2.5 days and counting

It has been requested by several of my friends that I keep a blog while I am overseas. This is my first blog, so please be kind!

Here it goes!

I am two and half days away from boarding a plane to Amman, Jordan. My first "real" international vacation. (Mexico doesn't cound) I'm bursting at the seams with excitement and can't concentrate worth a damn. Not good when I have two and a half days left of work and school.

I keep wondering how the heck I'm going to survive a 15-hour flight crammed into a window seat. Advil PM, that's how . . . The longest flight I have been on, was a 7 hour flight to St. Maarten. Being 6 feet tall makes being crammed into an airplane seat extremely uncomfortable.

What do you pack for a Middle Eastern adventure? I have not begun this task yet. What do you wear to ride a camel? The temperature ranges from 60 to 80 degrees depending upon where our adventure takes us that day. Looks like I'll be hitting that baggage weight limit as I always do . . .

Again, 15 hours is a LONG time, so what do you pack in your carry-on to pass the time quickly? You can only read, listen to music and do crosswords for so long. This is where traveling alone can be a bit boring. Don't get me wrong, traveling alone is a wonderful adventure, it just makes for a boring plane ride.

I am traveling to Jordan to visit my friend Omar. I met Omar the summer of 2008. We became the best of friends and we have kept in touch ever since. I CANNOT wait to see Omar again. It has been two and a half years since we have seen each other in person. Omar's family is kind enough to let me stay with them while I'm in Jordan. I want to thank them by bringing a gift. Alcohol is prohibited, so I cannot bring a bottle of wine. There are semi-strict clothing restrictions so I do not want to bring clothes. So I've been asking around. My friends have come up with some fabulous ideas. Peanut butter is a rare commidity, so it was suggested I bring a jar of peanut butter and some peanut butter filled chocolates. It was also I suggested I bring some pure maple syrup and pancake mix along with some universal games for the family. So I have purchased all of the food items along with the game Jenga and Blockus. Doesn't require any reading in English, so they should be easy for everyone to play. I hope these items are well received by my friends.

More to come on my Jordanian adventure!