My First Day

Picture of downtown from my hostel

Not sure where I was, but it seemed like a really beautiful community space.

I arrived in Amman, Jordan yesterday evening!

Today, I spent the day trying to get oriented, which I can’t really say I did very well. I was lost for almost the entire day, but was too stubborn to get a taxi. Luckily, people speak English and were able to help me navigate back to my hostel. By the end of today, I feel I’ve finally kind of figured out where things are located downtown. Here are some of the pictures I took when I was lost and another when I finally figured out where I was.

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View from mysterious community space

I knew where I was this time: Rainbow St. A hip street with a lot of cafes and restaurants.

I learned some important tricks today about navigating Jordan, if you ever decide to visit. First, there are “8 circles” that Jordanian’s use to navigate the city. Despite what one might think, they are not concentric circles. They are 8 round-a-bouts that are located throughout the city. Second, the traffic here is way worse than LA. There aren’t really lanes delegating where cars should be and pedestrians cross the street wherever and whenever they want. Third, take the yellow taxis.

Today was terrifying and fun. I met knew people, tried some new food (including Arabic Ice Cream; it has pieces of pistachio in it and is delicious), and already have some stories to tell.

In case you were wondering, it feels pretty real.

I hope to post soon with a brief background on microfinance and some of the history of Jordan. Stay tuned.