Greetings from Amman, Jordan! (Or, as the Jordanian would say, اهلاÙ‹ Ùˆ سهلاÙ‹)

I’ve been here for four days now, and so far I have found that Jordanians are very excited to meet Americans: my exchanges have included free food, photo-ops, and genuine appreciation for my (failed) attempts to stumble through social interactions while speaking in الغØ© العربية. With nearly a year away from the language, the quick leap away from English into Arabic has been difficult.

Despite the negative stereotypes of the Middle East that many Americans frequently assume, I’ve been amazed at how welcoming Jordanian culture is: even to a large group of loud, obnoxious Americans who pile in and out of large tour buses. For instance, the woman I sat next to on the plane gave me her phone number and practically demanded that I come meet her family and share a meal with them, a Yemeni man gave me his hand-full of Yemeni almonds when he heard that I was American, and a man and his two adult children approached me in a restaurant to learn where I was from and to take a picture with me. This is hardly the image that many Americans have warned me about.

Before I left for Jordan, I had to call Bank of America to alert them that I would be taking my card to the Middle East, and was hoping to sort something out so that I wouldn’t have to call in every month to tell them “Yes, I’m still here. Yes, I want to buy more falafel with this debit card.” Mike, a teller I was directed to in some obscure way, asked “should you really be going there by yourself? Aren’t there terrorists in the Middle East?” Of course, this was only after I explained the Jordan was a country, not a city. FYI: Jordan is the arrow shaped country that points towards Egypt, sandwiched “between Iraq and a hard place.”

Despite the turbulent neighbors, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy with a growing, “western-friendly” economy. Jordan has a well-established tourism sector, and has had splendid relations with the United States for some time now. Although protests ensued in January of 2011, the Hashemite line, (which is actually the same tribe that the Prophet Muhammed hails from) appears to be in good standing. This is unsurprising to me, since King Abdullah II is pretty boss: he climbs, skydives, and frequently flies himself around via his own, personally piloted helicopter. 🙂 I even hear that he might show up the Hashem’s, the best falafel place in town! I’ll keep my eyes peeled and let you know. Maybe he’ll offer to take me on his next adventure?

Off for now: by the next time I post, I’ll have met and moved in with my host family and started intensive Arabic training. More adventures, like riding in taxis and meeting Libyan rebels await! (no joke on the last bit.)
سلاÙ…
(peace)