It’s the end of my first working week in Amman, and here are my observations so far:
- Weekends are Fridays and Saturdays. The phrase ‘Sunday of next week’ can therefore get pretty confusing if you’re from the UK.
- Jordanians have a very sweet tooth. Tea, especially, seems to consist of more sugar than water. This suits me down to the ground. Karkadeh (hibiscus) tea is especially tasty.
- Continuing this theme, SUGARCANE JUICE
Not only does it taste of sugar, but vendors claim it cures a number of ailments from arthritis to stress. I noticed diabetes wasn’t on the list… - Taxis are insanely cheap here. (However, street names, whilst they do technically exist, aren’t really a thing, and you have to be fairly vague when asking a taxi driver to take you somewhere).
- Fruit and vegetables are fantastic. I’m a bit of a date connoisseur, and have eaten my way through 2 boxes so far. The cucumber here tastes a lot more cucumber-y than that at home. The houmous also tastes more houmous-y.
- The souq is NOISY! All the vendors are singing/shouting about their stall simultaneously. Then you have the recitations of the Koran and calls to prayer being projected from the mosque.
- Jordanians are very hospitable. We have had multiple invitations to dinner and excursions to interesting places in Jordan. Our next few weekends are fully booked…