Good evening from Amman!

Today the group woke at 8:00 AM, donned our Sunday best, and arrived bright and early at the United States embassy just five minutes down the road from our apartment in West Amman.

After going through many layers of security during which our cameras, cell phones, and recording devices were stored away, we were escorted into the building by Katherine Schaefer, a Presidential Management Fellow in the Public Affairs office and Fletcher School alumna. Ms. Schaefer helped to arranged our interviews with USAID officials, defense attachés, public affairs representatives.

Just minutes after sitting down for coffee and beginning our meeting, His Excellency Ambassador David Hale stepped in unexpectedly and sat down for our interview. After introducing himself and the embassy's work, we engaged in a question and answer session for about thirty minutes.

Topics covered ranged from Iraqi refugees in Jordan and their role in the post-2003 Jordan to the extent to which the United States and Jordan cooperate militarily and diplomatically. The insights from the embassy staff were extremely helpful and a great start to our month of research.

Following a lunch of highly affordable falafel sandwiches, a small group met with a journalist from the Jordan Times to hammer out the logistics of future meetings and interviews.

Tomorrow we will be meeting with the director of CARE International - Jordan. Until then, good night!