There is Starbucks in Jordan...

...just in case you were wondering.

This Starbucks is located on a pedestrian street in a very upper-class Jordanian neighborhood. The area is so upper-class with a Western twinge that there was even an Apple store. The Jordanians that were walking around this area looked like the average people in the suburbs of Chicago, DC or Boston (the areas that I have vast experience observing average people). They wore designer clothes, carried designer bags, wore short skirts, were wearing sunglasses that cost the same amount as my rent, didn't cover their heads, etc. It was a little capitalist island in a sea of regional conservative tradition (and ample poverty).

When I sat down at Starbucks to begin my studies at around 5pm the place was half empty. But 30 minutes later, it was packed - with Jordanians. They had completely sold out of the 2JD cranberry muffins but they did have one blueberry muffin remaining. I ate it.

It was a funny situation because Starbucks couldn't survive in Israel. They had to shut down after the country basically boycotted it in favor of their local cafes. And the CEO of the Starbucks Corporation is a Jewish man who is an unabashed supporter of Israel. I love the contradictions of the Middle East. They are everywhere.

The view in one direction from my table:


I wish I could have taken more pictures of my people-watching, but I didn't think it would be appropriate. Plus I needed to study. Perhaps the most interesting observation was seeing several Saudi guys in their traditional clothing, fingering their prayer beads, sipping their Frappachinos, all while watching with great pleasure the young Jordanian women walking back and forth.

Outside of that neighborhood, back to the greater Jordanian reality, here are some scenes from the top of a pedestrian bridge where my friend and I stopped to eat fantastic hummus:


There is traffic in Amman (usually much heavier than this) 24 hours a day, 7-days a week. It is a non-stop, unorganized mess of machinery and constant honking. And more honking. Although it doesn't look like it in these pictures, lanes are usually taken as a suggestion, not the rule. I have no idea where all of these people are going, or how they survive not crashing into one another. Somehow it just works - although sometimes I have to close my eyes on my cab rides and just pray for the best.

And this place just made me smile (below). The sign reads: "Lebanon. Rest & Grilled Meat". Two of my favorite things. (See the sheep carcases waiting to be grilled in the window?)