So of course there have been plenty of things that I have loved and hated in Jordan. In the end, I'm pretty sure I will miss it all. It has all become a part of the amazing experience that has been Jordan.


So the things that have driven me nuts here:
-Having to live with a maid
-Having to put up with taxi drivers that pick their nose, pass gas, hit on you, drive too fast, and do everything humanely possible to make you despise them (with the occasional exception)
-Not being able to wear shorts in 80 degree weather
-Having to bring my own toilet paper to the bathroom----not that I ever want to use the bathrooms here---90% of the time the public bathrooms are absolutely DISGUSTING
-Having guys turn into creeps the moment they find out you're American
-Trying to avoid walking in all the sheep/goat poo on the side of the roads and the poor excuses of sidewalks---oh yes, the sidewalks---one would think that sidewalks are meant for WALKING on and should be relatively uniform, a naive perception that Jordan cured me of. There is no written rule here that sidewalks should be flat, provide walking space, and for some reason it is perfectly normal to place a tree/pole/SOMETHING in the middle of the sidewalk that makes it impossible to stay on the sidewalk
-CRAZY DRIVERS!!! NEVER complain again about bad drivers in the states----prepare for an adrenaline rush every time you set foot in a car here
-Having things LOST in translation! Soooooo many misunderstandings!
-Every place is fair game for smoking-----if there is a no smoking sign, rest assured that a group of greasy haired guys will be standing underneath it with cancer sticks hanging from their mouths

There are a lot more but a small taste should be sufficient enough----its more about all the things I love about here:
-Everywhere you go people offer you tea or coffee or both. Its a common tradition of hospitality that no matter how many times I encounter still seems so incredibly generous to me.
-Constantly hearing "Ahlan wa Sahlan"---Welcome! Whether its from my hosts greeting me or a random, dusty storekeeper
-Waking up at 4 in the morning to the call to prayer (the call to prayer sounds 5 times a day). It is a wonderful thing to constantly be reminded that God is Great. I am going to miss this beyond belief
-Having people randomly come up to you and want to be your friend or speak English/Arabic with you---simply because you're American
-Seeing random shirts that say sometimes rather horrific things in English which the wearer has no clue about the real meaning----you would be surprised to see some of the shirts here (including ones with huge marijuana leaves on them)
-My Arab friends who never fail to amaze me with the level of understanding and kindness that they have shown me
-How passionate someone gets when they tell you they are Palestinian
-Eating fresh hummus---actually, just eating food here in general
-Seeing old men sitting in chairs drinking tea and talking
-How CLOSE Jordan is to everything! Depending on where you are in Amman and how clear the sky is you can sometimes see the lights of Jerusalem
-Being asked what my religion is. Its actually kind of nice how important religion is here. Its definitely a change from back home.
-Listening to the news and understanding words such as "Al-umam Al-mutaheda" or "Fi haqeeaqah" (United Nations and In Reality)
-Hearing Celion Dion WHEREVER I go----I never thought I would hear the titanic theme song so many times in just four months
-Looking out my window and seeing a mall, lamborghini dealership, and a shepherd leading his flock across the road
-FRESH FRUITS/VEGGIES from the Jordan Valley! I'm going to mourn for my beloved Jordanian oranges. SOOO GOOOD!
- Getting asked if I'm Arab. I take that as a huge compliment. I finally have to just tell them I'm Spanish so that they stop pestering me :) They don't understand that I'm a typical American mutt. Haha


Once again, I could go on and on and on and on and on and maybe later I will. But for now, I should head to bed with these tender thoughts of Jordan fresh in my mind.
I know I will miss it all. The good, the bad, the annoying, the frusterating, the exhilirating, the enlightening, everything. I love it all.

It has been far too long since I posted something, and for that I apologize. Too many great things have happened and I feel like it is my duty to record it----yet I haven't. Some things will just have to exist in my memory just like they did in olden times :D (Ok...I have plenty of pictures to help me!)

I have a WEEK left! Can you believe it?! A week. Where did the last four months go? It seems unreal how fast this went by. I knew this would happen, yet once again it never fails to catch me by surprise.

So here's to a cliche journal entry about how Jordan changed me.....


So many people say this, and for good reason. Study abroad is meant to change you. It is meant to give you a different perspective on life. It is meant to help you see the world from the eyes of one of its many inhabitants.
Jordan has worked magic on my life.
Up until now I felt like I as searching for something. I was never fully satisfied. I love my friends and family back home and I love my life there. But it never felt complete. The middle east has EXACTLY what I have been missing. I feel like I have really found myself here.
Sometimes, I feel it is the culture I should have been born into. Yes, there are plenty good and bad and for the most part, I want to embrace it all. I have felt more at home here than I have anywhere else. It feels SO RIGHT to be here.

Which is why I can't be the person who says I'll come back and never does. This can't be a short chapter in my life that ends when I go back to the states. I want this to be a part of me forever. The middle east is my passion. It won't end here.

This has made me think so much about my future plans. What do I want to do with my life? I have one more year of school before I graduate. Do I want to continue my education? I've been staying up each night for at least an hour just thinking about all of this. What. Do. I. Want. To. Do?

Well, at this point I really like the idea of doing a Middle Eastern Studies graduate program. The only downside is having to learn additional Arabic---but I guess thats more of me wanting to be lazy and not really a downside :) Arabic is SO HARD! Preferably I want to stay on the west coast but I'm somewhat limited in choices. I'm also considering a program abroad. The American University in Cairo has a program that looks pretty interesting but I'm not a big fan of wanting to live in Cairo :)
What do I want to do with this degree? I really don't know. Maybe teach? Maybe work with an organization? I'm not sure yet. But every step brings me closer to something that I want to do for the rest of my life.


Part of me wants to move back to the West Bank after I graduate. I really found a home in Bethlehem. The people there are amazing. The atmosphere is amazing. They really draw me in. I could really see myself living there for a few years working and volunteering.

I can't imagine never coming back here. SOMETHING needs to happen that brings me back.


Funny how a year and half ago I had no clue that this would be my life right now. Funny how two years ago I never would have thought that I would ACTUALLY study abroad. Then again, I was the same girl who didn't want to go to college :) Amazing how life works out!

Jordan has been an amazing experience that I wouldn't trade for the world. My only regret is that there will never be a way to fully share the experience with those I love. I wish they could see it through my eyes. I can only give them a taste of it.

