Housing. Yeah

So, it has been an eventful couple of days so far. Yesterday, I moved into the apartment that I had found before leaving the United States. I unpacked my things and tried to settle in. Gretchen, the girl already living there, seemed nice enough. She was eager to chat and impart what she deemed essential information to me. She introduced me to a friend of hers, Leena, who lived in the apartment directly below. Both girls have been here for about a year teaching English in various schools. I spent most of the afternoon chatting with the girls and trying to get settled. The water in the apartment was out so I couldn't shower. The more I talked to Gretchen about the situation with the apartment the less I liked it. In the evening though, Gretchen and Leena invited me to a "breakfast for dinner" iftar (the evening meal that breaks the fast during Ramadan) with some other expatriates. It was great meeting some other people who are in Jordan for various reasons. I met a journalist, a guy from New Zealand, another guy from Sweden and a guy from Canton Ohio! Most of the people there though were between 25 and 30. It was great to have scrambled eggs and french toast though. We got back from the iftar at about 1030 and I tried to fall asleep in my new surroundings. It wasn't going so well. I woke up early the next morning to skype Jonah :) At this point I still had a lot of reservations about the apartment. For example, Gretchen would be moving out at the end of September leaving me alone in the apartment- not something I would really want for my second month in Jordan. Additionally, heating is too expensive in the apartment so they don't heat it during the winter. Also, she told me that a realtor from a previous apartment she had lived in was after her for 300JD and that she had had to 'hide in her bedroom' one afternoon last week to avoid him while he was at her door. Again, not a situation I really wanted to get in the middle of. Essentially, my gut said no. After talking it out with Jonah, I emailed Alain (at the Fulbright House) to see what my options were. I decided to *try* and shower. In addition to everything else, the water ran out yesterday before I got to the apartment. Gretchen assured me that there would be water by the next morning (i.e. this morning). When I tried to go shower, I got a dribble of water that managed to fill a few glasses of water that I could pour over myself for my morning "shower." Cherry on top, right? At about 9am I headed to the Fulbright House to talk things over with Alain. I told him my concerns and he told me to get out. Luckily I hadn't signed a lease or anything along those lines. I went back to the apartment to repack my things. I told Gretchen what was going on and that I was going back to the hotel. She, for obvious reasons, wasn't too happy. She left a few minutes later without saying anything. I packed my things, left a note, the keys and some money to compensate for the night. After that, I headed back to the hotel I had stayed at my first night. I left my luggage in a Rebekah's room and walked back to the Fulbright house with another Fulbrighter, Laura. Laura and I joined 4 other students as Iman and Zaina took all of us around to some available apartments. The apartments I saw were much more spacious than the one in Jabal Amman for the same rent or slightly more plus they were in a part of town closer to the language institute and the Fulbright House. Laura and I viewed 4 apartments in various areas of Amman. Then we came back to the hotel to meet up with Rebekeh to view two more. The first one was really expensive and being rented out by a 'close security' guard for the U.N. (not someone you really want to haggle prices with). The second apartment was nice but unfurnished and expensive. All three of us passed on this one. We hopped in a cab and headed for the hotel once more. At this point (4:30pm) the only thing I had eaten was one clementine at about 8 am. I was feeling a little dehydrated too. So, we walked to a local market (think the size of your kitchen (maybe cut it in half) and line it with food on each side and you have a "local market." I bought two 1 liter bottles of water (together costing me about .70 JD). I have to make a conscious effort to keep hydrated. I know I need to but Ramadan doesn't exactly make it convenient to go out and get water (because everything is closed during the day). Upon arriving back at the hotel, I reserved a room for tonight. On the way to my room, I ran into Betsy from Dennison University in Ohio. She arrived very early this morning. She was also in a room by herself by a booking error. We went to the front desk to see if they could put us together for tonight. They agreed- now we will each pay 35 JD for tonight and share a room. In about an hour I am meeting up with 6 or so other Fulbrighters for dinner. I am hungry and looking forward to it. First, though, I plan on showering because on a grossness scale of 1-10 I am hoovering at about an 8.5. I am really looking forward to sleeping tonight too. Additionally, if you would like to send mail, my address is as follows:

Paula Koch
c/o Binational Fulbright Commission
P.O. Box 850215
(19, Mahdi bin Barakah Street, Shmeisani)
Amman 11185, Jordan