Oktoberfest

There are moments in my life when I wish I had a camera with me. Last weekend was one of those times. However, I intentionally left it at home. Samira and I, along with some of her German volunteer friends, went to the Oktoberfest celebration at the Australian Embassy, co-hosted by the Australian and German Embassies. Pictures were not allowed in the Embassy…so I left the camera at home. I regretted it right away.

*Side note: You may be asking, “Why was it co-hosted by the Australian and German Embassy? Is there a special relationship between the two countries?” I, too, was confused by that…and after asking some of my German friends they said there’s no special relationship…it is just a little tradition for the two Embassies to join together to celebrate the famous German festival.

We arrive at the Oktoberfest party and I was immediately stuck by two things: the amount of Westerners around and the amount of skin showing. Both of these things should not, under normal circumstances, be surprising... I am at a party hosted by a Western Embassy with a guest list made up of almost exclusively Germans or Australians. However, I came from living in Irbid where Samira is the only non-Jordanian I see, let alone have interaction with…and as mentioned in pervious posts, outside of wedding celebrations, I never see women wearing little party dresses.

The evening was a wonderful mix of getting to know Samira’s German volunteer friends better [they are volunteering with a school in Amman] and reconnecting with old friends. I guess the term “old friends” is relative here. I was able to send the invite to Holly and Ryan, the MCC couple trying to study in Iran whom I got to know and travel with while living in Amman. It was so rejuvenating to spend time with them, visiting and having some good laughs on the dance floor. They are such a great couple and even though I have only known them for about two months, it felt like meeting up with old friends. So great! So encouraging!

I also ran into the amazing Australian couple, Jeff and Peta, who were in my Arabic language classes in Amman. As soon as I arrived at the Embassy I thought “Oh wait! I bet Jeff & Peta are going to be here!” [They are working in Amman for two years with a program similar to the Peace Corps…but with the Australian government]. I took out my cell phone to call them and realized that their number was on a piece of paper back in Irbid. I hadn’t put it into my phone. Disappointed, I put my cell phone away and just hoped I’d run into them. Later in the evening, I was standing in a LONG line for some German food and beer [yummy!] when I looked to my left…and Jeff was standing there! It was such a great surprise. I went back to his table with him and spent some great time catching up with both him and Peta. It was wonderful. That’s all I can say. Wonderful.

The rest of the evening was filled with dancing. Lots of dancing. And although Holly and I tried to convince the D.J. to play anything other then techno, our efforts were met in vain. It was great to feel free, able to dance about not caring if people were watching…because everyone else was dancing too!

The evening was topped off with the most entertaining, way overpriced, taxi ride home. Our driver was dancing along to the music with Luke, a German volunteer, and the four of us girls squished in the backseat laughing at their crazy moves.