Ugh! I have such conflicting emotions right now!
What do you do when you find out how much your maid hates living here? What do you do when you see a before and after picture and you realize shes lost a lot of weight since shes been here? What do you do when you see someone treated like furniture when you know they are a living, breathing, human being too?

My host family is pretty nice. To me at least. My host sister is amazing. The host dad is quiet. The host mom cooks me amazing food. Yet how could they treat someone who LIVES with them the way they do their maid?

I had an amazing conversation with my maid today. Yes, two people who DO NOT speak the same language at all had a conversation! Granted, it was with the aid of paper and a combination of broken English and Arabic. Really, it was amazing and it made me so happy that I hugged her (probably crossed a cultural boundary somewhere...oh well).


I feel guilty for enjoying anything here.
My host mom gave me amazing strawberries that were probably the freshest and sweetest strawberries I have ever eaten. I came in and told her how amazing they were and took my dish to the kitchen. There, sitting on the counter for my maid were three shriveled, half rotten strawberries. I practically wanted to cry then and there.


Whats wrong with people?

Ok so theres a nice little story behind this photo:

While I was walking to class, I spotted a very familiar looking combination of colors. I looked a little closer and saw that it was a Huskies shirt----After a few seconds of debating I ran the guy down and asked if he went to the University of Washington. He bashfully said no and that he bought it in Abdali on Friday. So there you have it. Wheres your husky pride? In a used clothes stall in a middle eastern country. GO COUGS!

(For those that don't know, my school has a huge rivalry with UW which is also my sisters University)

Where to even begin. This last week has been packed full with so many different emotions and experiences, its hard for me to truly know how I actually feel about all of it.
This past week, from Saturday to Saturday I traveled with some friends around Israel/Palestine for our spring break. I knew some things going into it, but even so, nothing really prepares you for it until you actually experience it (kind of like my trip to Jordan, right?). My experience had many good points and some bad ones as well.


Lets start with day one.
It got off to a rough start because some of the other girls we were going to the border with were late. Four of us (six of us were going to the border together) had spent the night together and one of the girls landlords offered to give us a ride to the Abdali bus station where we needed to depart from. We were going to meet the other two there. We had already bought ourselves bus tickets the previous day and were set (or so we thought). We leave the apartment about 6:20am with the understanding that we needed to be at the bus station at 6:30am (by now, my nerves were a little on edge). The nice landlord crammed us into his car, along with his dog, and we drove to the bus station. We get there, and immediately I realized this was NOT the Abdali bus station. He assured us it was and we got out of the car at exactly 6:30. A bunch of taxi drivers ushered us onto the only bus there speaking rapidly to us in Arabic. Before we know it, we're somehow on a bus (NOT the bus company we were supposed to be taking). We try to tell the bus driver this by showing him our bus tickets and he waved his hand at us saying "Ok ok, sit down". I don't even know if I can describe the confusion we were all feeling at this point. The bus started driving away, giving us no other option but to sit down and enjoy the ride and pray to God the bus took us to the border. I had to call and inform the other two girls of the situation (they were at the CORRECT bus station). All in all, we made it to the border although we had to pay for an extra bus trip (just because the driver waves you on after you show him your bus ticket for another bus company apparently means you still have to pay for the ticket). None of this matters. We made it to the border. 'Nuff said.
The King-Hussein/Allenby land bridge is something else. We were all expecting some huge man-made structure bridging the two countries together. We were sadly disappointed to see a tiny little concrete bridge that took all of 5 seconds to cross. The experience wasn't anything unusual---until we got to the Israeli side. The first thing that struck me was how young everyone was. The border officials were mainly young women and a few men that looked bored and cranky. The only time they were nice to any of us was when (out of 5 girls) I was the only one to ask that my passport be stamped. A brief smile by the border official was really the only pleasent experience we had with any of the officials. Four of us made it to the other side. We waited patiently for the other two to come through. One hour---two hours----three hours----no sign of them. Finally we started trying to ask someone if they had any information. NO ONE was helpful. NO ONE. We asked two passing young girls (officials) if they could give us any information. "Uuuuuh.....no. We don't know" and they left. A few seconds later they walk back and address my friend "Um, could we like, take a picture of you? You look just like our friend!". They sounded like a bunch of junior high girls. We looked at each other puzzled and said ok. They took it, giggled, and walked away. I could not believe the level of unprofessionalism that I saw (a common theme through out our trip). FINALLY, our friends arrived. One of them is an Iranian Muslim and OF COURSE this was the reason for their delay. She had been detained for three hours and questioned. Needless to say, we were happy to leave there and continue our spring break.

This is where our groups seperated. We traveled on a bus to Jerusalem but broke off once we got there, leaving just three in my group to travel together. We walked around the old city for awhile and made our way to our hostel which we had to wait to check into until after dark because we arrived on Shabbat. The next day we explored more of the old city and hit up the major holy sites including the church of the holy seplucher, the wailing wall, and the dome of the rock. This was western easter and there were lots of people there crowding the narrow streets. We enjoyed our time despite a few incidents of being turned away because our friend was Muslim and another time because I was questioned and asked to show my passport along with my other friend. Mind you, not ONCE during our ENTIRE trip was our blonde haired friend questioned. My other friend and I both look Arab (even though we aren't) and constantly ran into problems because of it. I guess this is shocking to me only because I've never had to deal with any of that back in the states.

The next day we made our way to Tel Aviv where we walked around, swam in the mediteranean, and laid out on the beach. We met a German and a Canadian girl that we went out to dinner with. Tel Aviv was kind of our "relaxing, do nothing" city for the trip. After two days there, we went to Nazareth and enjoyed the cozy hostel that we stayed at and walked around the city, eating fresh baked bread and drinking tea. The next day we hoped on a bus to Tiberias were we stayed for a grand total of 30 minutes, long enough to snap some shots with the Sea of Galilee. We hoped another bus to Haifa where we went to the stunning Baha'i gardens. After a few hours there we hoped another bus down the coast back to Tel Aviv where we spent the night. Next morning we bused back to Jerusalem where we dropped our stuff off at our hostel within the old city and took a bus to Bethlehem. One of the most intense experiences that we had was seeing the wall that separates the West Bank from Jerusalem. Immediately, the Berlin wall came to mind. Then a prison. I had no idea anything like it even still existed. This is the 21st century. How can something like this still be tolerated? Had I been allowed to, I would have taken pictures to show how truly evil this structure is. We planned on spending the day with one of my travel companions friends family. She knows him back at her school and he wanted her to contact his family in Bethlehem and spend some time with them. We were expecting a short visit with maybe some tea. We got WAY more than we expected (one more reason why I love Arab hospitality). This guys cousin, who I will call "B" met us at his house. He invited us in to meet his family and we sat around talking with them for awhile while they offered us first tea, cookies, fruit, then coffee. B showed us around the property and his families shops, explaining some of the things he's experienced, including showing us where bombs during the last intifada fell near his house. He took us back to his house where we watched The Incredibles (in arabic :D) with his family and his mom made us an amazing meal. They wanted us to stay there overnight and preferably a few days longer. We told them that we couldn't because we had already paid for our hostel and had to get back for class. B then took us out and showed us around the old city of Bethlehem including the Church of the Nativity where Jesus was supposed to have been born. After the tour he helped us get a taxi back to the wall and we thanked him for his hospitality. Where do you see hospitality like that? I certaintly haven't experienced it much in my life and it was a very welcoming experience (definitely the best part of the entire trip).

