An American in Jordan

MSN Travel and Leisure has issued a list of 10 places to see before you are age 10. According to the author:

Family vacations should be fun, of course, but we always hope they’ll do more—kindle an interest, inspire a career, or at least pry them away from computer screens. Here are 10 U.S. sites guaranteed to rock young worlds.

Obviously this list is a bit biased to those living in the United States, but all in all (and being an American), I think it’s a pretty decent list.

1. American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland: A six-foot violinist made of matchsticks and a car smothered in Noxzema jars are just a couple of the riveting works at Baltimore’s outsider-art showcase.
2. Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia: Immerse yourself in life circa 1776 in this meticulously re-created town, featuring interpreters portraying Revolutionary War figures, farmers, artisans and more
3. Disneyland: Walt’s original California dream—charmingly retro and much more manageable than its Orlando descendant.
4. Ellis Island, New York City: Ferry to the way station from which 12 million of our ancestors first glimpsed America.
5. Grand Canyon, Arizona: Geologic history, dramatically summed up in one 5,500-foot-deep abyss
6. Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles: See the real stars through a Zeiss telescope, and in the giant new planetarium, at this Hollywood landmark.
7. Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California: California’s innovative fish tank lets you walk under a kelp canopy and get nose-to-nose with sea otters.
8. Muir Woods, Marin County, California: Just outside San Francisco, feel like an ant next to the biggest living things on earth: the redwoods.
9. Niagara Falls, New York and Ontario: What a rush—750,000 gallons of water hurtling over rocks, supplying 4.4 billion watts of natural power.
10. Sears Tower, Chicago: From the 103rd floor of the tallest skyscraper in North America, Chicago’s message is clear: Think big.

I feel pretty successful in that I was able to check off 6 of the 10 items before age 10 (Colonial Williamsburg, Disneyland, Ellis Island, Grand Canyon, Griffith Observatory, and Muir Woods). It wasn’t really me, of course, but rather my parents who felt that their children should travel and experience new things and suck in as much culture as possible. And it didn’t hurt that I grew up in California, home to 4 of the sites listed. It seemed like a drudgery at the time to be dragged such places (except for Disneyland, of course), but I’m thankful now for their insistence. Looking back, I really enjoyed my time at each site.

I finally visited the Sears Tower when I was in my early 20’s. I still need to check out the American Visionary Art Museum, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Niagra Falls. I’d better hit the road…culture’s waiting.

Well folks, it looks as though my time here in Jordan has come to an end. I’m not going to go into details, but the short and skinny of it is that I’ll be leaving in just a couple of days.

I’m going to truly miss Jordan and the wonderful friends I’ve made here. This country and its people will always have a special place in my heart. My wish is to one day see Jordan reach its potential as the jewel of the Middle East. There are still many things that must be accomplished before that goal is reached, but it is obtainable and you (yes, you) can make difference.

I’ll be sure to keep in touch with my close friends, and I’ll still be reading all of my favorite Jordanian blogs in order to stay current with local news and cultural happenings. Until (and if) we meet again, I bid you Adieu.

Dave
(The person formally known as The American in Jordan)

Every so often I Google myself, just to see what’s out there on the World Wide Web about me. What I generally discover is historical location photographs that I have taken in the past that are being used (with permission and/or credit) by cultural, historical, religious and encyclopedic websites and online documents.

But occasionally I find something different. And while none of it is too exciting, I did happen across an online article entitled Swiss Girl Meets Steven Spielberg, Spends Time on Indiana Jones 4 Set, where a different style photo of mine was used as the article illustration. Notice the photo of Indiana Jones getting his face punched in by a Nazi goon? Yeah, that’s mine.

Ok, it’s a myth. It’s never too cold to exercise outside. My lungs won’t be damaged. I won’t end up with asthma. I don’t need to acclimatize myself to the cold. I’m not going to die. So please, for the love of all that is holy, stop ‘ya haram’-ing me when I decide to jog in the wintertime.

My youngest brother took some old, goofy photos of me and my siblings and made a little Christmas greeting online. It’s gay…and yet hilarious.

Office Max, a leading office store in the States (think about your local maktabeh, and then think a thousand times better), has a clever online interface to make your own elfin greeting. So go ahead an make your own: elf yourself.