On day 1 the guy sitting in maktab al diwan told us that we just had to come back with the paper of the MOI and then he’d give us the permission to marry and we could sign the papers. Yeah right!! I don’t remember how many times he made us walk up and down the stairs, visiting all the offices in the court. One of the things they made a fuss about was my paper from Al Azhar in Cairo, proving that I turned into a Muslim a couple of years back. Or more precisely, it was the copy of that paper. The qadi, one of the bosses around the place, claimed that that wasn’t good enough. So we walked around for 1 hour in court, gathering papers for me to get a new prove of religion, this time from the Shar’iah court itself. (Oh yeah, we had to pay 20JD for it. I felt so ripped off). After that we had to make the marriage papers and the Qadi had to sign them, but the guy who printed the papers for us typed the wrong date, so back to his office, waiting in the line, to get papers with the right date *sigh*. After walking back and forth for a couple of hours, we went into the final office. We and our witnesses signed the papers. Then we had to hold hands and repeat what the guy said and then we all had to say Al Fatiha together.

I guess we arrived at 11.00AM at the court and by 1.20PM we finally left the building, married and happy .

In Jordan the wedding is celebrated in 2 parts. First the couple gets engaged. When they get engaged they sign the marriage papers called here “Katb al Kitab” and they throw an engagement party. By law the couple is then married, but not by culture. After the engagement party, there is the wedding party. It can be a couple of months after the engagement or even 1 or 2 years later. After the wedding party the couple is officially married for the society.

Now for the papers:

First the Mister went to Amman’s Sharia Court in Gardens – the new one (This is only if the girl of the couple lives in a certain part of Amman – In my case I live in Jbal Amman. In case I’d live for example in Hashimi, we’d have to go to the court in Marka). On the first floor, on the right side of the elevator, there’s the office of the person who signs the papers – called maktab al diwan. He gives you a paper that needs to get filled in and he tells you the papers you need.

After this step, it went somehow wrong. Every foreign person needs a paper from his embassy. It’s a paper that declares that you can get married (You’re not a minor, you’re not married or you’re not mentally disabled, etc…) and you need to ask your embassy which papers you need for it. You need to get these papers from your country of origin so be prepared before travelling to Jordan. The paper you get from your embassy – which will have a translation in Arabic – needs a stamp from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the First Circle. Please, do not believe the people in the court who tell you to get it in the Ministry of Interior (behind Regency Palace hotel) or at any other place. The price for the stamp is 1JD.

The foreign person – bride of groom – also needs a translation of its passport. You can go to any translator, but we used Abu Ghazaleh for Translation – the small one next to the 1st Circle. It was translated in 10 minutes and it costs 7JD.

With these 2 papers – one with stamp and the other with the translation you need to go back to court. They will also ask for a copy of the passport and ID of the Jordanian person. If the bride wrote down that she’s Muslim, she’ll need a paper declaring that. In my case, I had a certificate of Al Azhar, but in the court itself you can also convert and get a certificate. The guy in the office will bundle all your papers and will ask you to go to room n° 4. They’ll sign and print a paper. Last step in the court is to go to the ground floor and get a signature of the Qadi.

After this, we were sent back to Ministry of Interior (window 25) to check if they have any reasons for us not to get married. As my visa was expired, I had to go to the Visa & Residency office in Tla al 3ali in order to get an extension. I had to pay my visa fees and they also gave me a new 3 month visa.

Tomorrow will be the last day. The FINAL day. We’ll be signing the Katb al Kitab. Therefor you need to take 2 witnesses with you the the court. First thing in the morning though we need to go to the Ministry of Interior so they can approve our wedding. Then we’ll go to the court with our 2 witnesses. First the guy at maktab al diwan he’ll write a paper that I’m allowed to get married and then we’ll have to sign together with our witnesses. The fees for this are 21JD but if you go on the last day of the month, they do it for free (don’t ask why, I don’t know).

This is how things went for us. Anyway, tomorrow is another day and you never know what might happen as bureaucracy is often a bitch. I’ll keep you updated.

Here are a few things I’ve enjoyed watching:

The Descendants

I seriously don’t know why it took me this long to watch the movie. I love George Clooney but for some reason I didn’t enjoy the trailer much first time I saw it. I wouldn’t say the movie is great, but it isn’t bad. I’d give it a 6.5 or 7 out of 10.

The Lamp

When looking up this movie on IMDB, I thought it wouldn’t be much special – it has a 4.4 rating. This kind of movies are excellent for watching with the family on a lazy day. But it also has an important lesson: Just Believe!

The Dolphin Tale

I’m a big fan of Morgan Freeman, so when finding this one on my hard disk, I had to watch it. And it wasn’t dissapointing – bel marra. Okay, I must admit I’ve shed a few tears

TV Series – History of Terrorism

I couldn’t find a trailer for this documentary by Michael Prazan, but here’s the synopsis:

April 4th 1991. The day my grandpa, Alexis, died. If a genie would grant me 3 wishes, I’d need only one. I want him back.

Last evening I was on the phone with my mom and we needed only half a word to understand that we feel the same. My grandpa was my hero, my god and he was taken away from me way too early. I was only 3. I still needed him.

This is our song, we’d dance on it, he and I, and I’ll play it in his honor:

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Last night I was reading a chapter in “I hate you. Don’t leave me”, a book about Borderline and it said:

“Though borderlines have extreme difficulties managing their personal lives, many are able to function productively in a work situation – particularly if the job is well structured, clearly defined, and supportive. Some perform well for long periods, but then suddenly – because of a change in the job structure, or a drastic shift in personal life, or just plain boredom and a craving for change – they abruptly leave or sabotage their position and go on to the next opportunity. Many borderlines complain of frequent or chronic minor medical illnesses, leading to recurrent doctor visits and sick days. 

The work wold can provide sanctuary from the anarchy of their social relationships. For this reason, borderlines frequently function best in highly structured work environments. The helping professions – medicine, nursing, clergy, counseling – also attract many borderlines who strive to achieve the power or control that elude them in social relationships. Perhaps more important, in these roles borderlines can provide the care for others – and receive the recognition from others – that they years for in their own lives. Borderlines are often very intelligent and display striking artistic abilities; fueled by easy access to powerful emotions, they can be creative and successful professionally. 

But a highly competitive or unstructured job, or a highly critical supervisor, can trigger the intense, uncontrolled anger and the hypersensitivity to rejection to which the borderline is susceptible. The rage can permeate the workplace and literally destroy a career.”

Oh gosh, how much I can relate to a lot of stuff written here. Around 3PM every day, I feel rage coming up and out of respect for my boss and co-workers and can’t just start screaming at them. So I feel it’s time to go home. But I can’t pull this trick always.

This is such a dilemma. If I quit my job, I’ll be hungry, because the Mister doesn’t have enough salary to pay for rent and food. And if I stay here, I just get more depressed day after day. There’s no winning solution.

I feel things are not
in my hands
Whatever I’m trying to fix
I fail
A house
A wedding
A dress
I can’t arrange
Any of the above

It makes me sad

Once I was in control
Of every single detail
In my life
I loved that

Doc diagnosed me
Borderline
He gave me pills
Which make me dizzy
And sleepy
I haven’t slept
this much in ages

I don’t like that
Neither
I can’t focus
I just wanna lay
In bed
Skip work
Skip whatever
that makes me
Come out of bed

And damn the chickpeas cans
Falling on my toe
Now my toe is sad
As well