I was actually kind of sad to have to go back to Jerusalem although this didnt last long when I realized what an amazing view we had from our hostel of the old city. I have an amazing recording of the evening call to prayer from the top of our hostel. Church bells were ringing throughout most of the night because Eastern easter was the next day.

Next morning we got up early and made it through the border without any problems.
It feels strange to be back especially knowing that at any given time, I was only a few hours away from Amman. All of it is SO close, yet so different. I felt like I was in a completely different world in Israel.
I'm glad I went and saw some of the things I did, but I will die happily if I never have to experience some of the hostility and discrimination that we experienced while there.
Really, this entry isn't anything but a quick summary of what happened. I think it would take far too long to actually write down in good enough detail the actual feelings I felt and some of the more specific things I saw. Guess you all will just have to ask me someday!

So I feel it is important to devote at least one entire entry to the outstanding food that I have been blessed with having here. I expected to find food here that I love and to enjoy home cooked meals. I don't think anything would have prepared me for what I've actually been experiencing though. My taste buds are having the time of their life right now.

First, let it be said that I was told my host mom would be an amazing cook. That seems to be a fairly common title here though. Everyone says their moms cook amazing food. Maybe its true. I feel confident in saying that my host mom cooks the BEST food :) Every meal looks and tastes like something I would be paying $20-50 a plate. Her food is FANTASTIC. Whether its something she whipped up in 5 minutes or took all day to cook, it all tastes amazing. I bet you're all interested in what she actually cooks then. Well here's just a small glimpse...

For breakfast I'm usually on my on. But if my host mom wakes up early, she'll come out and make me a scrumptious breakfast. It usually consists of at least some vegetables. Yes, vegetables are an important part of breakfast here. It can be something like a sliced up tomato with some salt or (like today) a crisp green hot pepper. She makes these homemade cheese curds (at least I think thats what they are...). They sit in a jar of olive oil in the refrigerator and she'll spoon them out onto a plate with some of the oil. This is then eaten with bread (they use bread for a LOT of food here----usually as a scoop) and sometimes zatar. Zatar consists of dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, salt, and toasted sesame seeds. She usually tries to give me something sweet for breakfast, my favorite being dried figs that have been soaking in a sugary syrup that she makes. The end result is a plump juicy fig that tastes a little like heaven. Dates are often included in this breakfast as well. And of course, tea with lots of sugar is a morning MUST.

Lunch and dinner are usually very similar to one another, the difference being that lunch is larger and has a lot more fresh vegetables. I have come to love and crave a simple salad of sliced tomatos and cucumbers with either a little bit of lemon juice, olive oil, or salt. Theres no way of generalizing the types of food we eat for lunch. One of the MANY things I love about my host moms food is the variety she can cook. I've had beef stroganoff (on rice), salmon soup, manseff, pasta, BBQ, and the list goes on. Today, I had roast chicken with potatoes, roasted tomatoes and onions, and a large tomato/pepper salad.

And don't even get me started on dessert. Luckily she hasn't made as many sweet things (good for my taste buds, BAD for my body :D). She makes these delicious little dough balls that she deep frys and sticks in a sugary syrup sauce. These are to DIE for when they are fresh and warm still. She also makes a honey cake which is literally dripping in the sweet syrup. My least favorite of any food she makes (only because of personal tastes) is a sweet milk/rice pudding that she makes. Its good but I'm not a fan of milk.


I'm not really sure what I'm going to do when I come back home. I don't think anything can really compare to the food my host mom makes. The closest craving I've had for food back home is peanut butter, and really---I would gladly give it up forever if I could eat like this all the time.

It will however be nice to get away from only in the sense that I won't want to eat as much :) My host mom likes to serve LARGE portions, no matter how much you ask her not to give you so much. So if I'm not in there before things actually get served, I'm out of luck and have to down a huge plate full (not that I entirely mind).

Oh, Uurdon. Why do you have to be so wonderful ?

Today, we were talking about the Islamic perspective on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. How does Islam view the conflict of the Palestinians? To them, Israel is occupying the "native lands" of the Palestinians. Is this true? In 1948 alone, over 750,000 Palestinians fled from their homes during the war that ensued between Israel and Arab countries once the British left. After the war, they weren't allowed to return to their homes, thus becoming refugees in other countries. Fast forward to the present and there are now over 4 million Palestinian refugees, including the descendants of those that originally left Palestine. I think it is really easy for us to forget what it actually means to be a "refugee". These are people who fled their lands out of fear. And now they aren't being allowed back to the very homes they left.


Can you imagine what that would be like? Take your home now. What if you had to leave or were forced to leave, for fear of your life? What if you wanted to return but weren't allowed to? Would you accept that? Or would you fight for the right to return to your land? I know I would fight for it.

The Islamic perspective of the Palestinians plight, is that they have the right to resist. They have the right to defend their dignity. Is that really just an Islamic perspective? Or is that all of ours? This makes me think of something a little more familiar to Americans...
What about the Native Americans? Was that right what we did to them? We forcefully took their lands from them for one reason or another and in return gave them next to nothing. Just because this was many years ago, doesn't make it right. So what about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict?

I have heard the religious argument that it is Gods chosen land for the Jewish people. This may be so, from a religious perspective. But even as a Christian, is it right to let something happen that is wrong simply because they are Gods "chosen people"?

I have heard the religious argument that suicide bombers have the right to blow themselves up and become martyrs as long as they are only targeting military personnel (it is considered un-Islamic to target and harm either physically or mentally a civilian).

This kind of reasoning has always boggled my mind. How can a God of love approve of decisions that so obviously hurt so many people? I don't buy it.
My God gave me free will. And with my free will, I choose to try and prevent the abuse of people, whether they are God's chosen people or not.


