Ambassador's Fourth of July Party

Last night we went to the U.S. Ambassador's Fourth of July Party at the Embassy. It was in his garden and it was a beautiful evening.

This 4th of July party was for Jordanian dignitaries and other Ambassadors in Jordan. Due to Ramadan, the party didn’t officially begin until 9 P.M. and was scheduled to go until 11 P.M. We volunteered to help be greeters at the door, but by the time our shift started, the receiving line had already ended. We arrived at 8 P.M. and mingled among the guests and other Embassy personnel. 

They served juice at this party. Lots of sugary, thick, fruit juice. One guy who works in Chris’s office came up to us while we were holding a glass of juice and said, “I could only drink one glass and still felt like I just got diabetes. Again, because its Ramadan and it’s Muslim country, there was no alcohol at this particular party. 

It was a “cocktail” party so the food was presented by roving waiters. There were lots of little sandwich bites, mini hamburgers, and brownie bites. There was a lot of food, but I think many of the Muslims had just had their Iftar meal (breaking their fast) before arriving (see more on Iftar at the bottom of this post explains the juice.) The gate guards we actually enjoying their Iftar meal as we arrived. They were so hospitable, they tried to invite us in as we passed by the checkpoint office. 

I think the favorite food served was ice-cream. We didn’t have any, but I found it amusing to see a bunch of adults in cocktail dresses and suits eating a big chocolate or strawberry waffle cone.

We met a few interesting people. We met a Sheik from Saudi Arabia, the County of Georgia’s Ambassador, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan, a tribal leader of one of the tribes in Jordan, and my favorite was a little Armenian shopkeeper. We met some others as well, but the Armenian was eating a chocolate ice-cream cone and introduced himself to us. He owns a hand-blown glass shop in Amman and his name, Hagop, translates to Jacob. We told him that was our son’s name, he offered to make a Christmas ornament for Jake. He apparently has some of his pieces in the Embassy gift shop. He was just so cute eating that ice-cream cone and he was so sweet.

It was a nice party and we enjoyed seeing some fireworks of the 4th of July, even if it was really the 6th of July and this was our third Fourth of July celebration since we arrived in Jordan.

A picture of us outside at the party. We were the classy ones taking a selfie. But to be fair, it was hard to tell who was important and we didn't want to be the ones asking the Ambassador of some country to take a picture of us.

The upper right picture, we did have someone to take our picture. The upper right is obviously the fireworks. The lower left is just a photo of the band and some of the outdoor scenery. And the bottom right is a picture of some guys from Saudi Arabia who wanted their picture taken with Chris The man on the far left is the Sheik we had met earlier.

Today we have just been hanging out. We went to City Mall to get some cleaning supplies and to the park at the Embassy. We have been going through the process of trying to buy a car and Chris is doing all the legwork. The guy we are buying it from is always busy so it keeps getting bumped every day. Once we've paid for the car and have the title, we still can't really drive it until we get it registered in our names, which takes about 2 weeks. I'm getting anxious. Fortunately, my friend Kaylan left me the keys to her car while she's in Israel and I was able to drive for the first time today. I felt so liberated! 

From Wikipedia: Iftar

In the evening, dates are usually the first food to break the fast; according to tradition, Muhammad broke fast with three dates. Following that, Muslims generally adjourn for the Maghrib prayer, the fourth of the five daily prayers, after which the main meal is served.^[43]

Social gatherings, many times in a buffet style, at iftar are frequent, and traditional dishes are often highlighted, including traditional desserts, especially those made only during Ramadan. Water is usually the beverage of choice, but juice and milk are also consumed. Soft drinks and caffeinated beverages are consumed to a lesser extent.^[39]

In the Middle East, the iftar meal consists of water, juices, dates, salads and appetizers, one or more main dishes, and various kinds of desserts. Usually, the dessert is the most important part during iftar. Typical main dishes are lamb stewed with wheat berries, lamb kebabs with grilled vegetables, or roast chicken served with chickpea-studded rice pilaf. A rich dessert such as luqaimat, baklava orkunafeh (a buttery, syrup-sweetened kadaifi noodle pastry filled with cheese) concludes the meal.^[44]

Over time, iftar has grown into banquet festivals. This is a time of fellowship with families, friends and surrounding communities, but may also occupy larger spaces at masjid or banquet halls for 100 or more diners.^[45]