We haven't even left the country yet, but we've already experienced our first taste of traditional Jordanian hospitality. The Jordanian ambassador to the United States, Walid Hadid, came to speak to the group. He brought us each a souvenir tote bag decorated with a map of Jordan. Inside the bag were a few booklets about the country and a giant sticker of the Jordanian Flag. He spoke about the subtleties and beauty of the Arabic language, explaining that he's had difficulty expressing himself in English since we only have one word for love while Arabic has over 100. He also talked about the misconceptions about Jordan, in particular, the view of Jordan as another oil-rich Gulf nation, when in reality, Jordan has no oil and is a very poor country, especially compared to some of its
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