Last week I was over Jordan so I went to Australia

I’ve needed a break from Jordan this past week.  I just wasn’t into it. That’s meant I even needed to not blog about it. It’s just been one of those weeks and whilst I know that these happen to all of us regardless of where you live it was one of those weeks when it’s all the little things that happen because I live in Jordan that got to me. In turn when the little things get to me it’s hard not to let the big things tumble on it and join them.

But rather than focusing on the big things which as I said are the same the world over maybe it’s best that I tell you some of the little things so that we can all have a laugh together.

I cleaned this week. Not quite to the standards of Arabic cleaning, but none the less I gave the house a good clean, including washing the windows inside and out, getting rid of all the sand in the window sills, giving both balconies a scrub and hosing the pavers. It is May after all and we are past the season of dust and sand storms. Well that’s all good and well in theory. The very next day the wind blew from the south west and we probably had one of the worst dust storms of the spring.

This photo is of the dust storm in Amman. Photo credit Jordanweather.jo. It was like this in Wadi Musa also.

This is certainly not expected this late in the spring season. March yes, April the occasional dusty day, but May you certainly don’t expect days where the visibility is reduced to 1000m. It was so dusty that this caused lots of instability in the atmosphere which brought with it thunderstorm activity. Amman and further north got some quite heavy rain. We just got a few drops. Not lots but it was enough to rain mud on my clean windows and balconies! That and the window sills were full again with sand. Total waste of energy and time cleaning the day before. I didn’t see the irony or the funny side at the time. Still not quite at laughing stage, but at least smiling about it now.

My “expensive” clothes horse broke this week. The one that we had prior to the expensive one we bought when we got married. It was a cheap flimsy thing that collapsed if you looked at it the wrong way. If you can ask my Mum about it! Atef had applied a few fixes and I had also applied some as well. It finally gave up the ghost and collapsed beyond repair back in January after being left outside in the really heavy snowstorm. It had lasted just 2 years. I decided that I was going to go up market and buy the expensive clothes horse. The old one had cost 10JD (approx $15 Aus) so I lashed out and brought the shiny, more sturdy looking one for 18JD ($25 Aus). Looks can be deceiving and certainly were in the case of this clothes horse. I had spent 18JD on an expensive, shiny, flimsy, crappy clothes horse that broke after 4 months. So I might have vented my frustration and taken it out on the clothes horse, after all my clean washing was dumped all over the dusty balcony, by ceremoniously throwing it off the balcony. It made me feel better at the time. Now laughing!

Atef’s brother has finally moved into his new house which is on the road up from us. But not before it was subjected to several more days of cleaning. The day before they moved in the women turned up to clean. Up until this stage it had been me, Atef’s Dad and brothers cleaning. Even though we used a hose and hosed every possible surface several times over the house obviously needed the Jordanian woman’s touch! They cleaned to all hours of the night and so much water was used that the waterfall that had been created from the stairway when I had helped clean was nothing in comparison to the waterfall that was created that flowed out of the stairs, across the road and then down the cut behind out house. It flowed and flowed and flowed. Our bedroom is at the back corner of the house and it was like Chinese water torture trying to sleep with the sound of running water. Ok so I might have finally got to the point that I went outside and turned the water off at the mains. It was 10:30pm and I had only had 3 hours sleep the night before thanks to Alia teething. And I did turn it back on in the morning. And they didn’t move in until the following afternoon. And it’s not like they didn’t have water in the house as the tank was full, just not to the hose that was being used to clean as it was connected directly to the mains. Guilty giggle!

So what do I do when I’m over Jordan. Well I go to Australia for 15 minutes. I put the kettle on and make a cup of Milo.  I make a piece of Vegemite toast and to finish off the trip I have a Mint Slice biscuit. All in 15 minutes. It’s my perfect little trip to Australia. Last week I think I went to Australia no less than 5 times! Just as well Mum had sent me a supply parcel for my birthday.

Back in Jordan now.