city girl meets the desert

It's been such a longtime I know. And a lot of travelling (at last!), X-mas parties and New Year's by the beach have happened.

But this is also not a travel book, so I will just highlight what I feel like, if you don't mind, the beautiful places that I've been to here in Jordan and the fact that again my internet connection is not working properly will allow you to imagine those places the way you want them to be. Free your mind =)

So I had some vacation time lately, first one in November (called Eid-al-Adha) which is the weekend where they slaughter lambs and then share the meat with family, friends and even unknown poor people - I watche a film of it and still cannot believe they do it with the whole family watching. Then I went to Wadi Rum and had like 4 hours in Aqaba (and some extra 8h for sleeping). So mainly I can say I was in deep awe with Wadi Rum, perhaps even in love.

Wadi Rum is one of the places I have most been longing for since I arrived to Jordan. I knew that it would be great, but still I didn't expect to like it so much. It's absolutely, unforgettably, irresistibly magnificent!

Wherever you look you'll find something beautiful, more beautiful than the previous or just the kind of thing you once saw in photos, not really sure if it actually really existed. And when you join that to a great company (3, and at a certain point 4, travelling companions), it just makes the perfect vacation. By the time that things get hectic around me, work pressure increases and much is happening at a fast pace, I got my own piece of paradise, in the middle of nowhere and this city girl, this girl that loves theatres and cultural animations, who likes nature because it's so inconstant, just fell in love with the peace and quietness of the desert, the cinematic Rum.

I could honestly even stay there on a full-retreat week... and believe me, I'm not the buddhist or self-contemplative type. Then we came back to Aqaba and I put my feet on the Red Sea water, which was a relief for this Portuguese who was missing terribly her Atlantic ocean, the waves, the sand, the sound of the sea. I had a little bit of the sea sound, that's already not bad :)

Then I went back to Amman, life went on, a great conference was organized and delivered, many emotional moments and Christmas approaching, my first one away from home, kind of unplanned but it all turned out an interesting experience. I cannot lie and say it was the same as coming back home or that I didn't miss people, places, decorations, food, presents or just previously slightly annoying tasks like putting up the nativity scene by the fireplace or trying to get accross a whole sentence and answer from my great grandmother (who's becoming a bit deaf but Christmas is one of the rare times I get to see her and smile at her, mostly that cause communication is faint ha).

I missed all of those things and it's fine I did, it means no matter how much or less I value the whole season these traditions are part of my history, a good part of it, and I'll either soon be able to recreate them for myself or I will cherish even more when I go back and spend it again with my loved ones. Being away is not the end of the world to me, if you know me you know this about me, but I hope this also makes me become more caring about those moments I will not have back, those people that I wish I could bring in my pocket wherever I go (as that would just be the ideal solution).

So for X-mas I had an international dinner on the 24th, a bit Christmassy but not so much. Still the cooking and the friends made it interesting, the final food "output" not so much hehe, but this is the uniqueness of celebrating Christmas away from family. If you're wondering, Portuguese reader, I prepared pastéis de pescada (à falta de bacalhau :P), arroz de tomate and then chamuças/sambosa (this last one not Portuguese at all, but easy to do and those were the ingredients I had at hand).

Then for the 25th, we had a lunch with the team I work with and a Tunisian friend, so actually the only Christian in the room was myself. To make it even more typical :P, I prepared a curry dish with the help of Dana, one of my colleagues, and then roasted chestnuts - which for me equal Christmas and yummy wherever I may be. And for them it seemed to have worked as well, so I was happy :) So if you're wondering if I'm a lousy cook or just a lousy Portuguese-cuisine cook I have to say - come and search for the ingredients - because the most typical things, are either not eaten by locals (like pork), very expensive (meat in general and chicken just seems wrong as a replacement), or they are simply very hard to find (like the codfish and the ingredients for cozido).

Anyway, it was a cozy late lunch (at least this part screams Portugal and especially my place) and then I had the opportunity to meet friends and have great conversations, as well as missing for the 4th time or so going to the church- I still have not managed to successfully attend one single mass - I found the church nearby, now the issue is what kind of schedule do they work with, every single time I pass by the church it's closed and with no indication or sign of contacts/open hours. So it's getting annoying even for a not so religious person.

Lastly, about one week ago we had New Year's. Me and most of my friends here worked the 31st and then we headed off as fast as the rental tires could roll to Aqaba, to at last feel the wonders of the beach side at the earliest of 2010. SO we got there finally about 30 minutes before midnight and we went straight to the beach for champagne, photos and final countdown. Then some went inside the water - the next day when I walked there I realized how painful it must have been to enter that water yayks coz the usual sand is for some reason very rare there - and the others joined a fireplace with some reggae tunes as background. (Small remark: Wadi Rum and other parts of the desert are about 40 km away and there you got sand till where the eye can reach).

The party continued - obviously - but the best came next day, when we woke up to see an amazing summer day (day 1 of 2010), had breakfast by the swimming pool and commented on the weird tourist who went inside that freezing water while some of the group threw some sarcastic, sleep-deprived but still funny jokes as we took our first bite on our first bread & hoummus of the year. And then we crossed the street and went to sleep/sunbathe/swim/dive/walk in the beach. Main thing, we were in the beach, it was almost too hot at a certain point and we had a nice bunch of people, representing our own little international community here in Jordan - 4 Jordanians included btw.

I had to leave that same day, had the first grilled fish that evening in Aqaba city centre in my 6-month Middle East history (and it was very good!) and we came back, arriving to cold and foggy Amman by 2am. The next day, I went to Irbid - I like coming back to that city, there's something about it -, very sleepy in the morning, a bit more awaken in the afternoon and so tired in the evening when I got home again to Amman.

So these were my holidays: exciting, extenuating at times, short and in very good company. I had fun and still I missed home - it's maybe not the best time to be away from home but it was an atypical, surprising and different time here in Jordan. I even got to taste Samo, these kind of chocolate pyramids kids eat here a lot! They are delicious, and Christmas for me is always delicious =)

And one of my NY's resolutions... I'll try my best to write here more often and with more pictures :)

Have a bold and ravishing 2010! :)