How do I start writing about Lina El Ejilat?

How can I portray someone like her in a way that would make sense to all of you?

Words fail me. For the first time ever words fail me.

I mean, what do I mention first? How brilliant she is? How she is sweetness walking on two legs? How, by mere hanging out with her, you feel that the world is an ok place and that your faith in humanity can be restored? How, by just talking and listening to her, you start questioning your perception of the world as a harsh and cruel place, and start wondering if the world is truly beautiful and you are just being a whiney bitch?

Where do I start?

Ok, let me try to explain this part to you first: Imagine a person with over-flowing good Karma, and that's Lina.

Ehh, let me elaborate further… Ok, Ok, I got it. If you are a female driving your car at night at a deserted highway, and you see a male hitch-hiker, what do you do? You don't stop, because they will most likely rape and kill you, right? Well, Lina would stop, give the guy a ride, and nothing would happen to her. Or, ok, let's say you are a female and you are at a party in a totally strange country, and you pass out on a chair in an empty room wearing a skirt, chnaces are someone will try and molest you at the very least, right? Right?

Lina wakes up, and finds every guy at the party had coverd her up with their jackets to keep her from getting cold.

Now , those are not isolated incidents. Shit like that happens to her all the freakin time. Lina walks through situations that make every one of us go "what are you thinking?" and she breezes through, unharmed and unaffected. 

Evil doesn't touch her!

Bad things don't happen to her.

Fear of strangers, distrust of your fellow man, the belief in evil in people, ehh, are concepts that just don't apply to her. She is like exempt from all of that. Simply above it all. The girl is protected by a Buuble of fantasticly good Karma. Her mere existance is enough to drive every last cynic out there mad with incomprehension and envy. Hell, if you are one of those people who claim "to know better", chances are you will develop serious conflicted feelings just from knowing her. You don't know whether to berate her for her naivete, envy her for her outlook and fearlessness, or helplessly worry about the day when something bad eventually happens to her. But you also know that nothing bad will happen to her, because she is like protected by a higher force from all the evils of humanity, and because you also know that she is smart enough to not let anything bad or wrong that happend to her affect her or her world view that much.

Are you getting the picture?

I feel bad for any guy that she may end up dating, because he wouldn't be able to handle her. Her lifestyle, her approach to the world is enough to drive any self-respecting male entirely bonkers. She would challenge the worldview of anyone who approaches her, because she is indifferent to fear and open to people. I mean, how could you protect someone like that, when she walks through every fire that you know of, doesn't get burned, and then tells you of how much she enjoyed such a warm and nice experience? The girl is a wanderer who is not lost, and who is not afraid of engaging and getting entagled with the people who wander along. 

And I got to hang out with her for 2 days in Amman, which were simply not enough.

While Roba and Khalidah showed me the nice artsy fartsy upper-middle class Amman, Lina took me downtown, where she likes to run around and explore. She took me to this side store that sells the best tasting Kunafa that you ever had in your life. She knows the street vendors by name, and will tell you the story of that specific bookstore or this specific CD place. One of the most unique places she took me was a place called The Duke's Diwan. 

The Duke's Diwan is this building that you wouldn't even notice while walking down Faysal street in downtown Amman, but it's a very special building indeed. The Building was originally built in 1924 ( which makes it older than Amman the country) and is one of the oldest buildings in the city. The Duke of  Mukheihbeh leased it in 2001 and turned it into a cultural residence. 

The place is basically a 4 rooms apartment with a balcony that hosts old jordanian furnitures and antiques from the previous decades. The idea is to have a place that hosts jordanian art, heritage and culture. To have a place that is authenthic and pure and that isn't affected by the commercialization of everything. The place is open for everyone, admission is free, and you are allowed to come over and hang out all day if you wanted to. It exudes warmth and inclusiveness. According to Lina, there are also lots of cultural events that take place there, like book signings and cultural gatherings. The place isn't fancy nor the furniture the kind that makes you go "wow", but you can't help but love it based on what it represents. It's idea alone. This is the Duke's private love letter to Amman, and it shows. You can't help but have it touch you, in appreciation of all that is good and beautiful in this world.

Lina is the same way!