Marhaba . . . Hello!

View of Old Downtown Amman from RSCN-Wild Jordan Cafe
Bethany Layton 7.12.12

Marhaba!  Welcome to my blog, American Adventures in Jordan.  My name is Bethany and I am currently living in Amman, Jordan, but am originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.  I am writing this blog for a couple different purposes.  First and foremost, this blog is meant to be an informative and useful tool for anyone travelling to Jordan.  The reason this blog was started was for a final project for one of my courses at the University of Utah.  I decided to take this blog from a class project and develop it into a more formal and informative blog.  I hope that along my journey as an American living in Amman, I can help assist many other westerners in their travels to this wonderful and welcoming country I now call home. 

Map of Jordan - Courtesy of Google Maps

While the official name of the country is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,  it is most often referred to as Jordan.  Many times people know of the country and that it is located in the Middle East, but most could not pick it out on a map without names.  Positioned in what most people pretty rough "neighborhood," the surrounding countries include Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Lebanon.  Don’t let the location or neighboring countries deter you from visiting, Jordan is an extremely safe and stable country.  

Having lived most of my life in Utah, I came to Jordan with wide eyes.  Everything is very different and I have definitely experienced some culture shock.  Thankfully, I had friends and my new family here to assist me in my travels – helping me pick the important sites to visit, how to get there and assisting with the language.  Rest assured, even if you don't have a tour guide, almost the entire country speaks English on some level or another, although many people speak English fluently as a second language.  This is definitely a huge help when trying to navigate the culture and country.  I believe that my insight and experiences will make your trip easier and more fulfilling.

My hope is that you will find this blog informational and multi-faceted.  First, I want you to see how beautiful and welcoming Jordan is.  Most of the time people are afraid of Jordan based on it being one of the countries comprising the Middle East.  Please do not let this deter you; Jordan is a very safe and welcoming country, where hospitality is one of the best I have found.  Secondly, I want to give a brief background on the sites I visit and write about.  By no means will this be an in-depth report, but a highlight of the destination to get you a good feel for where you are visiting.  Third, I want you feel comfortable visiting a country in the Middle East and hope that if you take anything away from reading this, least you will see that Jordan might not be what you initially thought it was. 

My #1 travel tip in Jordan is to bring tissues with you – everywhere!  Never before have I encountered so many restrooms without toilet paper.  A small bottle of hand sanitizer is also good thought as well, as many bathrooms do not have any soap available.  You will thank me later for this small tip J