Well, these aren't much, but they are my first shots here in the Middle East. The fact is I'm living in West Amman. This is where the haves live, totaling about 7% of the population. The other 93% are the ones I need to be out meeting and photographing, like the roughly one million Palestinian and Iraqi refugees living in squalor just outside the city. But just because you're in the Jordanian elite doesn't mean you can't have random horses hanging out in a vacant lot across from your million dollar home. On my walk today I passed a Safeway, a Porsche dealer, and a Lamborghini dealer. American consumerism is alive and well here, at least for 7% of the population. One thing that would make a tree-hugging Portlander cringe is the amount of trash everywhere and that recycling is unheard of (I threw away 2 Coke cans today alone). Another foriegn concept is the idea that smoking is bad for you. After coming home from the bar last night, where I was literally the only non-smoker, my metal watch even reeked of smoke. After I showered, the Q-tip I used smelled like smoke. An ex-smokers nightmare. Another thing to adjust to from Portland, arguably the beer capital of the USA, most bars here serve only one beer: Amstel.
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