This I Believe

I wrote this article a few weeks ago for the Rice Standard, so it is slightly outdated, but I still thought it would be nice to share: 

Studying abroad is not just about the rosy experience of intercultural learning, speaking a foreign language, and self-reflection. It is also about recognizing what I have left behind, especially the aspects of life that I take for granted while living in the United States. In the beginning of my semester in Jordan, I missed my morning bowl oatmeal and brewed coffee, shorts and t-shirts, and being able to walk to lectures. After I reconciled these trivial parts of life, I missed the camaraderie of the Rice club soccer and ultimate Frisbee teams, the quietness of Fondren stacks, and the smell of rain. Missing these things just makes me appreciate them more. Yet, one of the most important aspects of life I have truly come to appreciate is the intangible, priceless right to the freedom of expression.

The beautiful desert at Wadi Rum, in the southern part of Jordan close to Saudi Arabia.

Now that the semester is more than half way over, I am able to understand more details of Jordanian culture and life, rather than the generalizations. I can engage in serious conversations enabled by my increasing fluency in Arabic, dig much deeper than the superficial layer of tourism, and strengthen personal relationships with mutual understanding. These realizations do not just reflect life here in Jordan, but they also, strangely enough, affect my understanding of life in the United States.

In the past couple of weeks, many of my experiences, whether through visiting the Amman public radio station, engaging in a discussion with my Jordanian friends outside of class, or conducting interviews with physicians for a research project, have all seemed to connect one way or another to issues with freedom of expression. When I mentioned my thoughts about writing this article to my Jordanian host father during our post-dinner news-watching session, he chuckled, saying (in Arabic), “Oh, that’ll be easy, Jordan has fantastic freedom of expression.” His laughs belied his words, and then in a more serious tone: “There is not much freedom here, but America has the most freedom of any country.” He turned back to watching Al Jazeera—which he also noted is not an independent news source—and I went to start writing. 

There it is. We, growing up as Americans, hear over and over again that we are fortunate to have freedom of expression not just written in our Constitution, but also actively enforced by our government, courts, and society. According to Human Rights Watch’s “Freedom in the World 2012” report, Jordan is considered “Not Free” and ranks in category 6 for political rights and category 5 for civil liberties, where 1 represents the most free and 7 the least free. These ratings do not even take into account the recent endorsement in September of amendments to Jordan’s Press and Publication Law, which imposed additional restrictions on freedom of expression online.

The office wall of one of the employees at Al-Balad Radio who focuses on human rights issues. Most of these posters have slogans raising awareness of human rights issues, for example: the poster with figures holding hands supports a law protecting from family acts of violence, including crimes of honor; and the blue-colored poster is about fighting corruption

Aside from the official face of government and rankings, I have encountered these challenges to free expression on a more personal level. One of the program managers organized a trip for the students to visit Al-Balad Radio headquarters, which is an independent, public radio station in Amman. Among other topics, we discussed issues surrounding freedom of expression in the press during our meeting with the manager. She said that the environment has improved after the start of Arab Spring, but several lines of red tape remain. The most prominent taboos are public criticism of the royal family (punishable up to three years in prison), questioning the military establishment (especially the budget, about which any information is completely inaccessible), and challenges to the Islamic faith.

Before the Arab Spring, the radio station used to receive calls daily from Jordan’s secret police, renowned regionally for their strength and infiltration, to monitor programs as well as online posts, but most of these calls have stopped. However, the censorship remains. Likewise, the two largest newspapers in Jordan are government owned, and even many of the independent ones have close connections to the government. In short, media freedom of expression is severely curtailed, which not only affects the quality and credibility of information available, but also suggests a widespread fear of crossing the acceptable “boundary,” leading to self-censorship. The manager praised the work of the many bloggers who are now challenging the news agencies to provide more accurate information, but she is highly concerned about the amendments to the media law that could pose a major threat to freedom online. 

