The First Post

Having been asked to start a blog (by my parents, admittedly), I decided it would be a good idea to try and create some way that people could keep up with what I'm up to as I embark upon the first stage of my Gap Year.

The first instalment of my Gap Year is taking me to Jordan. Having moved out there with my family in 2001 and staying for three years on a posting as a result of my Dad's job, I have always known that going back to the Middle East is something that I was interested in. Living out there has had a big effect on my academic interests - at Durham I studied International Relations and made sure that my degree was crammed with Middle Eastern politics. My dissertation was a comparative study of two jihadist thinkers and their varying views towards America. I'm hoping to be able to use a smidge of this knowledge practically out there - especially when I begin working for the Jordan Times at some stage in the near-distant future. The Jordan Times operates in both Arabic and English, is Amman-based and has no desire to reply to my emails of late. But I'm looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of a dynamic working environment that has a finger on the pulse of Middle Eastern politics and will turn up at their offices regardless of whether or not they want me. I'm fully prepared to be the biggest duffer in the workplace. I'm also busying myself working in Sales and Marketing for Nadia Dajani's eponymous jewellery company in the boutique close to the apartment I will be staying in. Nadia's work for me is going to be so interesting as she has given me a long, long list of things to do. My time in Amman isn't going to be all work and no play, however. I'm going to try to travel around the region as much as I can - definitely going to Egypt in October, and will try and re-visit Jerusalem sometime before Christmas. I think I'm going to be kept busy...

Looking at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
Can't find those sunglasses to take with me this time.

I'm excited about returning to Amman on an emotional level too - perhaps looking back on my childhood there with rosy-tinted glasses, I do remember those three years as being some of my happiest.  Eight years on from when I was last there, I can't imagine the changes Amman has gone through. It will have changed more than I can imagine, I reckon - it'll be a far more grown up city in many ways, but I hope it's still as scruffy as it used to be in some places. I can't imagine how it's going to feel touching down in Queen Alia tomorrow night. Having looked back at some old pictures of us in Jordan, at least I know that my fashion sense will have improved since I was last there.

Me and my brother being subjected to fancy-dress abuse
 from our parents. This was taken in the garden of the lovely
home we lived in, which has now been replaced by a block of flats.

However, it must be said that my Gap Year hasn't started well. My bag is over the weight limit and I haven't even finished packing yet as I spent most of today at the Travel desk getting my Dinars, waiting for Lisa to stop flirting with the security man.
To top it all off, before I can get cracking on my Amman adventure, I have to endure a six hour flight on EasyJet. Wish me luck.