AC

Today I am grateful for air conditioning. I used to think that the weather in Amman was hot. I would be hot before I made it halfway down the block on the way to work. By the time I would reach the service taxi, I would be sweating. The trip back home was even hotter. This is compounded by the fact that cars turn into saunas when they sit out in the sun. It seems like nearly every time I get to the service station in Al-Ashrafiya, a service taxi fills up right before I get there so I have the pleasure of waiting in the taxi in the sun for several minutes before it fill up. I don't think the heat would be quite as bad if there was a lot of water that I could just jump into as soon as I left the taxi, but Jordan is a desert and there is very little water. However, that changes a bit when you are in Aqaba. The weather is much hotter, but the Red Sea is waiting for you at the end of the street. Today I walked down the street and could feel the heat radiating off of the pavement through my sandals. I jumped into the Red Sea and the top six inches of water was warm. The water wasn't uncomfortably warm, but it was definitely not cold either. It wasn't even cold enough six feet under the water to be a shock to your system when you jump in. The real shock that the Red Sea brings to your system is when it gets in your eyes, nose and mouth when you jump in. Hopefully, not all three of those happen at once. I try to keep my eyes closed when under the water, but I can't control the splashes of other and I would have to say that salt water in the eye is no good. I did get several gallons of salt water up my nose when attempting to learn how to dive however. I was mostly successful, but times like this are when I realize the why I was born in a land-locked state. Water is not my element.

=)