I've never been to the Middle East. I had never been to Brazil or India either, but really had no preconceived idea of what those places were like. Some notion of the Middle East had long existed in my mind in some form or another. Not only because my grandparents were from Lebanon, but mostly because of what you see and hear on the news. A story on the Middle East--most bad--makes its way to the nightly news every day. What was this place really like? I couldn't imagine all of it was in constant conflict all the time.
Nothing is like the first moment you step through the automatic doors from the airport terminal. Brazil was like an alien landscape. The earth was red like the surface of Mars, and the plants and birds were otherworldly, like things out of science fiction. We landed in India in the middle of the night. The air was hot and humid, though it was November, and there were throngs of people crowding the exit. We were really in India.
Sometimes, I think, you can be in another country, but it doesn't feel all that different from being in the States, but when we stepped from the airport in Amman, it really felt like we were in the Middle East. As we drove the airport road to town, the desert to the east to our right, low khaki buildings and sparse pine trees to our left, it was quickly apparent we had landed in a place unlike any we had experienced before.
We landed at 4:00, but it wasn't until after 6:00 that we finally left the airport. Short half a car seat. The duration of the jet lag wasn't as bad as it was when we traveled to India. Somehow, Pete and I remain largely unaffected. For me, I think it has a lot to do with having to come to work and to somewhat function through the daylight hours. Everyone was rising early. Even Clementine who Friday morning woke at 1:00 in the morning and never went back to sleep. This wouldn't have been that big of a deal if she didn't tell me every two minutes until the sun came up that she couldn't go to sleep.
After being--for the most part--extremely well-behaved through pack-out and our cross-country travels, the kids let their hair down upon our arrival in Amman. In their defense, they really have nothing to do. The only entertainment they have is whatever they were able to fit into their tiny backpacks, a couple of small airplane games. We have no internet or cable, so they can't even watch TV. They watch and re-watch the same two or three movies we downloaded to the iPad. Yesterday, the lifeguard at the pool gave them each an inflatable ball. This morning, they set up patio chairs as soccer goals on our back patio, so at least they're getting creative.
They've all been adjusting amazingly well. Pete took the move from India hard, and Elise and I were worried he would take this move equally hard. It could be harder. Peter doesn't like change. He cried when I shaved my beard. But he does like adventure. Specifically, Pete likes air travel. You could get him to do about anything or go about anywhere as long as you told him there was a flight involved. But--so far--Pete has been an angel. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I think if it was going to drop it would have by now.
Nothing is like the first moment you step through the automatic doors from the airport terminal. Brazil was like an alien landscape. The earth was red like the surface of Mars, and the plants and birds were otherworldly, like things out of science fiction. We landed in India in the middle of the night. The air was hot and humid, though it was November, and there were throngs of people crowding the exit. We were really in India.
Sometimes, I think, you can be in another country, but it doesn't feel all that different from being in the States, but when we stepped from the airport in Amman, it really felt like we were in the Middle East. As we drove the airport road to town, the desert to the east to our right, low khaki buildings and sparse pine trees to our left, it was quickly apparent we had landed in a place unlike any we had experienced before.
We landed at 4:00, but it wasn't until after 6:00 that we finally left the airport. Short half a car seat. The duration of the jet lag wasn't as bad as it was when we traveled to India. Somehow, Pete and I remain largely unaffected. For me, I think it has a lot to do with having to come to work and to somewhat function through the daylight hours. Everyone was rising early. Even Clementine who Friday morning woke at 1:00 in the morning and never went back to sleep. This wouldn't have been that big of a deal if she didn't tell me every two minutes until the sun came up that she couldn't go to sleep.
After being--for the most part--extremely well-behaved through pack-out and our cross-country travels, the kids let their hair down upon our arrival in Amman. In their defense, they really have nothing to do. The only entertainment they have is whatever they were able to fit into their tiny backpacks, a couple of small airplane games. We have no internet or cable, so they can't even watch TV. They watch and re-watch the same two or three movies we downloaded to the iPad. Yesterday, the lifeguard at the pool gave them each an inflatable ball. This morning, they set up patio chairs as soccer goals on our back patio, so at least they're getting creative.
They've all been adjusting amazingly well. Pete took the move from India hard, and Elise and I were worried he would take this move equally hard. It could be harder. Peter doesn't like change. He cried when I shaved my beard. But he does like adventure. Specifically, Pete likes air travel. You could get him to do about anything or go about anywhere as long as you told him there was a flight involved. But--so far--Pete has been an angel. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I think if it was going to drop it would have by now.
No comments:
Post a Comment