There are several cultural differences and quirks regarding life in Jordan that I just can't get behind. The serious ones being the daily harassment that my friends and I experience as well as the assaults and groping incidents that happen surprisingly frequently to Western women. {Seriously, get a bunch of Western women together who've lived in an Arab country for a few years and ask for assault and attempted kidnapping stories. You'd think you were at a victim support group meeting, not an Embassy party.}
One of the lighter ones is the practice of putting plastic bags in the microwave. I know. I nearly screamed when one of my Jordanian housemates wrapped up some bread in a plastic grocery bag, popped it into the microwave, and turned it on.
A European housemate said, "Yeah, that's how they do it here. I was really surprised the first time that I saw that," and the Jordanian promised me that the bag doesn't catch on fire, doesn't melt, and that you can't smell or taste the plastic on the bread.
Just....no. I will never be okay with eating plastic microwaved bread.
