2. Arrival

The 11 hour flight from ORD to AMM was not too bad (presumably due to my consuming meclizine and doxylamine in an effort to reduce motion sickness), with the exception of sitting in a “middle” seat, with the person to my left apparently unfamiliar with deodorant usage, and a shrill screaming child nearby whose mother apparently did nothing to calm the situation. Because I already had a visa from the Jordanian Embassy in DC, it was fairly easy to pass through security at AMM. After a few minutes of arriving at the apartment that night, I quickly determined there was literally nothing to eat or drink other than tap water (and there is nothing at all wrong with the tap water, as it is of noticeably better quality than that in the Iowa City area). I walked down to a corner store that had less selection than a normal gas station, although the store clerk accepted neither Visa nor USD anyway. Fortunately, I had brought some tea with me. I found a little glass dish and heated water in the microwave and had tea. It was not indicative of properly prepared situation to be sure, but, for my personal outlook, I also remembered I am not far from the refugees in northern Jordan who have almost nothing.   LESSON LEARNED 1: Someone should verify the living situation before a student arrives.   (I am posting about “arrival” several days after it happened as I only now bought a device to provide me with WiFi. I later will post about work at the cancer center.) SS