Who needs running water, anyways?

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The past 2 weeks have certainly been interesting!

Ramadan began, although it has been a lot easier than last year - not going through culture shock at the same time really helps! I also started back at school, it's been good to have a schedule again. The classes are challenging, and I'm enjoying them, for the most part. I have to study a lot more, but I'm finally beginning to understand classical grammar. And being a 3rd semester student, I only have school 4 days a week - I have a proper weekend again!

Bethany and I are getting along very well - we have a lot in common. She's a great roommate. We also installed a rod and a shower curtain recently, which was quite an accomplishment for people who usually have their dad take care of things like that.

The YWCA choir that I sang in last fall has started up again - we're doing some really cool pieces. More about that later...

I'm also working with the youth group at the english-speaking church we go to - leading a small group for girls and helping with the youth praise band. It was kind of bizarre when the big group met (7th-12th graders) because the 7th graders looked so small, and being around seniors after only graduating a year ago reminds me that I'm not that old. They were mostly third culture kids - from places like Finland and China, or kids who had spent half their lives in Jordan after traveling with their families. It makes for a cool mix of cultures.

And then there was last weekend. Obviously I had gone too long without a proper adventure. Bethany and I got back from community group, and her computer decided that it was the perfect time to kick the bucket. The next morning, we were getting ready for school, and we find that we have no running water. At all. Now, this has never happened to me before. We don't use a whole lot of water during the week, and we do all of our laundry and house cleaning on Wednesday (our water day), so we don't use up our weekly supply. This was 3 days after our water day. So we went to school, and after school had the grounds keeper, Faadi, check it out. Turns out the pipe from the main water supply into our water tank had broken, and they wouldn't be able to fix it until the following Wednesday. 4 more days without running water. We were'nt very happy. But Faadi had a temporary solution - he ran a hose from the adjacent building's water tank into our water tank. We would be able to wash a few dishes, brush our teeth, and flush the toilet for the next 4 days, but taking daily showers wasn't really an option. Luckily, Bethany and I had scoped out some nearby gyms the previous week, and we already knew where we would be getting memberships. So on Sunday, we went out to buy Bethany a new laptop and get gym memberships. As far as adventures go, it wasn't too bad. I'm starting to find them more and more amusing.

It doesn't stop there. On Wednesday, Bethany and two of our other friends, Julia and Jonathan, and I went salsa dancing. I had done a little before, but the other 3 hadn't. We went out to a local food spot called Hashim's (the best food for your money. seriously.) and then headed out to the other side of the city for the lesson. We did a bit of merengue, bachata, and salsa. It was so much fun. There were some really awkwardly hilarious moments. We will definitely be doing that again.

Coming up - football/game night starts this week, only 2 more weeks of Ramadan, planning an upcoming holiday, and more college applications (I'm almost finished 2 of them!).

PS. I miss my Rubik's cube. In it's absence, I've turned to sudoku.

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Comments

[Uncle Mark]

Water
I thought you were going to say that the oasis dried up and you have no more water. Great stories. Keep them coming. Be safe.... Uncle Mark