TGI...T?

Howdy,

Thursday is the new Friday.  Or at least here in Amman/the entire Middle East.  Still not quite used to it, but I'm also not at all aware of the actual date.  So I'm just happily oblivious.  Okay, onto the daily recap.

Wednesday night I didn't sleep much, if at all.  I was constantly coughing and blowing my nose, poor Thomas got no rest either.  So I thought today would be the day I just collapsed, but thankfully after taking a shower I felt tons and tons better.  Amazing what being able to blow dry your hair can do for you!  Ahhhh.  Benjamin and I just hung out at home all day, trying to take it easy and recover some.  I'm still very sneeze-y and sometimes the pressure behind my eyes makes them water and I feel very pathetic.  But I think I'm improving ever so slightly each day, keep praying that we'll all feel well and chipper soon.

Benjamin was really good today which helped me sooo much.  There was a funny interaction with our Boab, he knocked on the door around 9:15am and this before I'm showered and presentable.  So I answer the door and he speaks to me in Arabic but with hand gestures I come to understand that I need to open a front window so he can plug in an electric lawnmower.  Evidently we have a teeny two foot square plot of grass in one of the little gardens!  Who knew.  I don't know how we could actually get to it for Ben to crawl around, but maybe when I finally explore and take pictures of the outside areas we can figure it out.  I'll get around to it soon, hopefully this weekend.

After Thomas got home we packed up and went to the embassy for dinner.  Thursday nights they do theme nights and you can get in if you're a member of the embassy association club.  Club members get to use the pool and commissary (known as the co-op), so I think almost everyone does it.  Tonight was Tex Mex, so you pay 8JD a person and get a buffet and soda, or you can buy beer and margaritas.  It was pretty tasty and tons of people were there.  If I had thought it through I would have brought our swim stuff, it cooled down a bit and was really nice outside.  We sat in the cafe area next to the pool and hung out with friends.  We talked and enjoyed the weather, swapping stories about the good grocery stores (evidently Spinny's is nice) and I imbibed quite a few Diet Cokes.  It was awesome to feel relaxed and at home, and Benjamin was super well behaved.  We left after 8pm and waited a long while for a taxi to come.  I'm guessing Thursday night during Ramadan isn't a busy time, there wasn't as much traffic on the roads.

This weekend I think we'll probably rest and relax.  Depending on how well I sleep tonight we might try to visit a house church that Kristin and a couple other friends attend.  It's part of the Anglican church here which has regular church on Saturdays and house church on Friday mornings for the families with young kids.  (I don't think they have a nursery for the regular service, so I can see the appeal.)  And I'm hoping we can go to the pool, maybe Saturday.

Please pray that we can find an affordable vehicle, I'm a little sketched out doing a taxi on my own.  Until the Cruiser arrives if we got an automatic then I could drop Thomas at work and be mobile.  It seems like everything that we can afford is a stick or gets sold before we even call or email.  Pray that we make a good decision and that we can get something soon.  Or for patience and a more willing spirit for me, either one.  :-) 

-Rachel