There was no way I wasn't going to celebrate the independence of my country, regardless of not physically being there.
The original plan was for me, Stephanie, Nick, Silvia, and maybe Saria to go somewhere, eat America food, and do America things. I also wanted to meet up with Lena, so plans weren't really set. As such, plans were WAY different.
I woke up from a nap around 6pm. Stephanie had made prior plans, but we had heard from Lena, so we figured that I'd go alone to meet Lena and that Stephanie would come later. I caught a cab at 7ish and gave the information to the cab driver. I thought that the name of the building I was going to was on the paper. I learned differently a little later on.
So we get to the destination area (one of the landmarks given to me was a pharmacy). I just had the driver dump me there and I went into the pharmacy to ask for further directions on foot. Apparently, the name I was given was the name of an area, NOT a building. No big deal, right? Wrong. I didn't have a working Jordanian phone, and my iPhone wasn't picking up wireless signals. So there I was, somewhere in Jordan, but in the right neighborhood, but still confused. A very kind Jordanian woman who spoke fluent English offered to drive me to the UN. Normally, I'd say "no thanks", but she was a woman and she was smaller than me, so I took her up on the offer. I figured if push came to shove, I could knock her out if she tried any shenanigans.
We drove to the UN, thinking maybe this party thing was there, but it wasn't. I then borrowed the woman's cell phone and called Lena, who gave us more detailed directions, including her standing on the balcony and waving her arm around in the air. I thanked the woman and made it to my destination. It turns out that the destination was Lena's apartment, NOT a government building. Whoops.
Lena's friend, Munir came to pick us up and we drove to the American Embassy. At this point, Stephanie wouldn't have been able to meet up with us because she could only get in with government employees.
As typical Americans would do, we ate hot dogs and drank soda. There was even a fireworks show!
After the fireworks ended, everyone started to go home, but Lena, Munir, and I stayed for a gathering at the Marine House on the Embassy base. Although not many people were there, much fun was had by all!
I wasn't allowed to take pictures on the Embassy base due to security, but I was allowed to get a picture of Lena and me at the Marine House gathering.
I think I can fit in with government employees quite well!
So the hostel at which I am staying has a curfew of 11pm. That only means that it isn't staffed after 11. If you are going to get back later than 11, you have to tell the ladies at the desk. Before I left, I told them that I might be late but that I'd try my best to get back on time. I ended up getting back at 11:05. I was thinking that maybe someone might still be at the desk. I buzzed the entrance buzzer and nobody answered. I tried to get the hostel's wifi on my phone, but it didn't reach outside. I ended up walking around and asked a woman if I could borrow her phone to make a call. She kindly let me, but nobody answered. I tried buzzing in again and then just sat there hoping that someone would come by the door. I then remembered that the McDonald's had wifi, so I ran over, sent Stephanie a text message (you can do that on iPhones abroad if there is wifi), ran back, then FINALLY got in.
Okay, so maybe the saga isn't THAT saga-y, but keep in mind that I was alone, in a foreign country, struggling with the dialect, and without a functioning phone. Needless to say, I bought myself a cheap cellphone. All in all, I had a nice, American Independence Day in Jordan!
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