This doesn't mean I believe that Palestinians should lob rockets at Israelis or that Israelis should have to completely leave Palestine.

One thing I am really tired of is people that somehow can't see what is really happening to the Palestinians. Regardless of how the Palestinians are handling the situation, they are STILL in a very tough position. They want their land back. Just like the Native Americans. The difference being, now they have modern weapons to help them achieve this goal. Can we blame them for trying? Can we blame them, especially if we are the ones that helped put them in the current position they are in?


Just some food for thought.

I can't believe that I'm already nearly half way through my stay here in Jordan. The time sure does fly!!!

I have to say, despite the ups and downs I wouldn't trade this experience for the world! Honestly, nothing has even really been that bad. At times, there are moments where I feel like I would rather be home but then something amazing happens and I realize how truly lucky and happy I am to be here.

I went to Um Qais and Jerash last weekend, two sites of Roman ruins in North Western Jordan.
This country is all about surprises.
Imagine a warm spring day, clear blue skies, ancient stone columns, and a sea of wildflowers and green. This is Um Qais and Jerash. Breathtaking!

I can't imagine going and visiting these sites at any other time of the year. Being able to see the ruins amid the yellow, red, purple, and white wildflowers is really something else. The ruins by themselves are impressive enough, but to see them surrounded by such natural beauty? Who could ask for more?

Really, its hard for me to grasp what I'm experiencing. Sometimes, it feels so ordinary to see all of this history around me. I've seen the Roman amphitheater enough times that its just part of "downtown"---nothing out of the ordinary. Yet other times it really hits me----"Wow! This has been here longer than I can even fathom!"

I try to imagine what these things looked like before the urban sprawl, the wildflowers, and the erosion.
Oh, and finally...some pictures!!! The first one is the desert sunset in Wadi Rum----second is a Bedouin who obviously cares a lot about his camels----and the third is part of Jerash. Sorry the pictures are so small! They took about 20 minutes to load as it is....blame the internet!














Things are set for spring break. We are definitely headed to Palestine for a few days including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, and Bethlehem.
I definitely had a reality check the other day at Um Qais. Here I am, thinking that I'm going off on this "big adventure" in Palestine which is faaaar faaaar away and then the guide says: "And over there you can see the Sea of Galilee, the Golan Heights, and Syria". An hour and a half from Amman and I'm seeing (maybe a few miles out) the very place that I'll be visiting. Its crazy how close everything is here. It amazes me how many people haven't traveled ANYWHERE here. Everything is so close! Its literally a stones throw away and they haven't been there! Of course, there are multiple reasons for why this might be...but still.

So yes, even though I feel like I'm going to the famed "holy land" which in my mind is "far far away" I'm really only going to be at most 2 hours from Amman. Crazy, huh?

Round-trip plane ticket to the middle east: $1600
Tuition to study abroad in a foreign country: $$$Expensive!!!
Hard to find travel guide: $23.12

Seeing the Holy Land for the first time: PRICELESS

One of the things I love most about Jordan is how everyday seems to be an adventure. There are always surprises ready to jump out from every corner.

Spring break plans have suddenly changed. Instead of Egypt, we are now headed to Palestine. In order to organize our trip better a friend and I decided to seek out a travel agency to help us.
I love how fun it is to try to figure out how to get somewhere. I almost feel like its a puzzle. We had to go to the travel agency. We had a street name but that was it. In Jordan, taxi drivers (or anyone else for that matter) do NOT know street names. Apparently, street names are a recent addition to the city and most taxi drivers still go by landmarks (such as near the Marriot or near the University, etc). Well, we didn't know what the landmark was for the area we were trying to go to. We took a bus halfway there (also an adventure, seeing as we didn't know the arabic name for the place we were trying to go to) and got stuck. We tried a few taxis to see if they might understand where we were going with no luck. So we called the travel agency and had them talk to the taxi driver on the phone. He drops us off in front of a few buildings and we are still unsure where to go. Apparently we looked lost because of nowhere a man wearing a gown and the biggest cross I've ever seen comes walking across the street at us. He was extremely friendly but didn't understand much English. He motioned for us to follow him and he took us in to a liquor store. He seemed to be friends with the liquor store owner who smoke fluent english and was able to tell us where we needed to go. My friend and I had a good laugh over this: ultra-religious looking man (probably some sort of Greek Orthodox clergy) taking us to a liquor store (in a country where alcohol is generally frowned upon by the majority of the population). The travel agency we found was very nice and helpful and if all things go as planned, we are going to have an amazing vacation in Palestine!

I got into the cab this morning.
I said "Jameeah Al Uurdonia". University of Jordan.

My taxi drivers response: "Inshallah." God willing.
God willing, we would make it to the University. For some reason I found that very funny at 7 in the morning.


Wadi Rum was this past weekend. I firmly believe that my entire trip to Jordan was worth it JUST for two days in Wadi Rum.
It took 4 hours to drive down there (while that will take you across the state of Washington, 4 hours will take you to the edge of the country here). Awaiting us were a dozen or so older trucks with benches in the truck beds. Six people to a truck bed. This was our transportation through the desert. Our driver was a stuck somewhere between being a teenager and a man with a very boyish looking face, wearing one of the traditional white arab gowns, and a jean jacket. He was very polite and for once, this initial politeness didn't turn into creepy-awkward staring or comments. He was genuinely a "nice guy" (something I've found hard to find when it comes to strange men). We spent the next 4 hours 4x4ing through the desert and stopping at various rock formations to hike around and enjoy the view. Near the end of our little 4x4ing adventure, we parked ourself near a large rock formation where we watched the sun set. Beautiful.
Our very nice, polite driver surprised us all by straying from our truck caravan and speeding through the desert. He took a shortcut through a small little village and drove out onto the high way where he sped towards cars coming the opposite direction until we finally made it to our camp for the night. Things are so much different here. So much more fun. So easy to forget what "safety" really is. We thanked our driver for the adrenaline filled finale. He just smiled bashfully and said "afwan". Your welcome.
The camp was something else. It combined traditional bedouin living with 4 star hotel accomadations. On your right are goat hair tents and the makings of a bonfire while on your left are bathrooms complete with western toilets and showers. I'm not sure this is what I was expecting when they said we were camping in the desert.
The night was filled with agrila, tea, dates, food, and belly dancing (yes, I saw a MALE BELLYDANCER). I passed out around midnight thinking I would get a really good nights sleep. Boy, was I wrong. It probably took less than an hour before I awoke to the wind outside. Instead of wooden poles that most bedouin tents are made from, ours were made from metal. The wind kept making the screech so loudly that it woke most people up. I fell back to sleep only to awake once again to something touching my face. Part of our tent had collapsed and fallen on me. I pushed it to the side and tried to fall back asleep but the wind made it a little too cold for that. Finally around 4am I got up and went and sat on a rock with some other students to watch the sun rise. Once again, amazing.

