Day 1: Royal Jordanian Daycare

This trip already shows promise of being one of the biggest adventures of my life and I've spent the majority of the time in airports. We arrived at BNA yesterday at 2:30pm to depart for Chicago and then continue to Amman. The flight to Chicago was aboard a very small commuter jet and Eric and I were unable to sit next to one another. Unfortunately for me, the lumberjack looking fellow that I sat next to was large and didn't seem to care that he took up not only his seat, but also the majority of mine. Upon arrival in Chicago, we switched terminals, discovered Eric's reservation had been lost, were sniffed by drug dogs, hyperventilated for a moment (ok, just me), ate ice cream, and boarded Royal Jordanian daycare (also known as our 12 hour flight). I have never seen so many children on a single flight, nor do I ever care to again!

It took over two hours for people to find their seats, realize they 1.) didn't like their seats, 2.) didn't consider that they would want their child seated with them, or 3.) didn't want to be in the middle of a row of 4 children whose parents were somehow seated at the other end of the plane, and find new seats. We were among the fortunate...there were no children behind us kicking our seats. We did, however, have a child who I am convinced knew only how to shriek at the top of his lungs and destroy anything he could get his hands on. The airline magazine was shredded in a matter of minutes; he somehow pulled out one of the life jackets from the seat bottom; he threw his utensils from every meal at least 2 rows in either direction; and at one point he climbed under his seat and curled up at our feet.

We finally arrived in Jordan. After a relatively quick trip through the visa line and a slightly longer trip to baggage claim our driver, Esam, met us and we were on our way to Eric's villa. It is Friday, which is the holy day here, so no one cooks tonight. There were picnic dinners being enjoyed all along the roadside and vendors were selling fresh fruits and veggies. Once we were settled, we walked about 1km and enjoyed some coffee, Chinese food, and ice cream. I was exhausted by the time we finished, but I could have people watched for hours more. This is so different from anywhere I have ever been.