The fear of crossing the censorship line is real; I have witnessed it myself in Jordanians’ daily lives. One example is especially distressing because it involves not politics, but academia. Earlier this week, I was conversing outside of class with one of my friends – I will call her Fatima for the sake of privacy – who is currently writing her doctoral thesis for the Faculty of Shari’a (Islamic Studies) at the University of Jordan. She is in her fifth year and hopes to finish by the summer of 2013. Besides the difficulty of her topic, which critiques certain Hadith from the Prophet Mohammed to address contemporary issues in Islam, Fatima is struggling internally about the scope of her dissertation. She wants to include topics that she believes are extremely relevant but controversial. Many Islamic scholars in Jordan regard such criticisms of Islam as an unacceptable challenge that they fear may lead to a slippery slope of rejecting the veracity of some of their major religious texts. If she decides to include what she truly believes is correct, she may risk the rejection of her dissertation entirely, not on the basis of the quality of research and writing, but because of the intolerance of scholars within her own religion. Thus, Fatima would have exerted herself for the past five years for nothing other than tuition fees, lost time with her husband and son, and countless other stresses.

A view of (part of) Amman at dusk. I live in a relatively quiet, residential part of the city that has not been affected by the recent protests.

Fatima drew a picture with her hands to compare herself, as a moderate Islamic scholar in Jordanian society, to a small bird struggling to fly in stormy weather. She is at the mercy of the buffeting winds that push her around without regard, making her feel lost, alone, and in danger. She and her husband are strongly considering moving outside of the Arab world in the coming years so that she will be able to publish her writings. Otherwise, she said, there is little hope of finding a publisher in Jordan or in the surrounding Arab countries because of the content of her writings.

Sometimes, pressure to limit my own speech during personal conversations with Jordanians pushes the limits of my own self-control. One evening, I was watching the news with my host family and some relatives the day after the U.S. presidential elections, and my host aunt – I will call her Noura – asked me about same-sex marriage in the United States, obviously stemming from something she had heard in the news about recent policies being approved. Her facial expressions already indicated how she felt about the issue, but I explained in an even tone that some states now allow same-sex marriage, but there is no federal policy regarding their marriage rights. For most Muslims that I have met, same-sex marriage is not an issue of individual human rights, but is tied to their religious beliefs. Noura stated that homosexuality is disgusting and unethical, forbidden by the Qur’an and punishable by God. She cited a passage in the Qur’an in which God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with a violent wind that turned them upside-down as a punishment to the people who were engaging in acts of sodomy and rape. She also reasoned that God created two genders for a purpose, and we are thus supposed to marry and have children with the opposite sex in order to raise a family.

I tried to offer an alternative point-of-view that homosexuality is a natural preference, not a disease or something that can be changed. But she immediately denied this suggestion, acting as if I were insulting Islam, and insisted that homosexuality is “wrong and disgusting, and those people need to go to therapy to make them straight.” I wanted to stand up for what I believed, for my friends, and for science, but at the same time I wanted to maintain my relationship with Noura and my host family, because I know that she is not alone in her opinions. So as much as I struggled internally to sit quietly, I submitted to self-censorship. I only hope that my comments planted the possibility of a different perspective.

The Rainbow Theater, where I attended a concert by Jordanian rappers. Rap is becoming more popular in the Arab world, and especially after the Arab Spring, most of the lyrics are politically oriented. It was really interesting to see the type of crowd that it attracted - mostly young, well-to-do Jordanians who seem have chosen to live a more 'alternative' lifestyle.

From past experiences, most conversations here tied to religion are exceedingly difficult for me because I consider religious beliefs to be a very personal issue, and many Muslims I have encountered in Jordan believe very strongly in what is written in their religious texts. I respect their faith and try to understand their opinions, but I usually do not enjoy conversations on religion because they often seem to turn into one-sided lectures. 

Was I wrong to submit and not assert my beliefs? I am still not sure how to balance the different factors, but if nothing else, I am sure that I will never take the freedom of expression for granted because I understand how it feels to not be able to say what I truly believe and want to say. Even though similar conversations could easily happen in many parts of the United States, and it was neither the government nor police that imposed this limit on me, I still felt marginalized and frustrated.

