this trip (and her total lack of Arabic skills (3ammoBean, you should be ashamed!)), I have been having the most excellent opportunity to practice my Arabic. Really, it's been great. She is living with another student from Sweden, whose Arabic is slightly better, but classical. So, between the three of us, my skills are by far the best (isn't that sad? Reflections of translating during the shoe distribution campaign).

As a result, all conversations with the landlady and the Egyptian guard are rather left to me. Which, while I'm sure is painful for the other party is great practice. Add to that the fact that we visited one of ButterBean's best friends (whose brother is one of JuniorBean's best friends) and I got like 3 hours of intensive speaking with their Mom. She understands English, but is too shy to speak it (sounds like me in reverse).

So, the last week and a half have been good, but before that no so much. It seems like the conversations can realistically have are limited to the kinds of things you talk to acquaintances or strangers about. It's nearly impossible to talk to Teta and JiddoBean because I simply don't have an adequate enough vocabulary. Although, I guess it then becomes something of a West Ammani conversation (nus Arabi, nus Englizi). But, it would be nice if there were some in between in my life... Ahh, well, here's me continuing to scope out opportunities to practice (and wishing my accent were wore so that people wouldn't speak so darn fast!!!). Oh, and I failed to mention the other huge challenge. It's contained in one word - blond. Not, mind you as a state of mind, but as a physical reality. People simply naturally speak English to me because I'm so obviously American. Even if I start the conversation in Arabic, they often respond in Arabic, sigh. At any rate...

Happy Practice!

Do you KNOW your name???

Once again I'm counting on my 3 readers to give the low-down. Twice in the last few days I've met Egyptian guards who, when asked their name, reply X, enshalla. What is that exactly? Are they unsure if their name is actually X? Or, are they concerned that since the last time they gave their name God would have decided to change it? I'm confused by this use of enshalla. Anyone got any idea why they respond this way? It struck me as decidedly odd...

Happy Hunh?!

Excuse Me, Mr. Rifai, But I Think You Need To Expand the Dialog

First, excuse any perceived sarcasm read into this message, I assure you it is likely there (It IS my stock in trade, after all). I was SO relieved to read today in the Jordan Times that the Prime Minister met with "the head and memebers of the JPA" about the issue that has so recently electrified the blogosphere, yep censorship. Mr. Rifai reiterated the King's commitent to "improving and developing the entire media sector..." But, somehow it seems to be that the nuances of the issue have totally been lost.

Somehow the government has not figured out that a significant amount of the issue is NOT relating to the established press, those who would appropriately be members of the JPA). It is, instead, related to others who could, under loose and unclear laws, be considered to be electronic media. Like this blog. So, somehow I failed to get my invitation to this meeting. How it could have happened, I'm unsure. Surely not because I'm not a recognized member of the press. Or because the only claim to journalism I have is a blog that occasionally tackles topics relating to society and life in Jordan (like this one).

What's that? You think I'm not a member of the media? Excellent! Could someone please put that down in the Press and Publications Law? Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top? Currently, depending on your reading of the laws and the Court's recent ruling I may be subject to the dictates and rules therein. But, I have no voice in the conversation, the dialog that the Prime Minister indicates atmospheric conditions are favorable for. So, if there's a dialog, could I be invited? After all, if those in these positions of power would listen a little more closely they might realize that the whole issue is that the hazy laws bring people into the conversation who simply don't belong. So, I ask you Mr. Prime Minister, don't you think now is the time to expand the dialog? As an unrepresented stakeholder, I'd like a voice. I suspect there are a few others who would as well. So when is that appointment? Just asking...

Happy Expansion!

Countercultural Again?! My Top 50 JO things...

Somehow I missed the whole Top50 thing (well I saw the tweety thing, but not being up on technology...). So, I'm running with it and remaining counter-cultural. However, I will not take Qwaider's approach and talk about 50 things I don't like. Here's what I'm going to do... instead of top 50, I'm... well why should I ruin the surprise? You'll read it soon enough.

First I want to say that I've lived in a bunch of places. El 3atal and I lived in like 6 cities in the South, Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast and here's something I've learned in my moves... every city has awesome things about it and every city has things that suck. Really, every one. We've been in Jordan nearly 4 years and I've had lots to time to observe things. I have so many favorites things, but they seem to be less tangible than most of what I've seen. So, in my bid to be counter-cultural (more because I'm unaware than anything else, teehee), I'm giving you the MommaBean 3 (one for each Bean)!

1. For ButterBean: Sunny, sunny skies and beautiful (if dry) weather
2. For JuniorBean: Fabulous history and architecture that connects the past with the present and future
3. For JujuBean: Opportunities to be part of a vibrant, beautiful community and help those less fortunate

Hope you enjoy my slimmed down version of the Top 50...

Happy Countercultures!

Cyber-Schizophrenia: I've got it... Me too!

Just when you think you're creating a new term like cyber-schizophrenia, others are there before you. It's comforting, though, that you aren't the only one suffering from a disease like this one. For those who are confused about what this means, it's a condition where managing your multiple personalities on-line becomes more than you can handle. I talk about it tongue in cheek, but it can be a challenge. Clearly, this blog is anonymous. My on-line friends know me as MommaBean. And, MommaBean is on Facebook. She has a page and friends and groups and such. And then there's me. You know, the real life me. No, I'm not going to put my IRL name here. But, I do have a Facebook account. And I have friends, and groups, and relatives.

It's a bit odd to meet people who are likely to mix in both groups. Do I accept them as MommaBean's friends or Real Me's friends? Where do they fit? In a recent conversation, I mentioned to the guy who did a website for us a few months ago that I am familiar with his boss, but only from his blog and its name. I mentioned my blog name and he was floored. Apparently he occasionally drops by this blog. How weird is that? I even have friends who I originally met blogging and they became IRL friends. Sadly, MommaBean had to unfriend them. After all, MommaBean and Real Me can't be friends with the same people. My philosophy is along the lines of "never the twain shall meet."

It's actually a bit odd, in general, to be an anonymous blogger. I don't blog anonymously to give me more freedom to say what I think and people won't know it's me. All of the family and friends know about my blog. I talk about socially taboo subjects anyway. After all, I'd talk about the topics in front of them IRL as well, so why not on-line? I blog anonymously because I think it's safer for the family. In the US, I would blog anonymously because of the crazy perverts out there. In Jordan, I figure it's simply safer as an American to keep a low IRL profile. I expect anyone who needs to in the powers that be could find me easily enough. But, for those garden variety America-haters, I hope it's a bit more challenging.

But keeping my lives separate is hard. Maybe it would be easier if MommaBean weren't really me, you know? If I talked about specific subjects or if there were some other distinction between me and me, you know. I blog for our company and it's separate from this blog. In that one, I talk about specific topics that simply don't come up over here. So, it's easier (except when I forget to sign out) to keep that life separate.

At any rate, I've been thinking about managing these dual-lives for awhile now and figured it was a good time to think about the topic out loud here. After all, are you my friend? And if so, what kind of friend? You have to choose sides after all, do you want to be friends with MommaBean or Real Me? Or maybe you'll join the ranks of cyber-schizos and create another you to be friends with the other me. Wait, I think I just confused myself... Sigh.

Happy Me... No Me!