Sultan Hotel Amman

... cleaned up the place, and headed to the farm. We were sort of behind schedule but it was nice to just take our time. At the farm they gave us a hard time again but eventually they let us in and we wandered around eating Clementines and oranges, picking lemons, checking out the bee hives, running through clover, getting burs in our shoes, and tasting olives (...oh that was just me... -thanks a lot ahole, you know who you are- haha, for others who are in dark as I was ...

... s projects and we had students from all three areas as well, including my group from King's Academy. Some of the breakout session were rough for me since everything was taking place in Arabic and Hebrew and translators were sometimes unavailable but it was still quite good. Lunch was a feast fit for a king and his entire court. After gorging ourselves Masashi, Yoichi, and I peaced out because we were behind schedule anyways and the translators weren't available ...

... probably 2 or 3 years. I lied and told him I was on scholarship from the US Govt. Big mistake. He starting grilling me about why I would work for the devil Americans. I tried to explain the concept of no strings attached scholarships and he wasn't buying it. Maybe the reason is any money America gives to the Middle East has so many strings that the countries get tangled in them. Ahhh good old American Aid. As I went to pay for the tea, I realized I had three ...

... let me pay for my coffee. "You ARE welcome. Enjoy your stay in Jordan."

Walking along the street earlier, a 40ish man was just sitting down with his lunch at a table on the pavement:
"Welcome. Where are you from?"
"England."
"Oh, lovely people. Is this your first visit to Jordan?"
"Yes, it is."
"You ARE welcome. Where will you go?"
"Well, I'm planning to hire a car and go to the ...

... reminiscent of Thailand except that I was eating with the family and not before. The food was delicious. Cabbage rolls, grapeleaves, salad, baba ganoush (mum- I am starting to like it a tiny bit), soup, and two big pots full of what is really similar to pot roast...potatoes, carrots, onions, chicken, and meat (still not sure if it was lamb or beef...I think when they say meat they mean beef). Yum, yum, yum. The best part about eating after being so ...

... and deal with botany and forestry (soil samples and such). Everyone is very kind and although we are located in a weird industrial area of Amman the office is nicely painted and fresh feeling. Oddly my only complaint thus far is the A/C. I am cold! I was sort of looking forward to a hot hot country and now I am sitting here freezing, haha.

Ok.
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Friday:

I had a brief skype call with my pups. The web ...

... or 4x4. Amman even has a Humvee showroom.
There is less conspicuous consumption at the Books@Cafe, a wonderfully stocked bookshop with a bohemian café and bar on the upper floor for rebellious and trendy Jordanians.
Jordan is a conservative, predominantly Sunni Muslim society but with a westernised and well-educated elite that is outward-looking but still patriotic. Portraits of King Abdullah, often with his late father King Hussein, sometimes with his ...

... cream was so good it rivaled Italy! After filling our tummies with ice cream it was back to the hotel and bed. Oh yeah I finally found a ATM that gave me money YAY!!!

The next day 7 of us decided that we might as well go into Amman for the day and have a look around. So we hired 2 cabs and off we went, first stop the Amphitheater. Smack bang in the middle of the old town of Amman was a couple of Roman Amphitheaters they were in great nick and are still ...

... to help ourselves to anything in the fridge, gave us some fresh bread and juice, and told us to cook ourselves up some dinner from their supplies, no charge. “This is your home!” we were told, and this became her mantra for us for the rest of the time we spent there!

The next day we awoke to the deafening sound of a man yelling over a loud speaker right outside our window at about 5am. It took us a moment to realise this ...