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!