Marine Ball

Dan is in Morocco and so last weekend I went to a dance by myself. I have to admit that this conjures up many memories of junior high events – will I have fun? Who will dance with me? What should I wear?

This weekend was the 232nd Marine Corps Birthday Celebration in Amman - I think these happen around the world and ours was hosted by the Embassy's marine guards. Marines celebrate with a black tie dinner; fancy uniforms; cake sliced with a saber and unapologetic patriotism. My favorite part was seeing the military dress uniforms – here in the embassy, military colleagues wear business attire for the most part and only occasionally their uniforms. For this event, they showed off dress uniforms which I hadn’t seen before including a few guys in cavalry outfits with civil-war era hats that made me laugh but which they were very proud of. As the evening wore on, uniform jackets came off and underneath many guys were wearing creative shirts. If you've ever seen gaudy American-flag shirts in stores and wondered "who would wear that and where?" - apparently the answer is the military at formal events.

Here is me at dinner. The picture was taken by Ahmed Juma who is the head of the embassy motorpool but is also an enthusiastic photographer. During the First Lady’s visit, the press officers were trying to keep tabs on all of the photographers and saw Ahmed taking pictures and got nervous of “who is he” but I explained that he was working with the drivers and the pictures were a hobby.

Here is me dancing with my co-worker Mark. Mark is retired Air Force and he is wearing his military awards he is most proud of. Apparently as a foreign service officer there are awards that come with ribbons too but no one wears them.

Getting ready for the party was a reminder of all of the gifts I have received from family and friends. I wore my long blue dress from Stephanie’s wedding. A shawl Kate brought back from Pakistan. A beaded purse Mom gave me as a Christmas present and a rhinestone broach that was my grandmother’s.