I spent the morning reading on the rock and watching as the camels came in. We had most of the students in our program on the trip. That equals a LOT of camels.
The day consisted of a 3 hour camel ride through wadi rum with a few stops including some ancient rock paintings and a carving of Lawrence of Arabia from the early 20th century. I do not suggest riding a camel for 3 hours straight. While camels are interesting and fun creatures, they aren't the most comfortable. Needless to say, I was happy when we made it to the visitors center and left the camels behind. We watched a short little video that was pretty pointless and then had lunch. I soaked up as much of the desert sun as I could before getting onthe buses to return home.


Someone described this little adventure perfectly: Its like a rehab center in the middle of the desert. Rehab from all of the culture shock and stress from school. A place to just completely relax, away from the world. That is Wadi Rum.

Sorry I haven't been updating as much. Now that I've gotten into my school routine, it doesn't feel like there is as much to write about. Plus, I was sick most of last week and staying in bed resting isn't exactly an exciting story. It is interesting though how my host mom keeps trying to get me to take antibiotics....for a common cold. I am now into my "residual cough" stage, something which always happens after I get a cold and she is convinced it is chronic bronchitis and that I should be taking antibiotics. With the way they use antibiotics here, the next super-resistant strain will most surely come from the very doorstop of my host-mom

So some friends and I had plans to go to Madaba and the dead sea this weekend, but they unfortunately fell through. Instead, I went to the Citadel here with one of my friends. The citadel, like the Roman Amphitheater, is situated in downtown Amman. Its located at the top of a hill and has an AMAZING view. I met my friend there and we walked around the citadel, trying to find the entrance. We ended up walking up the hill, completely around and found that had we gone left instead of right, we would have found the entrance just around the corner versus walking for half an hour up hill the other direction :) It was a nice walk though. The weather is finally starting to get really warm (I would say it was at least 70 degrees). Instead of paying the 2JD for admission as non-Jordanians we only payed 15 piasters because of our residency cards. We didn't really pay attention to the history behind the citadel because I will be going back there on one of my program trips and wanted to save some new information for that trip. There is a tiny little Ummayad palace atop which I found very disappointing. When I heard of the Ummayad palace, I pictured a large, impressive structure which instead ended up looking like a small domed building (we mistook it for a small mosque). Really, the most interesting thing was the view. I LOVE the sprawling view of the buildings in Amman----the uniformity is amazing!!! Everything is made from the same white stone. We also had a great view of a giant Jordanian flag situated in the city. In the little archaeological museum, we saw a few of the dead sea scrolls which in my opinion, are much more interesting to read about than to actually see them. Other than that, the only other event of interest was our encounter with one of the MANY stray cats with a very large lizard that it was about to eat. Yum!


On Monday, we have the day off for the Prophets Birthday which was just announced last week. It is interesting because they don't announce the day as an official holiday until right before the actual holiday. Many were hoping it would be on Sunday so we could have a long weekend. Oh well, a day off is a day off in my opinion :)


It is official: my friend and I are planning our trip to Egypt for Spring Break. It will be just the two of us. At first, I wanted more people to go but this is actually going to be really nice. We'll have the flexibility of changing our plans and it will be easier to find a place to stay. We're going to try and visit Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor, and maybe Aswan. So far, I'm having a lot of fun planning the trip and I can't wait until we actually go!

This morning I finally got to find out what a "Jordanian blizzard" really is.
Lets first back up to Thursday afternoon. Despite having caught a nasty cold (its been circulating around the American students since day 1 of the program), I went downtown with some friends. Getting downtown proved to be a hassle because every taxi we tried to take tried to rip us off (despite the fact that its the law to use the meter here). So after refusing 3 or 4 taxis we finally got in one that took us downtown. He however, also tried to rip us off as we were paying saying "traffic busy---more money than meter!". We just paid him what the meter said and booked it out of the cab. We were planning on meeting some friends downtown at a particular restaurant (nothing fancy, just a cute little outdoor place that serves killer falafel for dirt cheap). We got there early and because we were three American girls, got doted on and called "habeebee" (my love) by pretty much every waiter. Funny how once the others showed up (which included a guy) they stopped coming to our table :) Just to show you how amazing this restaurant is, seven of us got enough falafel, hummus, fuul, bread, fresh vegetables, and tea to fill us up for only 1JD. Beat that Mcdonalds value menu! Afterwards, we spent a few hours just walking around downtown and doing some small shopping. When it came time to go home, a friend and I decided to share a taxi together. Five minutes into our taxi ride, our driver tried to tell us he was going to charge us more than the meter (my friend speaks way more arabic than me and could understand what he was saying). We tried to argue with him but to no avail. So I made it look like I was taking down his taxi information (every legit taxi is required to have his/her taxi information visible, usually on the dashboard). This triggered a reaction neither of us expected. After a moment, he violently ripped his information off of the dashboard and threw it in the passenger seat, all the while glaring at us. Luckily, we were just down the street from where we needed to be dropped off. It must have done the trick though, because he didn't ask for extra money when we left. It did shake me and my friend up, though.
The rest of the weekend was spent curled up in bed with tea, trying to fend off my host families adament requests that I take some antibiotics for my cold (one doesn't need a prescription to get antibiotics here, so they tend to use them for everything...or at least, my family does). I have to admit, my colds probably draw a lot of attention because mine are always accompanied by a real nasty cough.


Back to the blizzard....
Its been raining nonstop since Thursday night and a "blizzard" was predicted sometime this weekend. Well, no snow but definitely a lot of rain. So much in fact, that most schools were cancelled for today. I recieved an email last night from my program director saying that we were still going to have class unless it started snowing and that we would recieve a text at around 7:15am if class was cancelled. Well, 7:15am came and went and it wasn't snowing so I met with my friend as usual and we proceeded to walk to the highway (usually we can catch a taxi closer but because of all the rain, taxis have been kind of sparse by my building). We get there, after crossing a half dozen Jordan rivers and get a call from the program director saying that class is cancelled. Good timing because 30 seconds later huuuuuuuuge wet flakes started falling. For about 15 minutes these huge snowflakes came down almost thick enough to constitute a white out. Not that it was any use. The ground is so wet anyway that theres no hope of any snow actually sticking. It at least made for a pretty display.

