Saturday, June 29, 2013

Curious Stuff - Part I

I'm enjoying my stay in Amman. The Jordanians are great and  the Arabic language is challenging (an understatement, for sure).  And some things are just curious and make me smile:

Here's a traffic policeman. He and others stand in front of the school (which is next door to the University of Jordan) watching traffic.  They carry a notebook, wear a cool pointy hat and watch for traffic violators. 

When they see a possible problem - triple parking, for instance - they stare at the perpetrator and wiggle their fingers at them - much as your mother did long ago - "stop doing that or I will speak to your father." It seems to work.

Sometimes there are other issues to be sorted out - street disputes. Like this one...apparently between a taxi driver and a passenger(s)...which, of course, draws a crowd.



 ***
The first morning here I heard what sounded an awful like the ice cream truck of my youth coming down the street...that happy 
sound that made us all run to our mothers for popsicle money.

In Amman that's the sound of the propane truck 


For us, and I suspect for many in Amman, a tank of propane is a necessity - if one wants to cook!

Behind the truck is a Little Caesar's...which I think went out of business in the States.

I understand their pizzas are pretty bad here -- oddly enough.



***

Below is a shot from the window of our classroom looking down on a parking lot of the University next door. One day during a break I watched a curious metamorphosis occur. 

Notice the white car parked between the two lines of cars in the foreground (and the empty and available spaces). I watched the driver stop and sit a few minutes. I thought she was maybe waiting for someone. Nope. 

She got out of the car and left it - in the middle (to my mind) of a parking lot.  Where's the order?

But then...another car pulled up behind her and another and another. And soon....this.


Makes some weird sense!

1 comment:

  1. What's funny is that there appear to be empty spaces when she began the conga line. She apparently knew they would fill up and didn't want to be blocked by someone else. Good to be in the know.

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