Day Two: Flutes, Lamb and Government Officials

Today was packed. I’m exhausted. There’s no way I could capture everything I experienced/learned today in one post – but for my pleasure I’ll provide a summary.

Morning: Bringin’ it to the Prime Ministry
The day began with a 9:30 a.m. meeting at Jordan’s Prime Ministry with the country’s official government spokesperson. This was probably the most interesting meeting of the day. The spokesperson, Dr. Nabil Al Sharif gave us an overview of current issues facing Jordan today, and initiatives the country is currently prioritizing. We then had the opportunity to ask questions. A major focus of both our discussion was the Palestinian/Israeli peace plan. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to directly ask questions to a government spokesperson regarding Hamas and Gaza and the whole Palestinian plight in general. I’ve only thus far been able to read responses in the news. Anyway – too much info to talk more about that subject. We also discussed Palestinian and Iraqi refugees living in Jordan. Jordan’s been great about taking in refugees. I found a couple of things about this discussion interesting.

First, apparently Jordan does not call Iraqis “refugees,” because of the implication of that word. They are labeled “guests,” as they are expected to be returning somewhat soon. Second, Palestinian refugees here are given full citizenship. They are given Jordanian passports, access to the country’s health care benefits and public education. Additionally, there are not really Palestinian refugee “camps,” per say. Rather, the Palestinians live in particular settlements throughout the city. This is really unusual, particularly the fact that Palestinian refugees are given full citizenship. That never happens.

News: Amman Style
Enough about the PM, this is going to get too long. After the ministry we visited a local newspaper – Al Dustour. The assistant editor-in-chief discussed media in Jordan, and issues such as freedom of the press, etc… It was a great meeting, although I wish I could have asked more questions because I found some of their stances on things hypocritical. For instance, they said you know, they wouldn’t publish things like demeaning their prophet, or Christ – anything that would incite religious violence. However, I feel like I’ve seen plenty of things in the Arab press that seem less than loving and objective towards Jews. I don’t know though, I guess I’d need to talk to them more before making a judgment.

Lamb and More Lamb
From Al Dustour we went to lunch at another ridiculous restaurant. Our guide says, “Jordanians eat with their eyes.” He’s not kidding. The display of food here is eye candy. It’s beautiful. We had hummus and lamb and chicken and pitas and lots of stuff I forgot the name of. Yum. I think in the following week, I will eat more lamb than I have eaten, or will eat, in my entire life.

Roman Ruins and Dead Sea Scrolls
When we had stuffed ourselves yet again (I didn’t even mention the amazing breakfast), we piled back into our convenient van and drove up to the Citadel in Amman. The Citadel is an ancient Roman ruin overlooking a gorgeous view of Amman – a city made almost entirely of ivory limestone. Next to the Citadel was an archeology museum, which housed some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Crazy.

Jet-lagged Diplomacy
By the afternoon, I was being seriously weighed down by jet lag. There was no time to rest though, for we had a meeting scheduled at the U.S. embassy here in Amman. We met with the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Stephen Beecroft. Though he was really interesting, I had to fight to keep from rudely yawning mid-meetings. It had been a long day. You know, a typical day in my life, no big deal (yes, that was obviously sarcastic). The ambassador was the third person and final person we met with today - a good end to a series of unique meetings.

Obama, and Other Funny Tales:
Two particularly funny things happened today. At the Roman Citadel, some Arab visitors spotted us Americans roaming about and got really exicted. I believe they were Palestinians because they asked if I knew Abbas (Fatah’s president). When the spotted us, they came running up yelling, “Obama, Obama!” I gave them a fist-pump in the air while laughing. Then, they gathered around us and had us take a picture with them. Ha! The only one who wouldn’t was a woman with them and one of their sons – who at age eight was ridiculously embarrassed of his parents. His father, however, was ridiculously proud of him. He kept telling his son to come talk to us, while at the same time, telling us about his son. “My son, he is in American international school! Please talk to him so he can practice. His textbook was made in 2003, in California!” What? Ha. The man continued, “He gets good marks, (to his son), come over here!” I spoke to his son in English, “you get good grades?” I asked. Embarrassed he was like, “yeah….” And trekked forward with his head down. Poor guy. Hilarious dad.

Funny incident number two was receiving a free flute today after dinner. We went to this restaurant Kan Zaman, which means “Once Upon a Time,” for dinner, and went to some surrounding shops after. One of the men running the shops gave me a free wood flute because he said I “had the most beautiful smile.” I feel bad, he disappeared and I went to the bathroom and didn’t thank him. Oh well, at least I have a free wooden flute from Amman… I’ve always wanted one of those. Ha. It was a nice gesture.

Oh, another thing – I’ve never seen so many pictures of a leader in my life. The people here love their king. There are pictures of him up everywhere and the government installs pretty much none of them. Private citizens pay to put King Abdullah on billboards. Funny.

The End. Finally
Welp, it may be 4:00 p.m. in MN, but it’s 11:00 p.m. here and tomorrow is another jam-packed today. Sleep is intensely calling my name. Ciao.