Welcome to Jordan! Leaving Queen Alia Airport, a road sign pointing motorists toward the Iraqi and Saudi borders made it unmistakably clear that we had arrived in Jordan.
We have spent the past 24 hours getting acquainted with our apartment, neighborhood and each other. After months of email correspondence and conference calls, we were assemble the entire group for the first time. Grocery shopping, cooking dinner, griping about lost luggage, and raving over our beautiful apartment were built-in icebreakers. More than one person noted that our neighborhood, Deir Ghbar, is both swank and "under construction". As soon as one turns off a major thoroughfare, the streets are quiet and lined with luxe 3 and 4-story houses and apartments, fronted by small gardens. These small patches of deep green provide a shady rest for eyes scorched by the bright, bright sun. Tim, our multi-media guru gave us all a tip for documenting our time here: "Photography in Jordan Lesson 1: Everything is overexposed. Naturally."
We have spent the past 24 hours getting acquainted with our apartment, neighborhood and each other. After months of email correspondence and conference calls, we were assemble the entire group for the first time. Grocery shopping, cooking dinner, griping about lost luggage, and raving over our beautiful apartment were built-in icebreakers. More than one person noted that our neighborhood, Deir Ghbar, is both swank and "under construction". As soon as one turns off a major thoroughfare, the streets are quiet and lined with luxe 3 and 4-story houses and apartments, fronted by small gardens. These small patches of deep green provide a shady rest for eyes scorched by the bright, bright sun. Tim, our multi-media guru gave us all a tip for documenting our time here: "Photography in Jordan Lesson 1: Everything is overexposed. Naturally."
We're looking forward to embarking on our research tomorrow. The first step will be to follow up with contacts who asked that we contact them and arrange appointments upon arrival. Our first official meeting is Wednesday, with a number of figures at the American Embassy.
-Margaret
The 2008 JRP Participants are:
Alex Burtness, US Naval Academy '10; Systems Engineering
Tim Fitzsimons, Tufts University '10; International Relations
Mia Hencinski, US Naval Academy '10; Political Science
Nancy Henry (project lead), Tufts University '09; Political Science & Anthropology
Piyali Kundu, Tufts University '10; International Relations & Community Health
Chas Morrison, Tufts University '11; International Relations & Political Science
Margaret O'Connor, Tufts University '10; Community Health & Political Science
Ivette Tarrida, The Fletcher School '09; Security Studies
Alex Taylor (project lead), Tufts University; International Relations
Zack Tedoff, US Military Academy '09; International Relations
Sally White, US Military Academy '09; International Relations
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