On Sunday, rain clouds covered Amman's sky, and I woke up to see the grey sheet usually seen by residents of Sunny England.
When it rains in the Middle East, there's a certain romance about it. The air smells of dew, the roads become patent black, the lights in the houses twinkle against the slate sky. It's all very beautiful looking out from your third floor window whilst having a cup of coffee.
Anyway, on this particular rainy Sunday, I was due to go to work and so sipping a cup of Nescafé wrapped in a shawl with my toes in fluffy slippers was not gonna happen. The thing is, several weeks ago, Louis and I had tried to buy some umbrellas from Carrefour, only to be told that they wouldn't be available till the end of October. Then we kind of forgot because the weather has been kinda lovely...sorry western world.
Of course, our forgetfulness would come back to haunt us. I could hear the rain pounding away at our windows whist getting ready for work. Lucky for me, the rain had pretty much subsided by the time I left the house and I was planning to get a cab at the bottom of the hill.
I stood there for ten minutes, wrapped in my scarf, trying to signal a cab. No luck. You'd think they'd take advantage of the thousands of pedestrians who don't have cars. I started walking and kept trying but there were no free cabs on my side of the road. Typical. By this time a drizzle had started. My pretty straight hair was getting wet (yes, this is literally what goes through my mind). I decided to just walk to work, considering I was half way there.
I got to work wet and sweaty. Nice. But all this got me thinking about London's rainy days.
It's much easier battling the rain with an umbrella. Leading on to my next point, umbrellas are not a rare commodity in the UK. Plus, having a Starbucks/Costa/Pret on every corner definitely helps. And wearing leather boots and 120 denier tights (without the dodgy stares) is also a pro...
But then I thought of that horrible wind that always, always breaks your umbrella. And the real possibility of getting poked in the eye by your fellow commuter on an overcrowded pavement. And the wet floors you have to negotiate if you enter any shops. And the fact that your bag/shoes will get wet no matter the diameter of your brolly. And the worst of them all, the stuffy humidity you get when tens of wet people and their baggage enter the polluted tube stations and cram into the train cars. Ugh.
So I decided, although it was an uncomfortable experience on Sunday, I am not as resentful at the rain because, well, we've had clear, crisp days since then. And the sun shines at least once a day. And I've managed to buy an umbrella in case the constant rain does start up.
Sx
Hey girl,
ReplyDeleteIt's Karo, I finally got around to your blog. It's awesome! And I see you're in Amman with Louis!!! Yaaaaay!!! How does he like it? I read a piece in your "outspoken" section about getting harrassed in the street. I dunno why but I used to get A LOT of it while in the Middle East. The key is to lash out :) Like you've never lashed out before: you can shout at them, chastise them, God knows I slapped a guy once in the Sanaa Old City :D They do NOT expect you to react in anyway and tell them their are acting immorally, that God sees their filthy thoughts and is appalled, that this is not acceptable Muslim behavior at all, that you are "holiness personified" as the Prophet said about women, and such behavior towards you is a grave sin. And the funniest part is that it WORKS! They always drop their chins to the ground, they are always shocked, and they run away very fast, ashamed. You can also point to the fact that you are in no way dressed provocatively. What kind of filthy mind must that guy have to go all "raspy" on you? And keep your chin up at all times, no cowering. Ever! You might also let Louis know about it, see what he suggests. I'll try to check this blog out regularly so we can be more in touch :) Keep up the good work.
Cheers,
Karla