Teaching English in Jordan

I loved teaching in Jordan for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority - for the employees who worked in immigration and security. I could have stayed longer, although I might have spent a few months waiting for my new courses to start and I didn't want to spend the summer in Aqaba on my own. All my friends were leaving, and it would be lonely ponely. It started to get really hot in June. There are liquor stores in Aqaba, so I used to pick up a beer or two on my way home from work. The town was safe, although there were a few areas I avoided at night. It also has one of the largest flag poles in the world. Evidently, you can see it from space but that's a question mark.

The men were easier to teach than the women because the women were so competitive. One woman got a 97 out of 100 and had a hairy fit. She threw her paper at me and said she wasn't coming back to the class. I was pretty choked because it was a little over the top, but I didn't say anything. Another time a woman complained to my director because she thought I was drinking on the job because my glass water bottle (Pelligrino) was mistaken for beer. As if! Nevertheless, the people in Jordan are very good looking, intelligent, and Aqaba was a great place to stay. I also had a fantastic apartment.

Check out my video: Taxi to Work

My apartment in Aqaba:










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Aqaba, Jordan - Arab Revolt Plaza

One of the most beautiful little cities in the world has to be Aqaba at the southern end of Jordan and at the northern tip of the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aqaba. I taught English to government employees (ASEZA) for four months. I just loved them though they were sometimes an emotional challenge. Across the gulf to the west lies Egypt and Israel, and to the south, Saudi Arabia. Even though Jordan is beside a gnarly nest of neighbors, the country is at war with nobody. Almost everyone I asked if they were Jordanian replied 'nope, Palestinian.' There are so many Palestinians living here, refugees, or sons and daughters of refugees from one war or another. Aqaba's the place to go if you want to go scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, or just plain old hang out in the sun. The people are absolutely divine, and have I gone on enough about how extraordinarily good looking the men are?
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The drive to Aqaba from Amman was about 4 hours. The land pretty much looked like this the whole way. Once we got near the special economic zone (Aqaba) there were a few checkpoints.



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You don't appreciate a clean city until you've lived in a really filthy city. Aqaba is CLEAN humdelaila! And inshallah it will stay that way!






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Aqaba has a beautiful promenade where you can go walking any time of night or day. How great is that to feel safe? You don't know what feeling safe is like until you've lived in an unsafe city. I LOVE Aqaba! Inshallah it will always stay this way. See what this writer has to say about the promenade.









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How incredible is this pastry shop? I got fatter just looking at this stuff. You can't appreciate this great food without having lived in a city with bad food. But I had to have at least two pieces of my going-away cake that my students got for me. How sweet is that?






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The Jordan Yacht Club. You can rent one of these boats to go fishing or scuba diving, or else take a sailing cruise for three or four days, which would include a stop-over in Egypt. The cost was pretty reasonable for both. Or, you can do the glass bottom boat excursion. Dive Aqaba has a pretty good set-up, too.








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If you want to go for a short camel or horse ride you can do that by the beachfront in Aqaba, or you can go for tea and watch all the locals beside the Aqaba Flagpole, which is the fifth tallest free standing flagpole in the world at a height of 130 meters (430 ft). It flies the flag of the Arab Revolt and it can be seen from Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.









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Don't worry about parking, you can park wherever the hell you want.


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Ships in the gulf, the shot on the right shows Eilat, Israel.




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Just 15kms south of Aqaba is beautiful South Beach. There are snorkel rentals and scuba diving shops down there.












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If you go a further 20kms down the gulf coast you come to Tala Bay, a rich resort of condominiums and hotels. Here's the pool, avec bar.