Amman is a village, a very big one. Our neighborhoods mirror one another, and we each have these seven neighbors. 

1. The stay-at-home wife

She knows everything about everyone living in the building or street. She feeds on the gossip and is always up to date with everyone's daily routine. 

On a regular day, she wakes up with the roosters, makes her coffee and sits by the window to watch people come and go. At around 10 AM, she calls her unmarried sister/friend/daughter and her gossip session begins. 

Weekends are her bread and butter. She watches the younger girls like a hawk: what they're wearing, who's picking them up (and God forbid a boy in a fancy car picks her up), what time they get home and who drops them home. 

2. The cheap neighbour

This family is so cheap that they never pay for any of the building's amenities because they simply "can't afford it". Somehow, they're always traveling on long vacations and can afford fancy cars!

3. The summer neighbors

The father has a great job somewhere in the Gulf so they are able to afford a home in Jordan. 

They visit once a year and the quiet apartment transforms into an open wound for the entire building. They park their huge white Land Cruiser in your spot. They always have guests over till the wee hours of the morning and their kids are spoiled brats.

4. The newly weds

These two newly weds are the new kids on the block, they're shy, young and never home. They've never lived with paper thin walls so they have no idea that everyone can hear everything...some child is probably scarred for life...

5. The cute retired couple

Their kids have left the nest and they have a lot of time on their hands. They wake up and sleep super early. You can hear their Turkish soap operas blasting from the windows and you yell a lot because...well...they can't really hear each other.

Their grandkids are the cutest little munchkins and the couple will frequently travel to that one single son in the West with a list of potential Jordanian brides. 

"Shu yamma! Ma bidak titjawaz bint el halal? Fi bent Maysoun bidha 3arees, amoora w azghar minak."

6. The antisocial neighbors

For some reason they never say hi in the elevator, they never look you in the eye and you've never heard them utter a single word. Their kids are just as rude and there is absolutely no point in you being nice! 

You (at 8 am): Sabaho

Rude neighbour stares at you blankly and walks away

You start contemplating if you have some Zataar stuck in your teeth, and try to remember if you put deodorant on. 

7. The party kid

His parents are always out of town and every weekend comes with raging music, endless drinks and pizza boxes. 

Sometime after 10 pm, the music switches to old school Amr Diab and Jino Notto has to make an appearance at least once!