Expat Life

For years I wondered what expat life would be like. We got a small taste in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, a few years ago but for me this is a first. We've been here about a month and what follows are superficial background descriptions of some of the interesting people we've encountered:

1) An Austrian who moved to Amman to open a bakery. 2) An Uzbekistani Jordanian with a dog grooming business. 3) A Canadian Jordanian software engineer. 4) A Bangladeshi American studying the Holy Koran. 5) A black Kuwaiti gym manager. 6) A French American born in Morocco and raised in Korea. 7) A Cuban American literature instructor. 8) A prosperous Palestinian family expelled from Kuwait after the Gulf War. 9) An American woman raised by expat parents in Mexico. 10) A knighted Jordanian medical doctor who turned to full time social activism. 11) American diplomats with amazing and varied backgrounds. 12) A British nurse, a convert to Islam, who became Jordanian, raised a family here, and is now a grandmother. 13) A European-American couple, both physicians, who retired to Amman to be near their daughter and her family. 14) A Jordanian commodities trader living in London but visiting home. 15) An American lawyer working for an NGO, shuttling between Amman and Rabat, Morocco.

All of the above people are impressive. All have fascinating stories to tell about their careers, families, and the journeys that brought them to Amman. To say we are enthralled would be an understatement. And this is before Terry really gets started teaching at the University of Jordan with all the possibilities that entails. I'm sure the fact that Amman is the national capital plays a role in this variety if for no other reason than the presence of embassies. Jordan, a crossroads in this region, is as I described in an earlier post, the "eye of the hurricane."

We have much to learn about expat life. Of course living in the expat enclave of Abdoun softens what could otherwise be overwhelming culture shock. Our recent trip to downtown underscored that reality. What is really nice is that Jordanians are extremely hospitable and probably overlook our cultural shortcomings by the bushel. The expats we've met go out of their way to be helpful. When Terry isn't working we both attend and host gatherings almost daily. There's something about shared experience that creates an immediate bond.