Orientation – thought I was finished with this…

I remember NSO (New Student Orientation) at Georgetown like it was yesterday. Tons of icebreakers, lots of new faces, constant planned activities, and who could forget the overly enthusiastic Orientation Advisors! I assumed that our three days of intensive orientation would be exactly the same. Well, it was not. In a certain sense, I was happy that I was not going through NSO all over again. Not a big fan of constant icebreakers. However, part of me actually missed NSO and the enthusiasm reflected amongst the returning students and demonstrated towards the new students, encouraging them to make Georgetown theirs. Realizing this made me acknowledge that this is not Georgetown. Sure, it is a significant part of my Georgetown experience. However, I need to be flexible, open, and relaxed in order to engage fully in my experience in Amman.

(Just some background on Amman: It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and in the Old Testament, Amman was referred to as Rabbath-Ammon, which was the capital of the Ammonites around 1200 B.C.)

On Tuesday, we saw various Roman ruins including the Citadel, overlooking Amman and the different jabals, which houses three important structures: the remains of a small Byzantine church, the Temple of Hercules, and the Umayyad Palace Complex. We also visited the Roman Amphitheater, which from the Citadel looked quite miniscule; however, our trip to the Amphitheater after lunch proved otherwise. In the afternoon, we went on a longer bus tour, seeing the US Embassy (which is gigantic – not surprising though), Abdoun (an extremely wealthy area in Amman with houses that reminded of the kind on Lakeshore Dr. in Grosse Pointe, MI – although with complete glass door entrances), and various other locations.


For lunch we ate at a restaurant called Jafra, located in the center of Amman in al-Balad. We had a feast, and I mean a feast. We had several courses of traditional food and it was absolutely delicious. At the end of my meal, I ordered a lemon and mint smoothie, thanks to Stephen, one of the CIEE staff members. It was phenomenal. At that point, I realized that this drink would become a staple in my diet for the rest of my time here in Jordan.


In the evening, I took a taxi to meet up with my friend Caitlin at the other hotel where CIEE students were staying for orientation. She was staying near Sharia Rainbow (Rainbow Street – sorry for the random inserts of Arabic – I figure I should use it since it’s the best way to learn the language!). I had not seen her since this past May, so it was definitely great to see her and catch up. We walked around Sharia Rainbow for a little while. Of course, I took us the wrong way on the street and she corrected me (not the first time that has happened!). We went to TCHE Café, a modern café on Sharia Rainbow. We both had the lemon and mint smoothie (sensing a pattern here with these drinks?). After talking for a couple of hours, I realized it was 11:30 pm! Now that is actually early for me, but after these long, hot days I was exhausted. I returned to my hotel after flagging down a taxi and called it a night.


On Wednesday, we departed for the University of Jordan (UJ) where I would be taking classes. We began our day on campus with an informal Ammiyah class (Jordanian dialect) with one of the professors. We spent about 45 minutes together as we practiced some basic Ammiyah words as well as how to communicate to a taxi driver in Ammiyah. It was a fun exercise and also made me realize how I wished I had learned Ammiyah since beginning my Arabic studies.

UJ, a public university, is the most well-known university in Jordan and from what I was told, one needs to have a very high Tawjih score, which one receives after taking a mandatory cumulative exam that covers all subjects after their equivalent of high school studies. We toured various parts of campus, had lunch in the main cafeteria, and saw the stadium where students can play pick-up soccer or run around the track. I also found out that it will take me twenty minutes to walk from the South Gate to the North Gate as I switch classes and I only have 10 minutes in between those two classes (so, this should be fun – I guess a workout wouldn’t hurt!).

Check out the link below for more photos:
Photos of Jordan - Orientation