I will never again underestimate the importance of being able to walk down the street without feeling like a hunted animal. I thought about it a lot before I came to Britain – on my trips to Ukraine especially – but it’s having been able to travel extensively by myself, go to Scotland, pop down to Liverpool, end up in the south in Devon, that has really driven this home for me.
I know I have a lot of Jordanian readers, as well as drive-by comments who worry that I am slandering their home, and I know it’s an uncomfortable situation when someone is laying it out in the barest of ways, but I will continue to do so in my writing, on this blog and elsewhere, because this is one of the few things that a) Keeps me sane & b) Keeps me working.
So this is a Monday Music dedicated to whatever it is that keeps you going through the night:
Back to the Old House – the Smiths
The Last Laugh of the Laughter – Travis
Favorite – Neko Case
Zima (Winter) – Melnitsa
Little Wing – Jimi Hendrix
Leleki – Okean Elzy
(In the Wee Small Hours of) Sixpence – Procol Harum
Civil War – Guns n’ Roses
Forever Young – Alphaville
I Wish I Felt Nothing – the Wallflowers
Here is a video of Procol Harum doing “Homburg.”
“Your multi-lingual business friend has packed her bags and fled…”
Natalia A. 
My favorite Jimi Hendrix song. 🙂
Told you that you simply need a womenfriendlier place to live LOL
Marina, do you really think I’m an idiot? Because that’s what your comments here essentially imply, over and over again. There are places in this world that are friendly toward women and there are places that are not so friendly – do you really think that I do not realize that? It’s how you cope with the situation you are in that determines your ability to function, however.
I have not been coping nearly as well lately as I should be, due to a number of factors I don’t discuss here, and I’d appreciate it that instead of LOLing or giving me half-baked advice, you’d show a little basic respect and empathy. I don’t think it’s too much to ask.
Thank you.
Lol means that one is joking
Really? Because I don’t get that impression, in your case. You’ve repeatedly shown frustration with the daily challengers I blog about, as if things would be easier if I only listened to the arbiters of wisdom, like you, who stop by my blog to counsel and advise.
There’s a saying for this in Russian: чужую беду руками разведу.
I suppose if I were a little more detached from it, I’d find it a fascinating anthropological project. People seem to lose all sense of proportion when speaking to a foreign woman who lives in the Middle East – and that includes people from different countries – be they Russia, the U.S., Germany, etc.
Darling, honestly, it is not my fault that life is treating you unfairly right now. You don’t have to take it out on me 🙂
Ok, that’s it. You’re on moderation. I take enough shit from commenters as is, but you should know better.
You know, Natasha, I think I know what you are going through. People giving you shit about it are doing it for their own amusement; watching other people suffer from a safe distance is always fun. Ignore it and eventually they’ll move on to another person they want to act superior to.
We don’t know each other very well, but I understand you are in a relationship and it’s your boyfriend’s (fiances?) work that has tied you to Amman for now, as well as your own work (ArabComment is ace). I think Jordan is a beautiful country, but I know how hard it is for a young, pretty, free-spirited and, very importantly, FOREIGN woman.
Just take it one day at a time as you figure out what you need to do, and whether you and your loved one can move on. My relationship did not survive the Middle East, but each case is different. Enjoy the mansaf while you are at it.
Hugs and good luck.
Will do. 😉