Host family, Wedding ceremony, East Amman...

After three days of orientation, I moved into the home of my host family on Thursday evening! I am living with the Kattan family in Umm Al-Summaq, located in West Amman about a 15-20 minute taxi drive from the University of Jordan (UJ).

They live on the fourth floor of a multiple resident building. It is a spacious living space for four people, and I don’t think I will cause too many problems, as I have my own room. The family has been very accommodating and it has been a pleasure to get to know them so far. The two children, Laura and Rami, seem to always have a ton of energy, playing throughout the house, making loud noises, etc. It’s been a while since I was their age, so hopefully I will get a boost of energy soon to be able to keep up with them! I have enjoyed getting to know both David and Rania, my host parents. David speaks English and Rania speaks a little but not much. We have been speaking in both Arabic and English – I’m excited for my Arabic to improve so I can speak more comfortably and understand conversations in/out of the home. Each day, we enjoy some Arabic coffee and Zatar while we  watch al-akbar (the news) or movies – David enjoys asking me what they are talking about after each segment of the news to see if I fully understand.

Friday morning (9/10) we went to a Catholic Church, St. Charbel, off one of the main roads closer to the airport because David and Rania are part of a group (Folklorie) that meets monthly to talk about relationships between married couples and their relationship with God. I was introduced to everyone as they arrived – one of the men attended a fellow Jesuit university, Boston College – he could not stop praising the Jesuits (don’t blame him). 

Two things made this whole experience somewhat different and difficult. One, I was the only non-married person there (and I’m obviously not from the area). Second, it was all in Arabic – Ammiyah (Jordanian dialect) to be exact. I did however sit in the group and listen. At times I found myself dosing off since I was only picking up occasionally words and phrases. However, I did appreciate being welcomed into the group as if I was one of them – something I’ve noticed to be a consistent trait amongst the Jordanians I’ve met so far. 

In regards to the church, it was built in 2009, so it’s a very new church, and quite elegant. When we walked in, I went towards the holy water to mark the sign of the cross, and noticed there was a minimal amount of water and on top of the dish was a sponge. This immediately grabbed my attention, and in all honesty I could only think about this while I was in the church. This came as a shock to me primarily because I am accustomed to seeing a bowl filled with water in the States and I’m sure it will always be that way. However, here in Jordan there is a shortage of water. I found the use of the sponge to be an ingenious way to preserve water and at the same time provide holy water for those who enter the church.

Friday evening I attended a wedding ceremony at a local parish with my host family. As we drove up the street in Tala a Al-Ali, the streets were lined with cars and the bride was preparing to exit the black Mercedes. My host family and I walked into the church, passing the priest and the bridal party who were in the church foyer. There was no organist or pianist, rather the music came from some pre-recorded audio and was blasted through the speakers. I also found it strange to see the videographers and photographers being ever so close to the “action” of the ceremony at all times. Photographers were moving constantly at the front of the church when the ceremony was taking place, as they took photos of the bride and groom, the priest, and even the families of the couple. Videographers did the same thing too, and even went around the entire church to obtain footage of all the people in attendance – they went up row by row (during the ceremony!). 

Saturday evening we went to David’s parents’ home in East Amman. Less developed + lack of American fast food restaurants + narrow streets + single family houses + more local stores, restaurants, and suqs (markets) = East Amman. We had a wonderful evening with David's parents, which included Arabic coffee, kunafa, a nice conversation, and, of course, two rambunctious kids! David’s father, Peter, was a professor and studied at LSU and was a professor there for several years in civil engineering and mathematics. He showed me his bookshelves, one of which contained some that he personally authored – I could tell he was very proud to show them off, unfortunately I am not well versed in that field, yet it was still impressive to see them and hear about his time in the U.S. David's mother reminded me of my father’s grandmother – somewhat quiet and reserved, religious, enjoyed playing with her grandchildren and constantly asked how I was doing (there must be some things inherent in being a grandmother).

Well, tomorrow class begins! I'm excited to have a routine and to begin at the University of Jordan. Although I am not to thrilled for my Arabic placement exam on Monday.

 

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

Arrived Safely

Ahlan wa sahlan ila medinat Amman! (Welcome to the city of Amman!)

