a bit of atlanta in amman

this past tuesday
imam plemon came to amman
with an interfaith group
on a tour of religious sites in jordan and isreal.
we got to see them the evening after their first day
touring the sites near amman.
we took a taxi to their hotel — hotel larsa — near 8th circle
and had dinner with them in the hotel.

before dinner we gave imam plemon the lowdown
on qasid and a bit of jordanian culture in amman
while the girls discovered,
among other things, kanye west’s latest
and very colorful video — “good life” — on the hotel room tv.

br. nassar documented our visit
– a minor event among all the other sites of his trip, most likely –
with a few pictures.

sr. amina gave me one the best hugs i’ve had in a long time
and claimed it came from my mother-in-law, alice.
sr. amina also gave me the remnants of the care package from grandma alice:
cetaphil lotion and soap.
most of it
– the frivolous stuff that cravings are made of
like grits and hot tamales candy –
had to come out because they either had too many bags
or their bags were over the maximum weight.
mashaAllah.

it felt good hearing familiar southern accents
working their way through the arabic names that are becoming more familiar to us.
it reminded me of how far our understanding of arabic has come
as well as the laid back, soothing familiarity of…(sigh)… home.

sanaa, imam plemon, rahmah

sanaa and sis. nafeesah

majeed family in amman, october 2007