Now, for some reason things just don't translate well to host parents. When I came back, I found a semi-flustered host mom waiting for me. She could not understand for the life of her why I had actually left in the first place. The whole concept of having school, rain or shine, doesn't seem to be a big thing in Jordan. So she thought it was rather dumb of me to have left in the first place. She would have rather had me skip class than walk out in the rain. Does she not realize I come from one of the rainiest places in the world?

So now, I'm left with yet another day to relax, recover, and avoid antibiotics at all costs.

Due to the possibility of a blizzard this weekend, my biblical Jordan trip has been postponed. The trip includes a visit to Bethany, the baptism site of Jesus, Mt. Nebo, the Saint George Church in Madaba, and Mkawir. I'm actually really glad that its been postponed. Despite my best efforts, I still managed to come down with the same cold thats been plaguing the other American students. I'm just glad it took this long for me to catch it. Some people were sick within the first few days of arrival. So really, its very good timing for a blizzard :)


My guess is that this "blizzard" is just another way of saying "its going to snow lightly". Jordan is known for getting a little bit of snow but I would probably compare it more to Seattle (well, NORMAL Seattle snow which is very little).

The other day I got my hair cut at the four seasons hotel in Amman. Yes, it sounds odd but there are reasons for it! My host sister works there and offered to get me a discount haircut at the salon there (my hair was butchered shortly before leaving for Amman). Really, it was just an opportunity to go to one of the nicest (if not the nicest) hotel in Jordan and get pampered...for cheap!!! I went with a friend and we were both amazed at how nice it is. We walked in in our grungy school clothes with backpacks while all the women clicked away in high heels and the men walked by in nice suits or business casual. We waited in the lounge while my host sister came down to meet us. Just to show you how ridiculously expensive these places are, ONE Corona cost 8.5JD (about $10!!!!). My host sister, Amani, gave us a quick tour and then took us downstairs to the "mini mall" of the Four Seasons Hotel and into the Salon. For some odd reason, all of the hair stylists were males. Everything was really fancy except them. They looked like ordinary guys in shirts and jeans that happened to cut peoples hair for a living. Lol. It goes to show that only westerners go there because otherwise how would the cut a Muslim womans hair? That was why my Muslim friend Mina couldn't go with us. She couldn't have a guy cut her hair.
Regardless, it was a very nice experience. For less than a haircut at supercuts, I had my hair washed, conditioned and a scalp massage plus a really nice haircut. Afterwards we went to HR to hang out with my host sister and she introduced us to her colleagues. It was an experience I could never have anticipated and enjoyable nontheless. So, if you ever find yourself in need of a cheap haircut in Amman, the Four Seasons Salon is the place to go!



Oh, and currently I'm trying to plan a trip to Egypt or Israel for Spring Break. I CAN'T DECIDE WHICH!!!

Rain here is truly an experience.

I was up until nearly 3am last night listening to the thunder and the rain pelt against my window. There is no such thing as "air tight" windows here and my room was quite breezy throughout the night. It was a pleasant experience though. The rain continued into the morning and early afternoon----its been going in and out of extreme fog. Its amazing. One minute I can see all the way to the highway, the next I'm lucky to see the building next door.


Yesterday was pretty nice. My host sister, Amani, takes me out every chance she gets (which isn't too often considering she works full time and is also an MBA student). We went to Madaba with two of her other friends and we had an amazing Lebanese lunch with some hubbly bubbly (sheesha) and a little bit of Arak, the Jordanian alchoholic drink. We returned to Amman and met up with two more of her friends for a movie at the mall. One of the guys had a valentines cake that his mom made him (yes, it is normal for a 29 year old single, successful male to still be living with his parents and have them make baked goods for him). We went and bought nutella and ate cake in the parking lot of the mall before going to grab some Turkish coffee. One of them "read my future" via my coffee grounds at the bottom of the cup. Apparently he saw superman, a female face, and a ghost in my future. It was somewhat true since one of the actors in Yes Man is none other than General Zod from Superman II. Afterwards, we walked over to the cinema for our movie. Everyone goes to see American movies. My host family laughed at me when I asked if the movies would be in Arabic. "No one goes to Arab movies. We only watch American movies here." Interesting. The theater here is amazing. For 5JD you can pick your own theater seat on an electronic screen, buy popcorn for 1JD, and be escorted to your seat. Nice.

By far the best part of the night were the people. I feel like I've gotten used to the fact that I'm the "youngster" when I'm around Amani and her friends. They are all in their late 20's, early 30's. Yet, it makes no difference to them. Its kind of nice seeing what they do and how they live their lives. They are all single and still live at home, despite most of them being extremely successful. One is an architect, whose many projects we passed in the city. Another is working at the US embassy as a translator. Another is of Palestinian/British heritage and has the best arabic/british accent when she says "bugger". One of the guys blasted "American Woman" and dedicated it to me, perhaps the first time I've heard rock music here. Everyone is extremely laidback. Its amazing the different backgrounds they all come from and how they still manage to be so laid back. One of them was Lebanese and he joked that Lebanese watch for bombs during the day and party during the night. Nothing can stop a Lebanese from having a good time.


Today, I'm attempting to go to church with some Americans that work at one of the International schools here. Its going to be interesting seeing as there is now about an inch of hail on the ground and its still rainy and foggy.

