Can't sleep. Insomnia comes at the worst times.

I have been getting frustrated lately with what I haven't been able to accomplish. It's hard to keep a greater perspective. This counts as my semester breakdown. It's been a long time coming. 

Needless to say, a break could not have come at a better time. 

This weekend we are going to Petra and Wadi Rum. I can't tell what we are more excited about, galloping around ruins like Indiana Jones or the fact that we will be staying in a hotel with real live heated water and warmth.

I'm psyched. 

Things I have learned this month:

When invited to dinner parties, placement is key. We fight for seats furthest from the mother, out of reach of her actively scooping hands. We also learned fairly quickly to eat at an uncomfortably slow pace. After we implemented these two strategies, we started to become a lot more mobile and a lot less achy.

We are often pitied because we are young students not living with or close to our parents. The Iraqi father always says that they are our substitute family. We feel the love, Abu Nuur.

The desert is freezing. None of us were even slightly prepared (mentally and clothing-wise) for the winter season. Our stone-floored apartments are designed to stay cool in the shadows during the heat of summer. Often, our apartments are ten degrees cooler than outside. It's miserable. The cold is engrained deep in my bones, no matter how many pairs of leggings I wear. 

People who are suffering from social boredom use a race as a means to start drama. And boy, did it start some drama. We had cut-throat debates for a week. Now if people were smart, they would be helping me in my quest to marry off at least one couple on this study abroad. Then we would have something real to talk about.

Telling stories about kissing boys is an instant way to make Arab girlfriends. They eat that up.

Arab women are gems.

The salon ladies think that I should wear more makeup and stop wearing black. They asked Jordan and I if we were mourning Qaddafi's death. I mean, that is one possible explanation.

Moothir means sexy by itself, but means influential when you add Alhitimam or controversial when you add alJadal. I may or may not have said Queen Rania is sexy in a presentation. Dr. Khalid got a kick out of that. I told him that in both cases it's true. He agreed. 

Also, 5d in Egyptian Arabic means turn, but in Jordanian it means 'up yours.' The taxi driver did not have quite the same reaction as my professor.

When it sprinkles, drivers put on their hazards and move down the road at five miles per hour. A five minute car ride turns into twenty.

I love this place. I realized how much I do when a group of us ran in a 10k. We begun the race with the Jordanian national anthem. The people irrupted in song. The roads were closed. We ran on deserted streets, descending down the mountain into the center of the city, and eventually ending at the Roman amphitheater. Can't get much better than that.

I'm thrilled to complete this program, but I'm sad I have to leave this country. It makes sense, promise.

I'm about to finish this post and silence was broken by the first call to prayer. Perfect timing.