Arab Lands, Ready and About

So I have been in the air for 16 hours, spent 16 hours waiting at the gate, 1 hour in Frankfurt, and have 1 hour left of flying before Aqaba. Honestly, I have loved the waiting time for two reasons. First, it allows me to soak up the experience without rushing into it, and it allows the excitement to marinate. Minus the fact that I am the only guy in the Middle East right now wearing shorts and Chacos I am ready to go. 

On the plane ride from Portland to Frankfurt I meet a high school kid named Lars. He was a big guy from Northeast Germany. He was doing a study abroad in Grants Pass and had not been home for 11 months. Cool kid and we are going to maintain contact over the internet. He has been dating this girl starting three months prior to his departure for the States and had made him a calendar for his birthday that had special pictures of them all the way up to his arrival date home. Totally reminded me of Em and Lars and I reminisced of our girlfriends together. It really helped dull the pain of leaving Em, family, and friends!

I had the opportunity to read quite a bit in Frankfurt and also spent a good amount of time napping, sprawled across the waiting room seats with my arm wrapped through the strap of my bag. During my time in Frankfurt, I really experienced the harshness of the culture. First, I wanted to try a German beer that Lars recommend for me and as the drinking age is 16 I felt comfortable drinking with the lad. The lady instantly said no to Lars as he asked for me in German and she said no to me as well. I was a little taken back and she informed us that we had to be 18. I assured her I was well over 18, and she requested my ID. After looking over the ID she said she did not believe me and handed me a hand crafted German beer anyways.

Next, I had a question about the money exchange and how much some of the coins I had were worth. I wanted to eat but did not know if I would need to exchange for more Euros. They had a 1 and 2 on them but Lars had told me that they also used cents so I was wondering if these were Euros or cents. I said to the lady, "Are these just 1 or 2 Euros or are they cents?" She laughed and said she that my question was dumb and that she was glad she was going home. From this I inferred that they were in fact Euros. Thanks.

The flight from Frankfurt to Amman was great. We passed over the Alps on the Austrian side which were incredible. The peaks were spread out over different distances and so it had an interesting blend of white-capped peaks and green hills from an aerial view. It was also set against the backdrop of a ruby red sunset. We also had an amazing meal of chicken and I sat next to a government technician setting up "stuff" in Baghdad. 

Oh yeah, and I am totally getting used to full head coverings for women. It is so apparent that God is a God of the nations, all of them. See ya.