If I didn't have diseases before....

So today we had to go to the Center for Disease Control to get our blood tested in order to stay legally in Jordan. So me and 8 other people get into some taxis after class and with some hazy directions to guide us manage to get completely lost. And when I say "completely lost" I mean the taxi driver dropped us off 20 feet away from the building, but we wandered aimlessly around for a good 25 minutes before we had an "ahh ha" moment and realized that the unofficial rundown building was in fact the place we were supposed to enter. So we enter. There is no reception office, really no entry at all, we walk into a stairwell and proceed to the third floor (part of the hazy directions we had gotten before hand). It is ghetto. Now pretty much everything is ghetto here, but I was thinking that seeing how this is the "Center for Disease Control" it would be sanitary (or at least clean), some what organized, etc. And as usual I was completely wrong, think of what a crack house would look like and that is where I was at. So by some small miracle we find the lady that is assigned to us. And when I say "assigned to us" I mean somebody paid her big bucks to hold our hand through the entire process and push us to the front of the lines. So this lady pushes us up a foor and then down a floor...its all this giant big mash in my mind...probably from all the crack fumes...but in the end we get to this floor/room that is packed with people. Now i say this in the nicest most politically correct way possible but Egyptians are like the Mexicans of the Middle East. Seriously. They go all over to find work and then send money back to their families. So this place is packed with Egyptians and there are also a ton of Asians (who are also there looking for work) and we are trying to squeeze through and then somebody shouts my name and I am trying to find this person...through the masses...and I get to her desk which is covered in tubes of blood and considering the number of people I'm thinking that this is a really bad place to keep cartons of peoples blood...she tells me to sit down...and I think "this doesn't really look like the type of place I want people to stick needles in me, its dirty, those people at the window look like they are buying drugs, I'm pretty sure that if we turned off the lights roaches would come out, this is a very bad idea"...and so I did what any smart person would do when told to sit down in this type of place...I sat down. She pulls out this needle from who knows where, tells me to stick out my right arm and she stabs my arm with it. When she is finished she puts a cotton ball on my arm and starts frantically looking around for a bandaid. There is none. Others start in on the search. Finally somebody pulls out a bandaid....i'm pretty sure they only give out bandaids to the Americans...and she shoves me away...as I dumbly look around for somebody to put the bandaid on my arm...

Before I go I wanted to share with you all part of an email that I got from the U.S. Embassy regarding our stay in Jordan. It is so disturbing that it is actually kinda funny...well I laughed...but I have a wierd inappropriate sense of humor...

As summer travel season approaches, the U.S. Embassy wishes to remind Americans that credible information indicates that terrorist groups seek to continue attacks against U.S. interests in the Middle East andNorth Africa. These actions may include bombings, hijackings, hostagetaking, kidnappings, and assassinations. Terrorists do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. Increased securityat official U.S. facilities has led terrorists and their sympathizers to seek softer targets such as public transportation, residential areas, and public areas where people congregate, including restaurants, hotels, clubs, and shopping areas. Terrorists may target movie theaters, liquor stores, bars, casinos, or any similar type of establishment, regardless of whether they are owned and operated by host country nationals. Due to varying degrees of security at all such locations, Americans should continue to be particularly vigilant when visiting these establishments.

So I use public transporation, live in a residential area, go to restaurants, hotels, and shopping areas regularly and I am the least vigilant person as seen by the number of times I get ripped off/taken advantage of by the locals.

So i hope that YOU sleep soundly tonight.

loves.