After boarding the Royal Jordanian airplane at the JFK airport, we departed for Amman around 10:30 pm. For the most part, it was an enjoyable flight - window seat near the front, "airline" food, personal TV with a wide range of movies, and, of course, my new friend - an old man from London, UK. Prior to boarding, I told myself that I would watch a movie or two, and catch up on Arabic (which I haven't looked at since leaving Georgetown in May). Well.... let's just say that I didn't do either. I began watching Fast Five, and proceeded to fall asleep (not that most of my friends are surprised, as I tend to do that more than not). And although my Arabic textbook was sitting under the seat in front of me, I was too lazy to reach down and pick it up. One funny story of my flight was when I woke up at around 7 am (US time) or 2 pm (Amman time) and I saw my TV on. I looked over to my left and sure enough the old man from London was watching my TV with my headphones! Not sure why he was not using his, but I guess he just thought he should help himself to my TV since I was sleeping. Oh well, he didn't wake me up or anything.

I arrived safely to Amman, Jordan at 4:30 pm. After landing and leaving the airplane, we were greeted by staff members of CIEE who took us through Immigration, assisted us in getting our luggage, and then divided us between those staying in apartments and those in homestays. Since the few Georgetown students that I know on the program are in apartments, I said good-bye to them as I boarded a SUV with other homestay students to the Geneva Hotel in Amman.

I have situated myself in my hotel room for the next couple days as we go through an intensive orientation. Purchased a local phone, went in a taxi with some friends to check out Amman last night, got some Nutella ice cream (which is obviously delicious!), and spent time with some of my new classmates.

Also, I have received information about my host family!!!!!! I will be living in Umm Summaq with the Kattan family. David, the father (like my dad!), works as a car dealer at the duty free zone, and my mother, Rania, is a homemaker. They have two children: Laura, who is 7 years old, and Rami who is 4 years old. Both are students at the Maamadanieh School. They are a Catholic family and live relatively close to the University of Jordan. I will be meeting them this weekend - can't wait!

Well that's it for now. Off to explore Amman! Hopefully, I can put up some photos soon.

Good-bye Georgetown, Hello Amman, Jordan!

Will I miss being on the Hilltop? What about my friends on campus? Dahlgren Chapel? Lau? Wisey's?

I will definitely miss being at Georgetown. Everything about it. From the late nights at Lau to the runs down to the National Mall to the Hot Chick sandwich at Wisey's, and the list goes on... I'm thankful that I was able to be on campus last week, spending time with friends and having at least a small amount of time on the Hilltop for my Junior year.

So if I will miss it, why am I spending an entire year abroad?

I guess the way I look at it is that a year abroad is still a part of my Georgetown experience. Everyone has different experiences - they take part in different activities, different classes, reside in different living situations. This past May as final exams were coming to a close, I began to feel sad that I would not be returning to Georgetown for my Junior year. I felt that I enrolled for four years at Georgetown and now it was going down to only three. I was being shortchanged. In retrospect I believe that response came from my emotions after looking back on a fantastic Sophomore year, and assuming that the only way to replicate the successes and failures, challenges, and obstacles that I had to overcome which truly shaped me as an individual and made Sophomore year so incredibly special.

As I look towards a year abroad, I can say with certainty that I am doing this for me. Not to fill a certain Georgetown persona, not to fluff up my resume, or make my parents proud (although I hope I always do!). Rather, my decision to study abroad for a full academic year in two locations is multifold (these are in no specific rank): first, the two locations complement my major almost perfectly as I am looking at international development and social justice in the Middle East (Jordan) and Latin America (El Salvador); second, I want to become fluent in Arabic (inshallah – God willing!) and Spanish; third, I believe that the chance to study in two vastly different locations and cultures will allow me to learn a thing or two about who I am. It will challenge me, surprise me, encourage me, upset me, etc. It will place me outside of my comfort zone (something I struggle in stepping out of). And my greatest hope is that these experiences will engage me in the “gritty reality” of this world as I strive to discern God’s vocation for me.

A week ago I said farewell to Detroit. Now it is only appropriate to say "Good-bye Georgetown, and Hello Amman, Jordan!" Inshallah, I will post soon!