What can I say about this last weekend other than it was absolutely amazing? There is nothing better than seeing crusade castles and getting sunburned in February while seeing one of the seven new wonders of the world.
Friday at 8am I met at the University of Jordan with members of my program and we loaded onto a bus. A few hours later we arrived at Shobak castle, a small castle built during the crusades. Afterwards, we went and had tea with an old man in his cave (complete with a satellite, tv, and refrigerator). On the back wall of his cave were pictures of foreigners that he had befriended including a couple from California. On a table in the center were various items such as old coins, bullets, jewlery, etc for sale. One of the guys that works with our program bought an old rifle for 1000JD (1000+US!!!!) and an Arab revolt era tea pot for I think 150JD like they were just normal souvenirs!!! How we have someone working with our program that can drop money like that is beyond me. Afterwards we ate lunch and boarded the buses for Wadi Musa, the town right outside of Petra. Once there, some girls from my program and I took a taxi up the veeeeeeeery long hill to the supposed Spring of Moses where we drank from the spring (I'm hoping its a decision I do not regret). We than proceeded to walk back down the hill where we were frequently bombarded by shop owners trying to lure us into their stores. One shop was very friendly and after striking up a conversation they offered us some tea and even played a small drum for us. That night we cooked and ate "authentic arab food" at a place called Petra kitchen where I unfortunately attracted the attention of the 30 some year old chef who later asked for my number :( (an unfortunate side effect of smiling too much----a situation made even more awkward because he was our chef the following day!). The next morning we started our walk to Petra (entrance was only five minutes from our hotel). We started at 6am which is good because there were very few tourists inside------we saw the treasury and then walked the remaining way to an outside restaurant where we were given the option to hang out or climb the 800 steps to the monastery which WE DID! It took us awhile to make it to the top but it was well worth it----the monastery is much more impressive than the treasury (made famous by Indiana Jones). On the way down we stopped and had tea with one of the bedoin women selling jewlery and then had lunch down at the restaurant. Afterwards we made our way back through Petra, all the while being offered donkey/camel rides by the locals, most commonly saying "Donkey! Want Taxi? Mercedes? Jaguar? For you 1JD!". Other common phrases heard by locals trying to sell little knick knacks included "Buy one get one free!!" and "Happy hour! Special price!!". One guy said "later gator" when we left----I think its hilarious how they pick up on silly little western phrases.


Oh and my all time favorite part of this weekend: Driving back to Amman and seeing a tellatubby with a ball or balloon standing on the side of the street......random?!


Next big trip: Wadi Rum!!!!

So there's no such thing as copy right laws here (or at least none that are enforced). I went to get my required "books" for my class at the University recommended bookstore only to find that they are ALL photocopied duplicates of each book.

John Esposito, I mean no disrespect to your work----I simply do not know how to buy a legal copy of your book.

Rain in Jordan is truly an amazing thing.


One minute its dry, the next its pouring down rain which quickly turns into hail that actually feels like its beating you into the ground. In the 30 seconds it took to hail a taxi I was completely drenched. Taxis here by the way are NOT waterproof.


This morning it was so foggy I could barely see 3 feet in front of me.
Driving in a taxi in such conditions is frightening, to say the least. Its very eerie to hear the cars, smell the cars, but not see the cars even though you feel like they're close enough to run over you.

Living with a Jordanian family is proving to be a challenge. I have always considered myself fairly easy going and easy to live with. Yet, I have found myself struggling to make my living situation "fit" here.

Part of it is being somewhat unsure about my whole role in the family life here. I think I find this a little harder than I would if I had been living with a family with younger children. My host parents are a lot older. One is in her mid-sixties and the other is in his late seventies. Their youngest daughter who is the only one still at home is twenty eight or twenty nine. She is the one I get along with the most. Unfortunately she works full time and is also a full time student so I rarely see her. More often than not I'm home alone with my host mom. I feel like I am always doing or saying something wrong around her. EVERYTIME we talk she makes some comment about how all the other American students knew at least some Arabic. Did she not realize that I was going to have no prior Arabic? Rather than helping me she seems put out with me. I don't think this is just some cultural difference because many of my American friends here say that their host families are the opposite----that they are always trying to encourage their use of Arabic and compliment them on the things they have learned. It was most potent today when my host moms sister came over. I sat down to eat lunch with them and one of the first things my host mom says is how I don't know any Arabic and that their other students were well advanced in Arabic. She also was telling her that most of the other students here this semester know at least some Arabic. Its almost as if to say "For some reason they send me the one girl in this program who doesn't seem to know ANY Arabic...why?!" They then started grilling me with questions. Normally, I like questions. Even straight forward questions. It amazes me how forward people can be here. They ask exactly what they want to know, no matter how random or personal it may be. I got asked some of the usual questions that are asked here such as "do you smoke?" or "do you drink?". Whether this is because I'm an American or because its just what they do, I don't know. They then asked "Did you vote for Obama?"---I immediately paused simply because one of the things we are asked not to discuss is politics---at least, not initially. My moment of pause obviously caught their attention because even after I told them I voted for Obama they immediately started comparing me to prior students---AGAIN. "The two girls before you immediately told us Obama when we asked them. They told us Bush and his father like war...blah blah blah". When I tried explaining myself my host mom cut me off and asked me a completely different question. I have found myself struggling to not get frusterated with all of this. Then again, frusteration is part of the experience. It is a real challenge living in another country with a very different culture. I think it would take a LOT more than just four months to feel completely comfortable here.

Aside from that I have a random little thing I want to mention about Jordan: Something I notice and have been curious about is a song that is CONSTANTLY being played. People drive around in cars playing the song all day long. Is it the national song? Next time I hear it I'll be sure to ask someone nearby what it is. I kind of like the song....it always makes me think an icecream truck is nearby. One of the many random and interesting things I love about living in Jordan.

Every day seems to get a little better. I knew coming into this that there would be an adjustment period yet it still caught me off guard.

There is a girl from my program that lives below me and she wanted to get together today and meet some people downtown to go see the Roman Amphitheater. When I woke up my host dad and sister were already gone for the day and my host mom was about to leave for the gym----the maid and I got locked inside the apartment...literally. The difference between the maid and me is that I actually get a key. I was given specific instructions to make sure I lock the door every time I leave. I was told this was so Shanti, the maid can't let strangers into the house, but I'm pretty sure its also so she can't leave.

Once my host mom came back I left with betsy and walked down to the mall that is literally right behind our apartment building where we met up with another girl from my program. We caught a taxi there and went downtown. The Roman Amphitheater is right smack dab in the middle of modern buildings in downtown Amman. Its a breathtaking feature which towers over the nearby street. We met some other students there and climbed to the top to survey the surrounding area. We checked out the cultural and historical museum that is located below the amphitheater. Afterwards, we walked in a big obvious group throughout downtown looking for a tasty falafeel sandwhich shop that many of us had heard about. Only one of us (out of about 8) knew enough Arabic to ask people questions so she took the lead and stopped every now and again to ask someone if we were going in the right direction. Finally, we found it and for only about 40 piastres each, had tasty pitas stuffed with falafeel, french fries, tomatoes, peppers, and sauce. Sure beats McDonalds! At this point some of us split off (some had to go home early or wanted to meet other groups of people)----the rest of us wandered downtown, haggled with the street shop owners and had a really good time. You can find ANYTHING downtown, from universal remotes and hookahs, to fresh fruit, loose tea and coffee as well as clothes and shoes. The jewelry is amazing and I've been having a hard time not buying things yet. I have refused to buy any souvanirs until well into my stay here in Jordan. Its been very hard seeing as there are LOTS of pretty, shiny, and unique items to buy. It really makes me feel like a tourist!

