Pasta

I figure that I have eaten so much rice lately that I could use a diversion. At the completion of all the weekend Masses, I came home to prepare some past al dente. We have such great EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) here that it was just begging to go on pasta. It certainly hit the spot. Maybe I'll tell the Italian Gomboni sisters about it at Mass tomorrow. They speak to me in Italian so I'll have to learn more phrases to communicate with them.

It is really an international community here. We do have a majority of Filipino parishioners, and I'm also sent to pastor the souls for the Australian, British, American, Indian, Sri Lankan, French, German, Slovakian and many other nationalities. It can be fun if I can learn to speak more of their languages. It will be a great challenge.

I am amazed at the way pedestrians navigate their bodies in the automobile traffic. Many pedestrians are bold. They press out into the streets where oncoming cars are driving erratically. They walk as they drive actually and there are very few crosswalks to provide safety. You won't find bicyclists here. It would be too dangerous. However, the traffic patterns are amazing. It is quite a study in imposing your way into spaces. They rarely bump into one another like we Americans do, and yet they get very close to another person or an automobile. They are a polite people. I have to imagine many people get into accidents, but I would suggest few are reported. I can't imagine anyone would ever stop if they hit a pedestrian.

It is a wonder how a foreigner could transverse the streets in a car. I marvel that I get from one place to another. I think I was in City Centre this afternoon. It was hustle-bustle with both cars and pedestrians. Horns are honked incessantly and there seems to be a way people communicate with horns. It is surprising that even before a traffic light turns green, two cars are already honking for you to move forward. They mean no offense. They just want to get to their destination in the shortest amount of time possible. You might think there would be a few expressways in a city of 3 million, but the city is connected through regular two-lane roads for the most part. In some place, the roads don't even have guardrails.

I'm often transported back to the 1950's U.S. Many people in the U.S. smoked; very many Jordanians smoke. It is as if there is something wrong with you if you don't smoke. Safety features were just coming into play in the U.S. in the 50's. It still hasn't quite caught on here. I'm sure newer buildings have safety codes, but older places seem exempt. I'm full of hope that the people can keep their city clean. I've seen a few lots that are cleaned up. For tourism and self-respect, it would be awesome to have a clean city. Roadways would look much better if plastic bags no longer lined the streets. There is a great recycling industry waiting to boom if the concept were to catch on.

All in all, I'm surprised that I can get home each day. Thank God for a GPS. What did people do ten years ago when GPS's were only starting to become more common? Traveling safely is a great mystery.