Jordan

The snow is mostly gone, but it has left a crispness that’s really pleasant.

Last night M, A and I went to this café on Rainbow Street where we smoked and talked about the Economist, the law, 7adiths, and the crazy people that live in this building where we all stay.  It was chill and very pleasant.  Aside from the majnoon dude who is here right now, it’s nice to be reminded that generally the people who come through here are pretty cool.  I’ve enjoyed meeting new folks, and I will miss them.

So, the crazy guy is pretty crazy, and not always in an entertaining way.  Every day he has a new business deal, or a new lawsuit, or a new research project.  He is a “business man,” a “lawyer,” and now a security expert.  None of us can figure out how he does anything in Jordan when he does not have a mobile phone.  He sleeps during the day, and sits up all night, and he rarely leaves the building.  He’s also a talker, though this week we’ve noticed that he’s sitting at his own table during lunch and not speaking to us.  It’s a down week, evidently.

I discovered this while I was looking around for information about the Jafra Café.  It’s a great “tour” of the Balid.  It features Hasham’s, the DVD place, and Jafra.  What more would one need?  Nothing, that’s the answer.  I love the map, complete with commentary about the beverages at Wild Jordan.  Perfect.  S took me to Jafra the other day, and we sat there for hours having Nescafe and talking.  I really enjoyed it.

I’m about to head out and go to Reem al-Bawadi with M.  I’m reading his Master’s Thesis; he wanted a native English speaker to edit it before he turns it in.  It’s about water sharing and the two state solution.  Pretty heavy.  I was telling S about it the other day over lunch, and she said what I think many of us have been thinking for a while now: the two state solution (no longer worthy of capitalization) is dead.  It’s too late for it to work.  She pointed out that as long as the TSS is still the “language of international politics and diplomacy,” America will continue to flog this dead dog.  Truly a wretched plan at this point.  So, I’m looking forward to good food, and talking politics with someone who grew up in Bethlehem.

Then, I have to pack.  Then at 8, A will pick me up for lots of coffee, and then take me to the airport.  I understand it’s good that I’m not flying into BWI, or anything around there because of the snow.

I have to sleep on all I’ve taken in here, and then I will be ready to write more about my time here.  It was a great 3 weeks.