food and other life issues

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harma
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food and other life issues

Post by harma »

Just some random things I want to share with you all here. first food issues. Today I realized how much I like to eat meat and fish. One of the view things most MC’ers digests well. This week I bought chicken wings, baked them in (a lot of) olive oil. I ate some of them today with my hands and just realized how much I enjoyed it and liked the taste. The same with fish. Baked in again a lot of olive oil, it gets that nice crusty layer on it, really great taste. Cooking form scratch makes you appreciate simple food and pure tastes so much more.

Another thing I had with carrots a week of two ago. I bought at a local shop (what was another nice surprise to see that they sell carrots) and when I opened the plastic back at home to scrape, wash and cook them, there was it. That delicious smell of carrots combined with an earth smell. The smell of the soil. I grew up on a farm with (of course) a vegetable garden. From than I know how fresh carrots smell. It’s a very simple thing, but great to experience.

And than after three months of struggling here, loneliness, being put up with my time not knowing what to do and feeling lost so often, things finally seems to be moving. Only since yesterday. The only thing I did was more or less giving up trying so hard making it work here. From now I have one week left before I will fly back to the Netherlands. So I thought well, just do your things you do now and for the rest making friends, finding a job, setting up other things here, do it during your second stay here. Since yesterday, all those small but so wonderful things seem to happen. A Dutch girl I have briefly been in touch with on the phone calls me to meet for coffee.

Besides that I seem to get to know one of my class mates to know a bit better. Something that just happened. This week we ended up both in the same café with free internet next to each other and just started to talk, why we were here, what we do during day time, how we like it here (or not sometimes), just a normal friendly talk but real contact (what I have been missing for so long).


Than I am going to have my first “connect for coffee” in Amman, I was doing the same in Groningen for the international residences there and had for a while the idea of doing something like that here. And yesterday I finally did it, picked a date, time and location, put it on website of two social groups in Amman and we will see who will so up.

And than, another contact I had ages ago (like two months) with somebody I talked to with his own business, extremely busy, I said then well, if you are so busy and I have so much time left, maybe I can help you out with things. After that silence. So I had already giving up on that. But to my surprise today, an email to send my CV and meet soon.

Also I finally seem to have found a new day ritmh, three days a week in morning I have Arabic classes and on the other mornings I go the gym.
But most important of all, is that I finally get the feeling of getting in touch again with my life energy, my inspiration, my motivation. The moment the MC started in May last year, I did not only got ill as all of us here, I also than seemed to have lost my appetite for life. Not that I was not doing anything, It what just the joy the pleasure was missing. I was hoping by coming here (Jordan) I would solve that.

Can you imagine how great the disappointment was, when I discovered that being on holiday was something totally different than living here. To realize how lonely a different country can ben and how difficult normal daily live can be.
I am even looking forward to go back to the Netherlands for a while, my own house, my own stuff, friends, family. I am a bit over the top when it comes to x-mas and decorating my house. A have a whole attic full with x-mas stuff. (like 20 boxes, no not joking). First I thought, no I am not going to decorate my house, too much fuss. But I totally changed my mind, Oh yes I am going to decorate my house like every year and oh yes we are going to have a x-mas party this year, like every year (except last year) at my place.

This is what I wanted to share with all of you. Have a great holiday season and bless you all. And thanks again for all your support here, for all my MC things, but also in your interest and support in my trip here. I really helped me and I appreciate it so much. Thank you all!!!

a big

:tigerpoobearhug: :tigerpoobearhug: :tigerpoobearhug: :tigerpoobearhug: :tigerpoobearhug: :tigerpoobearhug:

for all of you


harma
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Post by Ginny »

Harma, I am always so impressed on what you have done and what you have accomplished. The fact that you have accepted the day to day life and because of that, it has opened doors. A lesson for all of us. Glad you are even looking forward to going home and decorating for Christmas. Hope that this will be a joyful and satisfying time in your life. Have a safe journey home. Ginny
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MaggieRedwings
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Post by MaggieRedwings »

Dear Harma,

My admiration for your insight, determination and just joy of life and little fear of the unknown. I so enjoy reading your posts and realize what you are doing in life is a path that you must do. I honestly understand the 20 boxes of Christmas - I have gotten down from 29 to now 19 - just had to clean out and give away.

May your trip home be safe and the holidays great with your family and friends and the new year bring you more life adventures.

You know not to let this disease get you.

Love, Maggie
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Joefnh
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Post by Joefnh »

Harma thanks for that wonderful update. I must say the courage you have shown to make a move like you did, and immerse yourself in a new culture is just amazing and an inspiration for me personally.

I fully understand the issue of enjoying the tastes of the simpler foods. I have been learning to cook for the first time over these past 8 months and am actually getting pretty good at it. I very much enjoy simple fresh foods and have been having fun preparing them. I am getting to the point where I really do not miss much of the processed foods that you get at most modest restaurants.

Thanks for sharing your adventures & Merry Christmas... enjoy the decorating.

--Joe
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tex
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Post by tex »

Harma,

It's great to hear that you are looking forward to doing, (and enjoying), all those things, now.

I hope that everything in your plans goes well. That was a very inspiring update.

