Who am I? Why am I here?

Jacksonville … Darn! I’m still only in Jacksonville. I’ve been here a week now, having a good time staying with my Dad, visiting friends. We haven’t worked in a month and I’ve been busy packing and moving and haven’t had much time to study Arabic during the last several weeks so I feel a little rusty. To be honest, Melanie did most of the packing while I pouted and mentally replayed the many good moments we had in our little house in Tallahassee. What can I say, I’m nostalgic and I grew up surrounded mostly by women, so I have my moments.

It’s hard to believe that in less than two weeks we will be in Amman. I guess it will really hit me when we’re sitting on the plane about to take off. I’m looking forward to being challenged at Qasid and forced to use Arabic for several hours every day. I’m at a point where I can read the majority of most front page articles on Aljazeera and other Arabic news websites and I can’t wait to be able to read all of them and even a novel.

Feels like there’s still much to do and prepare for before we leave. I’ve sent a flurry of emails, medical reports, and forms to our insurance agent in the last week in an attempt to provide the necessary information to secure international health insurance. I’m hoping we’ll get news in the coming days from Qasid about where we’ll live. I was informed that the neighborhood where we’ll most likely be housed is a 25 minute walk from Qasid so I’ll try to find a new pair of Ecco walking shoes this week.

I’m not entirely sure what our new place we’ll be like, but I’m anxious to get there, get to work, and establish a routine. In addition to pursuing my goal of language and cultural proficiency, I am eager to escape reality television, the latest gossip about Jon and Kate, advertisements for male performance enhancements or the latest horror film, and other banalities of popular culture. Perhaps most of all, I am looking forward to showing Melanie all of the cool things I saw when I was there the last time and having a year of adventure, just the two of us.

Arrival in Jacksonville

Ah God, what an ugly city Jacksonville is. – me

Ah God, what an ugly city every city is. – Bokonon


Well, we arrived in Jacksonville yesterday. Crazy drivers and endless stretches of strip malls. My Dad, his girlfriend, her son, Melanie’s friend and her fiancée met us at the storage place and helped us get everything moved in. I’m thankful for their help as I cannot imagine unloading that 26 foot U-haul without it. I am happy to be done with the packing and moving that consumed most of the last two weeks and looking forward to hanging out with friends and family before we leave. We’re staying at my Dad’s and have enjoyed his cooking on the grill the last two nights.

We should find out pretty soon (I hope) about where we’ll be living in Amman. Two weeks ago we submitted our housing application, in which we requested a two bedroom, furnished apartment with internet, a pool table, and a Jacuzzi - just kidding about the last two items. Hopefully we’ll get an email soon telling us they found us a suitable place and include pictures so we can decide whether to go with that or try to find something once we get there.

Leaving Tallahassee

We left Tallahassee yesterday and moved our stuff into storage in Jacksonville, where we will live for the next three weeks until we fly to Jordan. It’s a relief to be done with the move, but I was sad to leave Tallahassee. I thoroughly enjoyed and will miss the plethora of oak trees, canopy roads, rolling hills, deer, and other wildlife in the rural part of town we lived in. The people were friendly and the traffic sparse. I will miss going to the games and the Friday night block parties in downtown during football season. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say I love Tallahassee. All in all, we had a great year there. Now it’s time for the next step.