Friends
There is this feeling that I get, sometimes, when I’ve been away from home for a long time. It’s not so much missing things, or people, which I do a little bit every day. Instead, it’s a yearning for something that you know you can’t have, because of where you are. Like this past day off, our Friday morning, my dearest wish was to be sitting on a dock in the sunlight, watching lazy clouds wander by in the distance, and reading with my feet dangling into the water. The perfect way to spend a day when the weather reaches the sorts of high temperatures that we’ve grown accustomed to.
We’d gone out Thursday night for dinner, finding a pizza place that tasted a bit like Italy. We grabbed ice creams and then we gathered our things to go out to the Movenpick hotel to watch belly dancing. We’d arrived a little late for meeting Sherry, and were confused when we saw Euro 2012 on the TV screens instead of our promised entertainment. Fortunately, I’d remembered hearing that there was another show at the Intercontinental. Unfortunately, we didn’t know where it was. A friendly local pointed us in the right direction, which was embarrassingly close and lit up by one of the largest signs I’ve ever seen. We ventured onwards, through their security and bag check system, and into their glorious, chandeliered lobby with marble floors and cathedral ceilings. It was quite spectacular. We (Mike, Erin, Tash and I) were directed to a quiet lounge, where we found Sherry, Heather, Olivia, Lindsay and Shandice ready to greet us. We grabbed drinks and waited while two Jordanians entertained the crowd (the 9 of us + three guys).
Twenty minutes later, a woman dressed for the part in a slitted skirt and tiny top came out carrying a cane as a prop, and began to dance to a catchy song in Arabic. It was really fun, especially when she balanced the cane over her chest while she danced, her shoulders never moving. Heather especially was so excited, particularly when she was given the opportunity to get up and learn some of her moves. She wasn’t just enthusiastic, either – she was pretty darn good! The rest of us got up, too, but were far more awkward. It was so silly.
We left after two performances that took us past midnight, bought drinks and went up to the roof to chat. While the wine had spoiled, the company was fantastic, and we stayed up until 2 talking, until we realized that on any other work day we’d be waking up in two hours and promptly ventured to bed.
Waking up on Friday at 10, it felt like a lazy summer’s day – with the exception of mountains of paperwork and the shock of having nothing to do but sit around. We were all strangely short-tempered in the morning, since we didn’t have any plans and couldn’t seem to figure out how to navigate an unscheduled day. While some of the others adventured to Chinatown (yes, it exists!) to find food and look around, I stayed behind to sort through the built-up work. We had planned to go to the beach in the afternoon, but when everyone returned at nearly 4 o’clock, we realized that wouldn’t be an option. Feeling a little disappointed, a new plan developed instead. Mike had bought water balloons, and we had water bottles up to our ears. So what better plan than to fill up 50 balloons, poke holes in the tops of water bottles as makeshift guns, put on our shorts and t-shirts and quietly sneak past any nay-sayers and up to the roof. The next hour or so whizzed by as Mike, Tash, Erin, Shandice, Heather, Miranda, and I became completely drenched, a little bruised and totally ridiculous. The water bottles turned out to be much more effective with the cap entirely unscrewed. We made far too much noise and had far too much fun to be considered appropriate in Jordan, but by the end of it, a little bit of my lakeside daydream had ebbed away. We sat down to dry off and watched the sun cast long shadows over the mountains around us. Sometimes, doing something silly is all it takes to brighten a day. And sometimes, there are moments where you realize that though you’ve found yourself in a new place with strange people, those strangers have disappeared, and new friends stand in their places. New friends that feel like old friends, even like family. Sometimes, it’s those moments that end up meaning more to you than any big adventure. I’m grateful to these people, because their friendship will last for all of our many adventures to come. Maybe it's sentimental, but while our time in Jordan is coming to a close, I'm so glad that this is something we'll be taking back with us.