please sell me a crappy panpipe

I have been talking about kefiyyas a lot, so I thought I would let you see what they look like:




By the way, that's my dad.

We went to Jerash today, which is in northern Jordan. It's the site of one of the best-preserved Roman cities outside of Italy. This whole city is outside, and today was particularly hot. Since neither of us brought sunscreen, my dad decided he would protect his face and neck with a kefiyya that he picked up for 4 JD at one of the stores at the entrance to the city.

Nothing says "I am a huge tourist. Please sell me crappy panpipes and postcards" quite like being a white man speaking english with a camera around your neck and a kefiyya on your head.

After we picked up the kefiyya, we headed over to the city, where they re-enact chariot races at the restored Hippodrome. Of course, my dad, in full tourist battle mode, asked one of the gladiators to pose with us and the kefiyya:




We wandered around the ruins, while every now and then a group of Arab tourists in real kefiyyas passed by.

Loads of creepy people hang out in Jerash. One guy in a white and green baseball-style shirt kept on appearing near us. He had bad posture as well. There was a park worker with a pickaxe who watched us as we passed by and then followed us for a while. And all the time, these creepy kids kept coming really close, either to sell us stuff or stare at us. It just had a spooky feel sometimes, because you are walking along stones or sand in an open area and then these creepsters come up to you out of nowhere...On the other hand, the ruins are pretty cool.

This evening I met the editor in chief of the Jordan Times, who is really warm and open and gave me some insight into what's going on in the country. We wanted to know what the national dish is here: it's mensaf a rice and meat dish that often features a boiled goat's head. Hopefully this will turn into a dinner invitation.

Update on R, the roommate: I think I am going to move out in around two weeks. Living here has all the pitfalls of having a roommate and living by myself. R never really sleeps here, so I pretty much live alone (a situation I had wanted to avoid). I had hoped to live with someone I could go out with at night. But she still works here every day and leaves her dirty dishes and ashtrays all around the house. I am going to look into homestay. Plus the bathroom here is pretty gross; for some reason there is a thick plastic carpet (can't really describe it) in the bathtub, and from what I understand its basic function is to feel slimy and collect hair. The door is missing its windowpanes. The sink makes a dripping sound when the water is coming out of the tap quickly, and I think the dirty water is going into the cabinet below.

Going to Petra tomorrow. Should be cool! Should also be kefiyya-less.