farewell to amman.

Jordan sent us out with a bang. with a blur of snow and wind and trash swirling all around us so that honestly we had a hard time even thinking straight. Our last 3 days the weather turned severe- wind storms, freezing temperature and snow. So we had to balance the natural instinct of "hunker down" mode that this type of weather brings to one's disposition and packing up a house, bringing in food from outside because there was none in our homes, and saying farewells.

saying farewells. we learned this verb in our first semester and honestly i had only used the verb once or twice until these final weeks and at last...i used the "saying farewell" verb.

i will try and paint the picture of what saying goodbye to our closest Arab relationships looked like...me bundling up in a hap-hazard outfit because we are living out of a suitcase,and letting all the strides i have taken in style just fall to the waste side. running to the home of a friend in the neighborhood. telling them with regret that i could not bring Claire because it was just too cold and windy, and them being very very disappointed.

then it would sink in. the fact that this is really goodbye. to people that have became my life here in Jordan. to ones that have loved me and taken me in. who have showered Layla with kindness. and all our moments of laughing and talking, dancing and eating are coming to an end.

and then the tears would come. not the ones that fall intensely or even the ones that hurt your throat and head. but the soft ones that just spring up and make you stop for a minute. that seem to frame that moment in your mind as unique and emotional. the stories of their lives making their way through your thoughts as you reflect on all the things you have gleaned and learned from them.

there were not a lot of pictures. and honestly the weather made the atmosphere feel more forlorn and intense than triumphant and fulfilled but...i could not help but stop and think. man, i want to celebrate these two years. for all that they have brought us.

our team. our new language. our homes. our neighbors. our growing understanding of Arab culture, and of course our little babe.

we were so cold we had to sleep in the only warm room the last night: