Amman Update

Yes, it’s peanut butter and jelly on flat bread.  When in Jordan, consumer your PB&J as the Jordanians do (actually, I’m not quite sure if this is actually how they consume the PB&J - it made sense to me though).  As expected, the local cuisine is awesome.  Above you see the appetizers at a restaurant downtown, which were followed by ample portions of grilled lamb and chicken for the main course, and then fresh watermelon for dessert.  All served under a Bedouin style tent, lounging on cushy couches, with wedding fireworks going off in the background (pretty much a nightly occurrence around here).  I don’t think I’ll ever be able to take an expensive American sit-down restaurant seriously again. 

I’m getting a better feel for the city, although I still feel a little like Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land.  I think I’m actually baffling to the locals, as most of them tend to initially think I’m Arab, but then I open my mouth and spit out my few token phrases of butchered Arabic.  Blending in is probably good, but I’m going to have to work on the communication barrier.

I’ve spent the last few nights exploring my general area of the city.  I’ve found an uber-hipster Gloria Jean’s coffee house with free wireless, friendly staff, and a good crowd of regulars.  It’s not necessarily culturally immersive I suppose, but it’s a touch of home that’s nice from time to time.

I’ve met some great people so far.  The standard get-to-know involves meeting the extended family, drinking coffee, and explaining your own family background.  Everyone here tends to have a fascinating family history, as Jordan is the halfway-house for the region’s steady stream of political refugees and exiles.  The country is most likely majority Palestinian (if one counts refugees), which means that most people you run into have a story to tell about their family relocating from Palestine to Jordan after the unpleasantness of 1948 and 1967.  By default, one is immersed in the history and politics of the region, which was pretty much the experience I was hoping for.  It should be an enlightening six months.