9 Days and the Livin' Ain't Easy

My life is going to be action-packed from now until I leave for Jordan in ONLY 9 DAYS!!!!

My social calendar is as follows:

Wednesday:
Hanging with Chloe for a bit

Thursday:
Lunch with Saskia
Dinner with Laurie and Uncle James

Friday-Sunday:
Visiting Uncle Dan at the Lake House

Sunday-Tuesday afternoon:
Visiting my brother in Connecticut

Wednesday:
Dinner with Kate

Somewhere in there:
My grandparents are coming up from Georgia

Thursday:
I LAUNCH!

As such, I decided to pack my suitcase today. And it didn't happen. Tomorrow should be good, though. I am still deciding on clothes to bring. Unfortunately, my favorite pink skirt that I brought to Morocco has seen it's final days :-( I shouldn't complain since I've had it since high school, but it was awesome for travel and it was pretty.

Sporting the pink skirt in Rabat, 2011.

Bummer. Oh well. I will be wearing a lot of the same things that I brought to Morocco/bought in Morocco. They were comfortable and Middle East-appropriate. Things I learned about clothing and travel from the last time:

1. Bring more skirts. They're more comfortable and a lot cooler.

2. Jeans are a terrible idea. Terrible. Horrendous. Unless you're cool with peeling them off your body at the end of the day and every time you go to the bathroom. Maybe I'll bring a loose pair? Maybe not. Still haven't decided. Regardless, it will be less peeling.

3. Don't bring white clothes. They will be gray by the end of the trip from the minerals in the water.

4. Bring old sneakers. I brought new sneakers to Morocco thinking I'd wear them a lot and that I'd need the support. I wore supportive flip flops the entire time...I maybe wore my sneakers 4 or 5 times, if that. So now, I'm bringing old sneakers and leaving them there. I will be welcomed to new sneakers when I get home :-)

Other things on the list:

1. Medicines- prescriptions, advil, cold medicine, immodium, pepto bismol, etc.

2. SUNSCREEN!!!!

3. Towel and swimsuit

4. Toiletries- toothpaste, toothbrush, hair brush, hair ties, perfume, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, band-aids, Q-tips, etc.

5. My Arabic textbook and notebook!

6. Shoes

7. Sunglasses- but those are always on my face or my head, so I doubt I'll forget them...

8. Passport and credit card

And of course, there's maybe a million other things, but looking at all of this is stressing me out a little haha. I just moved back home from Pittsburgh, so I've barely had any time to let the dust settle, so the thought of packing while I'm still unpacking makes me want to barf.

So Stephanie has a cousin who has spent a considerable amount of time in the Middle East. He has connections all over the place. One of his friends is getting married while we'll be there, so Stephanie and I are going to a wedding! I am stoked beyond words- I LOVE weddings and I'm really excited to be going to ANOTHER foreign wedding!

This is what I wore to a Moroccan wedding:

Not your typical American dress. Unfortunately, I will not be wearing this to the Jordanian wedding, as this was Mama Khadija's kaftan that I borrowed from her. Nonetheless, I still intend to look pretty! (And as Arab as possible.)

As of now, I plan to wear this. This is my Moroccan gandora. And the two girls with me are my lovely sisters Aya and Zineb. I miss them so much!

So, unless I buy Jordanian clothes (which I probably will), I'm going to look like a Moroccan at this wedding.

More to come! Stay tuned for more preparations! :-)