Late night runs for HIV tests and falafel

Some drama arose last week regarding our visa renewals while in Jordan. Apparently, the law changed three months ago and things are a bit more complicated. Now, one is required to get an HIV test and report the results to one's police station in one's area of residence. This news came at a terrible time for Annie because the test took 4 days for results and she needed to get it renewed the next day. Lets just say things got expensive and she wasn't too happy about all the Russian prostitutes that were also getting their blood drawn before her.

Living with Amman locals has payed off in so many ways. My host mother is a fountain of knowledge and she has connections all over the city. Anytime i need something or there is a place I need to go, my host mum tells me where I can find the best stuff for the best prices. I told her last night that I needed to go get tested for HIV and she immediately called up her friend who happens to be a doctor with connections at a near by Hospital. It was about 10:45 at night and she tells me "yalla, hayati."(come on, my life) and we rushed out the door. We loaded up the family car and we were heading towards the hospital when my host mom realized that we hadn't eaten our third meal of the day. She took us all to get the best falafel sandwiches in town. Al Quds on Rainbow Street really has the most delicious food. Their falafel was the late King Hussein's favorite. I must say that it is also my favorite. Their combination of pickles, tomatoes, tahini, and falafel is just heaven. They also grill the pita bread that wraps the whole meal up. Falafel sandwich is a quick meal that always hits the spot.

After Al Quds, we headed to the hospital for the test. Fidaa's friend, Dr. Samer, was really helpful and I was grateful to discover that he had talked the price of the test down for me. I had heard about the other interns' experiences with trying to find a place to get the tests done. Most of the interns out here have limited Arabic ability so everything is a little tough for them because they don't speak Arabic and they are not living with host families. I always find myself getting the best situations because of my host mum's savvy. I don't know what I would do without her.

Cool guy who made my falafel sandwich.