5 Things You May Be Taking For Granted

1. Water - it makes sense that when you live in the desert water is a precious commodity.  Here in Jordan there is no underground plumbing, so water is delivered to your house rather than pumped in underground.  We have a 2 cubic meter tank in the basement and another 2 cubic meter tank on the roof - this means that when our roof tank is empty (which is about every 5 days at the moment) we have to pump water up from the basement tank to ensure we have a continuous flow of water.  We have a separate delivery company that brings 20 liter bottles of drinking water a couple of times a week.
2. Electricity - with the extreme heat that Jordon has been experiencing since we arrived (not sure if we brought it with us) everybody has been using their fans and AC more than usual.  This has led to an overuse of electricity - so to compensate, the electricity is cut off to different parts of the city at different times.  Unfortunately there is no warning as to when your part of town will be without power or how long it will be cut off for.
3. Going out for coffee - I love to go for coffee, or sip on a grande latte while I stroll about.  Unfortunately this cannot be done at the moment as we are in the holy month of Ramadan - 4 weeks where Muslims fast during daylight hours.  This means that nothing can pass their lips while the sun is up - for foreigners it means that it is illegal to eat or drink in public while the sun is up.  September 8 cannot come fast enough!
4. Your car - having the freedom to jump in your car and go wherever you want, whenever you want is a luxury that most of us take for granted.  Jordan does not have a public transport system to speak of, so we are reliant on taxis and our personal driver who takes us to school everyday.  This one will take some getting used to.
5. Road rules - apparently these exist in Jordan but they are not that important.  It is quite normal to see three lanes turned into 5 and you should never expect anyone to give you the right of way.  It is a system of organised chaos that seems to work.  I have been having great fun making sure drivers notice me when I am on my bike!