Oct 24

Oct 24 "Everywhere I'm Going to Miss" by Corinne Wingate

After two months in Amman, I still feel as if I have just gotten to know a small part of the city. But even in spite of my perhaps limited scope, I appreciate the stronger connection to these places that I ended up developing.

Kava Café

Located a mere 15 minute walk from Amideast, this was a small café that I went to often in the first few weeks in Amman. It has wifi and cute outdoor seating with a laid-back atmosphere that made it easy to focus and do homework.

Millennium Gym

There are many big gyms in Amman that offer amenities such as hot tubs, pools, and any number of classes (one gym that I visited had three separate studios and averaged at more than seven classes per day!) included in their memberships. Personally, I wasn’t particularly interested in them and didn’t want to be paying up to 150 JD (or 210 USD to put it in perspective) for services that I wouldn’t end up benefitting from. Near the beginning of the Eid break in between the two sessions of my program, I was walking around after studying at a café I often study at, looking for a gym in the area. Here, I found Millennium Gym which, due to an Eid discount, ended up only being 25 JD for the month. With a great price and incredibly convenient location, it was a great find. And right next door to the gym is a falafel place, so immediately after my workouts, I was able to get cheap and tasty sandwich for just 0.80 JD. To future Amideast Abroad students, I would highly recommend this gym, especially if you live close by or often find yourself in the area.

Almond Coffee House

The café that I study at that is a mere five minute walk from Millennium!

Locals’ House

While I only went there a handful of times myself, Locals’ House is a very popular spot among our entire cohort. It’s located on Rainbow Street and provides a space both to socialize with board and card games, and to study.

Starbucks Downtown

I probably only actually entered the store once, but the Starbucks downtown holds a special place in my heart for all the times, late at night, I ended up sitting at the table in the alley next to the store, finishing a portion of knafa from Habiba as I waited for a taxi. After I had run out of the initial prepaid data on my phone, it had become a necessary ritual for me to return to that Starbucks every time I was downtown.

Farrah Carpet & Antiques

Walking around downtown, it’s easy to find stores that sell all sorts of “Jordanian products” that come in a range of qualities and prices. One that stood out to me, however, was Farrah Carpets & Antiques, which is situated quite a bit past the mosque on King Talal Street. Its façade is quite modest, but further inside, a vast collection of antiques are featured, ranging from rugs in in Iranian, Iraqi, and Bedouin styles, to unique teapots and old box TVs. The owner of the store also told me how he had taken up weaving rugs in the Bedouin style and showed me some of his work. As an antique store, the prices were quite high, but it is certainly worth it even just to browse the collection. I personally really enjoyed learning about the differences between the local carpet designs.

Given how much Amman has to offer, I am always going to have regrets about how I spent my very limited time here. At the beginning, my aim was to go to a new café every day or see a new area in order to absorb as much of the city as possible. But ultimately, I think it’s ok that I fell into a routine, because sometimes, a great way of experiencing a city is to live normally and try to make it your home.