Postitive Thinking in Four Points

Things are OK. I'm pretty frustrated on a regular basis with life here. As I told my husband the other day, it's not that two or three things suck and annoy you to no end. It's that everything sucks and annoys you to no end. Perhaps that's exaggerating. Jordan does have a couple of good things over America. I shall compose a (very) short list.

1. Healthy food is cheap, and junk food is expensive. This is so awesome. It's actually cheaper to eat in such a way that is good for you!!! America should learn from this model. Tax the shit out of fast food and soda, and use it to subsidize fresh, organic, natural foods. In Jordan, this arrangement just occurs naturally. Junk food is an American import, basically, so it's just more expensive than eating normally. Eating normally here generally includes a diet of fresh yogurt, lamb, eggs, olives, beans, olive oil, fresh vegetables, etc. Even though something like falafel is really fatty, people seldom gorge on it. Rather, it's one small dish that is served with many other small dishes. In sandwich form, it's served on fresh bread (awesome), with hummous and arabic salad. It's also SO CHEAP. You can fill your stomach for less than 1 JD. That's really hard to do in the U.S., and generally, you'd be eating something horrible for your health on that budget.

2. People really like kids here. It's in the culture. There are children everywhere, and people are so kind in general to all children. God--I just wish they would extend that to fellow adults, and we'd be set.

3. I hesitate to put health care on the list. Hmmm. The part of healthcare that is good here is that it is available, no matter what your income is. What sucks is that generally speaking, the more you can pay, the better care you get. So, while you won't go broke seeking care (or end up with tens of thousands in debt), you may not live through the experience either. I guess this one is kind of a draw.

4. OK...thinking hard now. Think, think think. Ha! Got one! People aren't xenophobes when it comes to bilingualism here. English is taught in the schools, and if you are fluent in English, you're thought pretty highly of. It becomes kind of a status thing. The assumption is that if you are a native English speaker, you are probably wealthy. Stupid assumption, but it's much much better than getting crap from other people for speaking a different language in public. Instead of criticizing you, most people's response is to try to speak to you in English. This is a very, very far cry from the U.S. where bilingualism is almost a sign of treason.

At some point, I'll probably write another post on what things you think should probably be better here, but aren't. For example, being a Muslim in a Muslim country. For a sneak preview, it sucks.