Tomorrow is my first day of class----from 8am until 12pm I have Arabic and from 2-4pm I have my area studies classes. Its going to be interesting to finally get into the habit of going to school again. I keep forgetting that I'm not on vacation---I'm actually here for school!

By far the hardest part about living here: having to lock the maid in the apartment :(

The initial discomfort of last nights placement into once again a new setting is finally starting to wear off. I woke up bright and early this morning, unsure of what to encounter. I had to wait awhile until everyone woke up. It is Friday and my family likes to sleep in. I listened to the maid get up and begin her chores for the day. Once my host mom was awake she came out and made me a tasty breakfast of fuul, scrambled eggs, olives, and tea. It wasn't long before I made my first big mistake. I had asked if I could take a shower after breakfast. She insisted I take a shower while she was making food but said "take only five minutes". After having everyone drill in me the water shortage issues here I assumed this meant "take a five minute shower". Well, I was wrong. I took a five minute shower and then went to my room to put my shower things back and semi-dry my hair. It felt like only 10-15 minutes to me. I returned and my host mom angrily said "I only said 5 minutes! That wasn't 5 minutes!". Sooooo----here I am feeling bad because not only was she making me breakfast but I made them wait to eat :( I guess I can't help it though. I know I'm going to make mistakes every now and again. I just have to learn not to do it next time.
My host mom is kind of a "tough" woman. She is a retired principal and has the "principal" sort of attitude. I find myself trying to make her smile or laugh just so I can have a break from the stern look. After complaining some more about how I don't speak any Arabic, I finished breakfast and went and got dressed. Amani, my host sister came home late the previous night and was still sleeping. At around 1pm my host mom asked me if I wanted to go to the store with her and her husband. He puzzles me. They've been married for at least thirty years (I'm guessing closer to forty) yet he seems more like the grandfather that doesn't say anything. He is roughly 10-15 years her senior yet she commands him like a child. He rarely talks and when he does its usually in response to my host mom. Alas, I went with the two of them to the grocery store and had a more or less pleasent time. My host mom seemed to open up a lot more to me and kept telling me different tid bits of information. Despite being a Friday, there were LOTS of people at the grocery store. A mosque service was being played on multiple televisions displayed around the store. Other than reading on my homestay sheet that my family is Muslim, you wouldn't know it. Neither my host mom or Amani wear hijab and there isn't anything in the house that indicates them is Muslim (that I've seen at least). No Koran laying out or on a shelf. Maybe I'm just assuming that they would display it. Also, like any religion just because you identity with a religion does not mean you practice the religion. It is an interesting stereotype that I've had that every Muslim is a practicing Muslim.

Today really feels like my first "real" day in Amman. I met my host family last night for the first night. I was placed with a family in West Amman. It is an older couple and their grown daughter who is working on her masters and works full time as well. The mother (who obviously wears the pants in the family) is a distinguished retired principal and even has medals from the King. I have my own room with my own queen sized bed plus internet. I feel very spoiled after living in a small hotel room for a week.
I'm hoping that I will feel comfortable here. Its already felt a little strained. The mother keeps complaining that I don't know any arabic and that all of the other Americans knew at least some. I'm not sure if this is a genuine complaint or what. The daughter seems slightly disappointed in me simply because she was looking for someone to go out and party with. I think its apparent upon first meeting me that I'm not really the partying type...
My biggest source of contention is definitely our maid situation. Maids are common for a lot of people here in Jordan. Unfortunately, most if not all are immigrants from other countries and have very little status here. We were warned about this in orientation. They told us as much as we are going to hate how the maids are treated now is not to the time to try and "change the world" as they put it. Our maid is from Sri Lanka and she speaks very little Arabic. My family treats her like she's furniture and only talks to her when they need something. They always demand things from her. So far most of the arabic they have tried to teach me are commands to the maid. I was talking with my host mom about Washington in the tv room and I saw the maid sit down in the kitchen and listen to us. That is the first time I have seen her not working. She is either bussing our dishes, scrubbing cabinets, or some other task. I saw a tiny little bed in what looks like a small room or large closet and I assume thats for her. As with most Americans upbringing, I find being around this constantly very heartbreaking. I'm going to try and be as nice to her as possible without overstepping my boundaries as a guest in this house. My plan today is to try and give her some candy I had originally brought for my family. I didn't realize it had gelatin in it which my Muslim family can't eat. I'm hoping that they will see it as discarding something bad and that way I can give the maid what is hopefully a nice treat for her.

Classes start on Sunday and I am hoping I make it to all of my classes! Inshallah!

Marhaba! Hello!
So today is the first day I've been able to access my blog----I haven't been able to get on the internet very much here and when I do it has been extremely slow and I've had issues with websites coming up in Arabic.

So far I LOVE Jordan! The people are very friendly and the orientation has been packed with a lot of useful information and fun activities. Our first full day we took a trip on the Hijaz railway where we were "kidnapped" by bedouin men on horseback. We then enjoyed coffee with one of the local sheikhs and learned a little bit about the local bedouin.

Yesterday, we had a very fun scavenger hunt. We broke down into 3-4 person groups and completed tasks around the city. Ours included finding a camel statue and mailing it to a male relative (a task we unfortunately could not complete).

Today I had my first arabic class which was three hours long. Talk about a LOT of information at once!! Its a little bit intimidating but fun at the same time.

Anyway, I wish I could write more but I have to be back on campus soon. More to come soon!!

Pre-Departure

Hello! The time has finally come! In just a few short days I will be on my way to Jordan for the experience of a lifetime. I will be studying in Amman, Jordan for the spring semester and I couldn't be more excited! This is a trip of "firsts" for me. This is not only my first time to the Middle East but it is also my first time leaving the country (besides Canada which hardly counts). I will be studying Arabic and two area studies courses while abroad. My goals are to learn as much Arabic as I can and have fun learning about such a fascinating culture! This will be a huge growing experience for me and I'll be able to better understand an area of the world that has remained a mystery to me most of my life. I'm not sure what my access to internet will be like but I am going to try and post at least once a week or as often as I can depending on how busy I am. I am going to try and include pictures as well as insight as to how I am affected by the cultural differences around me. It is going to be a fun and challenging experience that I look forward to beginning!


Alyssa