Arriving in Amman

After an exhausting travel itinerary including three flights, two 9 hour layovers, and a whole lot of waiting, I arrived in Amman early this morning- 2am, to be precise. One of the program staff, Ahmed, was waiting for us in the baggage claim of Queen Alia. About 15 of us came in at roughly the same time. I don't know about you, but at 2am after two days of traveling and sleeping in airports I am not 100% on my game, so I'm not sure if I can say that we were immediately a festive group of like-minded students. But I caught some names and faces and I'm sure in the whirlwind that will be this week (we move into our homes tomorrow? what??) will be more conducive to actually getting to know everyone.

Arriving at the airport- which is lovely, by the way, if not practically deserted that early in the morning- and making it through to the other side of customs seemed like an inhuman feat for someone like me on their last dregs of energy. I waited in line to exchange my US dollars into Jordanian dinars, then waited in line to purchase an entry visa, then waited some more for baggage, then waited for customs. No mishaps, other than a perplexed visa issuer who had not heard of the university I'll be taking classes with and spent a bit of time asking me if I was sure that was in Jordan. 

We all congregated in the lobby by baggage claim, and the program staff gave us a phone to call home on. It was about 4pm in California, as opposed to the wee morning hours here in Jordan, so my mom was considerably more awake than I was. After all of us had arrived (or so I thought) and made our calls, we straggled out to the vans that would take us to the Landmark Hotel, where we're staying until we move into our permanent residences. I'm not sure it takes a whole lot to impress me when I'm that exhausted, at that point by staying standing I was impressing myself, but I have to say that the men managed to pack all of our luggage into three vans- the luggage of 15 people! with a little room to spare.

There was some confusion and pointing as everyone piled into the vans, and then suddenly Sarah- one of the students I had met in the money exchange line- and I were the only two not tucked away into a van. We were directed towards the final empty van and climbed in, only to find ourselves completely abandoned in the parking lot- the other vans left, and then men had gone back inside the airport for a straggling student who never showed. We waited for ten, twenty minutes before giving up on that lone student (sorry!) and finally debarking for the hotel.

Alternating between stunned silence and inane small talk, the drive from the airport to the hotel- only about 20 minutes, seemed a lifetime. I made remarks on the palm trees, Ahmed pointed out a newly opened up Ikea, and our driver swooped down the empty highway lit up with a stream of lights. That road was better lit than any I've ever seen, in the US or otherwise! We pulled into the hotel a bit past 4am to a big welcoming committee of the other students waiting for us- and their baggage. At tourists spots like hotels in Jordan, they pass bags and people through metal detectors before letting them inside. I knew this, had read this in my preparations, but was still vaguely surprised to see it happen.

We waited in the lobby for what seemed like hours- probably closer to 20-30 minutes- for our room assignments and passports (they have to make a scan of them, apparently, which seems to take forever). At that point I was pretty much dead on my feet despite it only being early evening back on the West Coast. I was paired with Talia, a girl I had met and chatted with at the gate in Frankfurt, who kindly waited with me instead of going up to the room without me while I was waiting for my passport to be returned. Once my passport was returned to me we promptly went up to the room and dove into bed, even though breakfast was only a few hours away at that point.