Tex
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Gloria
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Post by Gloria »

Harma,

I hope you enjoy being in the Netherlands with your family during the holidays. You'll have to get used to the snow and colder weather!

Gloria
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Post by Linda in BC »

Harma, that is wonderful about the business man asking for your cv!! and I hope you get some people coming to your "connect for coffee" event. I bet you will. It seems so often in life when one finally does let go ( and as they say.. let God), and stop pushing and forcing so hard, things just start to fall into place. So you are planning to go back? When?

Enjoy your last few days (for now) in Amman and have a safe trip back to Holland. And enjoy decorating and having that Christmas party! That's the spirit! Live life to its fullest!

Luv
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Post by starfire »

Harma,
So glad you are feeling better about things and enjoying life more. Have a fantastic visit and a wonderful Christmas.

Love, Shirley
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber"
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harma
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Post by harma »

.

The coffee was a success, about 15 people showed up and it seems that all had a good time. But above that it was a personal success, since this is my first thing i did here in Jordan and what wouldn't have happened if I didn't take the initiative. Although it was also first acquaintance with politic sensitivity here.

I organized it at one of the Starbucks in Amman. Couple of reasons to choose Starbucks, most of all close to my home, besides that easy to find for everybody, it has a non-smoking area (one of the downsizes of the middle east, all the smoking everywhere, what most Europeans and north Americans not used to anymore) and it's big. But some people didn't want to come, since Starbucks isrun by Israeli management. To be honest I have no idea if this is true or not. And than every cup of coffee you buy there is a bullet for a Palestine kid some say (one of the comments of the website where my invitation was on). In other words, welcome to the Middle East.

First I wanted to apologize for it and explaining that I didn't know, and next time that I would pick another place. But on second thought, I decided, no I am not going to apologize; I am not even going to respond on it. I just stay out of this discussion. I am from another part of the world, this is not my discussion. I think that is the safest. And besides that it is not like the Starbucks are only visited by foreigners here. There are a lot of locals there, it is mainly locals there. But I see now how easy it is to make "a mistake" here when it comes to politic sensitivity.

Today the weather is really bad here, is has been windy for three days now. Two days mainly a sort of sand storm. And since yesterday also raining. Cold and rainy. But coming from Holland, what's new. I went to school this morning, discovering school has been cancelled because of the weather........my first reaction was......if this weather is a reason to cancel school in Holland we can close the country. But what I didn't know there was also snow in other parts of Amman (local difference on a very short distance) and it is a hilly city and probably the public services is not well equipped to keep roads snow and ice free.


Kari
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Post by Kari »

Harma,

As usual, I love reading about your adventures and insights - you're a courageous person - thanks for sharing. Your enthusiasm about Christmas has inspired me. Have a safe trip back home and a wonderful holiday season!!!

I totally relate to your weather comments as I come from a country where nothing ever closes no matter how bad the weather. Bergen, my home town, has more than 300 days of precipitation a year - so there is a great emphasis on fashionable rain gear and umbrellas :).

Strangely, life has landed me in a place that has over 300 sunny days a year - I love it here in Colorado - it is hard to stay depressed when the sun is shining from a clear blue sky!!!

Love,
Kari
"My mouth waters whenever I pass a bakery shop and sniff the aroma of fresh bread, but I am also grateful simply to be alive and sniffing." Dr. Bernstein
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Post by Gloria »

Harma,

What an interesting response to your invitation. I'm impressed that 15 people came. I would call that a success! I'm surprised that you even know that many people already. You are making great progress!

Gloria
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tex
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Post by tex »

Harma,

You did good. I agree with the way you handled the "politically correct" objection, (by not responding). You can't please everyone, so there is no point in worrying about it. No matter where you might choose to meet, there will always be someone, somewhere, who will find fault with it.

Here are my thoughts on people who feel that they have to not only be "politically correct", but they feel obligated to nag everyone else about it, also:

IMO, "politically correct" advocates are people who have consciously chosen to live under a cloud of cynicism and self-imposed guilt. They feel that we, (the living), should be punished for the crimes of our ancestors, and they believe that it is their duty to try to convince us that we are just as "guilty" as they are, and the only way they know to accomplish that goal, is to make life miserable for all of us, by constantly reminding us of all that politically correct BS. They are so afraid of insulting someone, that they're afraid to say much of anything to anyone, for fear that it might not be "politically correct", and yet it never dawns on them that constantly promoting political correctness, is about as politically incorrect as they could possibly be. :lol:

I always enjoy your posts.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by Linda in BC »

yes, Harma, I was going to say I think the turnout of 15 people was very good. I run all kinds of literacy programs and if we get 15 people out to an event, we think that is good! We are in much smaller communities though, I admit (the biggest is 5, 000 people, some only a few hundred) Still, if you advertise on the internet, in a city, you take a big chance. What if 400 people had shown up! I doubt the Starbucks could have handled that!

Very interesting what you were saying about how easy it is to make a political mistake...that is always a challenge in a new culture anywhere, but could have life or death consequences over there I bet. thanks for sharing snippets of your life. I always enjoy reading them.
Linda
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