A week in Amman
I kinda feel wierd not having written by now since i have been in Amman for about a week. I came to extend my visa and also have some business meetings which have taken so much of my time. I am glad that i got to meet some of the jordan planet members at Wild Jordan the other day, it was interesting to hear the voices behind the blogs i enjoy reading.
Amman in many ways has changed, one being the traffic, which i don't even encounter in Los Angeles. I never thought i'd be stuck in a tunnel bumper to bumper. Eveyrwhere you go there is a new bridge our tunnel that have appeared from nowhere. Its been about a year and 3 months since i have last been in amman.
The first day i came i atteneded a screening for an argentinan film which was sponsored by the Royal Film Commission and the Spanish Cultural Center. I was close to committing suicide, the film which was a little bit less than 2 hours long, should have been at the most no longer than 30 minutes.
The day after that Suffi Suffi played before another film, and I got the chance to tell the audience a bit about it.
In other news, i attempted to get a taxi the other day from in front of the University of Jordan, and what an experience it was. I have never seen a street with more taxis, but it took me more than half an hour to get a ^&%$#* taxi. Every female on the street got a taxi, even if she was just showing part of her toenail. AKHHH...since when does the taxi driver get to pick and choose...Allah yir7am ayam ma kanoo yitmanoo yitla3 7ad ma3ahom. I feel really sorry for the male students of UJ who try and get a taxi home every day.
The other night i also attended screenings for 4 new films by Yahia Abdallah who is going to france to persue his Masters in film, one of them was about a taxi driver, so i found a good connection with it.
Today i head out to Karak , for a couple of screenings, crossroads is one of the films going to be screened. Then after that Iftar at my aunt's house there.
Over and Out
Amman in many ways has changed, one being the traffic, which i don't even encounter in Los Angeles. I never thought i'd be stuck in a tunnel bumper to bumper. Eveyrwhere you go there is a new bridge our tunnel that have appeared from nowhere. Its been about a year and 3 months since i have last been in amman.
The first day i came i atteneded a screening for an argentinan film which was sponsored by the Royal Film Commission and the Spanish Cultural Center. I was close to committing suicide, the film which was a little bit less than 2 hours long, should have been at the most no longer than 30 minutes.
The day after that Suffi Suffi played before another film, and I got the chance to tell the audience a bit about it.
In other news, i attempted to get a taxi the other day from in front of the University of Jordan, and what an experience it was. I have never seen a street with more taxis, but it took me more than half an hour to get a ^&%$#* taxi. Every female on the street got a taxi, even if she was just showing part of her toenail. AKHHH...since when does the taxi driver get to pick and choose...Allah yir7am ayam ma kanoo yitmanoo yitla3 7ad ma3ahom. I feel really sorry for the male students of UJ who try and get a taxi home every day.
The other night i also attended screenings for 4 new films by Yahia Abdallah who is going to france to persue his Masters in film, one of them was about a taxi driver, so i found a good connection with it.
Today i head out to Karak , for a couple of screenings, crossroads is one of the films going to be screened. Then after that Iftar at my aunt's house there.
Over and Out
posted by Laith at 11:20 AM
4 Comments:
Hey Laith, hope you are enjoying the visit and happy Ramadan to you and your family!
oh yeah im still mad at you for not telling me you were going to Jordan unil you were in D.C. already!
Salam Laith, what's your email? I'll drop you a quick one. We used to be in the same football team at school. Rgds, Bashar.
it was great meeting you Laith :)
You think it's hard for guys to catch a taxi in Amman? At least the busses will stop for you. I can't tell you how many times I watched "full" busses speed by me, only to stop 100 meters down the road for a guy. If I had to, I'd take a taxi, but it would be 10 times the cost of the bus. Count your blessings!
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