M

I have a friend in Jordan, who never ceases to amaze me. He is a young man who wants to be (and actually already is) a journalist. He is nuts about someone named Paulo Coelho (yes, I am the only one on the planet who doesn't know this sage of sages), and somehow he is the most rabid fan of German football south of the Balkans.
M is an amazing optimist who is afraid of donkeys. He eats something called Mansif, yet is wary of exotic food. I bring him western newspapers when I visit Jordan, and I send him jokes on a regular basis. He reads the papers, and laughs at all of my jokes. A true friend.
M has a passion for his country, and writes genuine articles about local stories of interest for the national paper. His internal optimism bleeds through to the ink of his stories, even about abandoned wells. He once gave me a beautiful silver key chain with a verse of the Koran etched in it - I carry it every day. He loves his country, his family, and his friends.
I think I mentioned that M does not like donkeys. I learned this first hand as we visited Petra once with a mutual friend. We all decided to climb the summit of the south side of the valley to see the spectacular Monastery (featured prominently in Transformers 2 btw). Our friend and I opted for donkeys and horses as it was quite a climb and it was very hot. M got on a donkey for about ten seconds, jumped off, looked at us, shook his finger and said in his very nearly perfect English, "I will not do this." Fair enough though, he trudged along side us and kept up, never complaining. Two years later, we still get to rib him about his "asinusphobia", and he goodnaturedly accepts it.
If M loves his country, then he worships his home province of Ma'an in south central Jordan. He can find a kinsman anywhere in the country - at a one room museum in Mufrock, a hitch hiker in the middle of nowhere, or the maitre d' of an large upscale restaurant and grill. M engages strangers everywhere, something admirable especially in a twenty-five year old. He will earnestly debate anything, honestly arguing his point without offending or pressing too hard. The world truly is a place of wonder for him, and friends and strangers are treasures to him. I envy his enthusiasm, his naivete, and his passion for his culture. It will be a pleasure watching his career unfold, albeit from halfway across the world.
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