PGO Jordan 2016: 18 May

We took diagnostic tests at Qasid to place us into appropriate Arabic classes. Afterwards we visited the King Abdullah Mosque, which was actually constructed recently (construction finished in 1989). It's a beautiful example of geometric artwork inside and out, with the walls decorated with square Kufic calligraphy. We also toured the King Hussein Park, including the Royal Automobile Museum featuring many cars that King Hussein drove. We finished the day at the Umsiat Amman restaurant.

Culture/Language notes:

Mint lemonade/عصير ليمون نعناع is an absolutely fantastic drink. Word around the street is that it's actually lime juice. The best part is that it's pretty common. It's even available in mall coffeeshops and juice stands. I couldn't take a picture so I found this on Google Images:

Large Jordanian meals feature a plethora of dishes shared by everybody. At both of our group dinners so far, bread and tabbouleh would come out first. Then hummus would come out, and later followed by heavier dishes like lamb, chicken, even biryani.
English is more prevalent than I thought. I expected that many service people would know basic English. But street signs, storefronts, advertising, museums, etc. are bilingual in Arabic and English. Its prevalence reminds me of French as an official language in even Anglophone Canada.
Security is tighter in public places than in the States. Every time I enter a nearby mall, Mukhtar Mall, there's a metal detector and a guard searching bags. Same with the museum. It's reasonable, Jordan has much more tangible security threats after all.
Amman is a huge, sprawling city (at least compared to American cities). It can take hours to cross one end of the city to another. Every view of the city looks like a giant sprawling expanse of beige buildings that straddle Amman's hills. Beige everywhere.

The King Abdullah Mosque. Interestingly, there's a Catholic Church right across the street. Our tour guide tells us that they have a good relationship.