Entry #2 - Dec 9-10, 2006

The Jordan International Police Training Center JIPTC, is a very unique place. It is run by several countries including America and Jordan for the purpose of training the Iraqi Police for their National Security. I got the grand tour, starting with the Dining Hall which was serving lunch to 4,500 cadets and 500 International Officers and staff. Its interesting to note that the officers and staff dine separately from the cadets. And the cadets eat different food and sit on benches. And boy do they eat, they come back for seconds, thirds, forths.

On the way home from our first day at the base (Dec 9), we stopped off in a Bedouin camp that raises camels. I have attached a shot of me getting familiar with one of the camels that came to greet us.


Today (Dec 10) I went back to the base with Tom Barclay and we continued our tour by looking at the evolutions they do with armaments, search and seizure and their pistol shooting at the gun range. After the tour, I went to meet my liason Iver Peterson who is the Public Relations Officer to ask when I can start shooting video. All hell broke loose including confusion, miscommunication and rumors. Tom and I were asked to leave and escorted off the base. I am not sure of all the problems but it had to do with wrong information submitted to security. We are in the process of working through the mess and my hope is that I will be allowed back on the base by Tuesday.

In-the-mean-time, I went into Amman and videotaped beauty shots of the old part of the city at the Roman Citadel which sits on a mountain in the middle of the city so you get an awesome panaramic view. I also shot the sun going down, which incidently occurs at 4:15PM Jordan time. The sundowns here are majestic and beautiful.

For a bit of triva, I am living 7 hours ahead of all of you on the east coast. It is now 10:00PM which is 3:00PM EST.

That's all for now....