I can give up my bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, kicking around a soccer ball, and even spending time with my friends during my semester here because I have been able to find numerous other delicious foods, several opportunities to play sports, and amazing new friends. However, I cannot give up my freedom of expression because there is no alternative. I wish that I did not have to go abroad to truly appreciate the freedoms that we, as citizens of the United States of America, are fortunate to have inherited from the work of previous generations. At the same time, I cannot be happier to have this opportunity to experience a different culture, communicate in a foreign language, and witness how achieving individual rights requires a long process of effort and advocacy.

As I write this article, thousands of Jordanians are in the midst of protesting in the streets against the sudden spike in fuel and bread prices. On November 13, the government decided to remove subsidies to help redress budget deficit problems, even though many areas of governmental spending lack any sort of transparency in the first place. The search for freedom is a progression that cannot be denied. Self-expression is an undeniable human necessity. The freedom of self-expression: this I believe.

Being Foreign in Jordan

Overlook of part of Petra from the High Place of Sacrifice

Again, just part of the vast site of Petra. The remains of a theater are visible in the background

So it seems that most of my blog posts from now on will just consist of the articles in the Rice Standard and some extra pictures....so it goes. The article focuses on my experience with tourism in Jordan, mostly because of my recent trip with my parents on Oct. 23-29. It was great to see them for the first time since June, and I'm really happy I was able to see more of Jordan, as well because it is a surprisingly geographically diverse country. And luckily, we coordinated the trip to coincide with the holiday break here, so I didn't have to miss class. 

http://www.ricestandard.org/being-foreign-in-jordan/


Here are some more details on the trip, since it is not really clear in the article:

The desert at Wadi Rum

I took a 4-hour bus ride on Oct. 23 after class, which went south from Amman to Petra - I was definitely the only foreigner on board, and I was slightly scared sitting up front when we reached over 80 mph at one point in the dark, but otherwise, everything went smoothly. I met my parents at the hotel and then we spent the entire next day exploring Petra, as well as a neighboring site called Little Petra. We drove to Wadi Rum on Oct. 25 for a full-day Jeep tour, as well as an overnight stay in a desert camp. I especially loved being able to climb a lot of sand dunes and small mountains, which had magnificent views of the desert. The landscape varied, but in some places, the sand is an amazing shade of pink. I also enjoyed the peaceful and picturesque sunset, the addicting Bedouin tea (sage is the magic ingredient), and sleeping under the vast array of stars (thankfully with a mattress and large blanket).

One of the sand dunes and rocks (at the top) we climbed - the views and running down were the best part.

Even though I had already been to Petra and Wadi Rum, my experiences the second time were incomparable with the first visit. This time was much, much more enjoyable and interesting. I was able to see more of Petra, which consists of far more than just the famous facade of the "Indiana Jones" Treasury. It is really an incredible site, and I didn't appreciate this the first time I came. This Wadi Rum tour also gave a better idea of how vast and beautiful the Jordanian desert is. Receiving a marriage offer from our Bedouin driver also added to the fun, although my parents refused, saying they had no use for the 25 camels that the driver was offering. And of course, it was also wonderful to spend time with my parents.

Sunset at Wadi Rum

On Oct. 26, we hiked to the top of a mountain in the Dana Nature Reserve, which was beautiful, although slightly disappointing, to tell the truth. The weather was pretty hazy, so the views weren't as spectacular as expected. We headed to the Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth at 400m below sea level, where we checked into our chalet at Wadi Mujib, a nice alternative to the numerous 5-star resorts a short distance up the road. Unfortunately, there was a wind storm the rest of the afternoon and evening, which ruined the views, as well as any opportunity to float and relax in the Dead Sea.

The hike in the Mujib Reserve the next morning was one of my favorite parts! We basically walked through a giant, narrow canyon for the entire trail, and along the way climbing small waterfalls with rushing water. Thankfully, there were some ropes already in place at some of the waterfalls, and we also enlisted the help of some Omani students we met along the way who are studying here in Jordan. Definitely an adventure, and slightly difficult for the older members of our group :) We made it to the end, though, which was a much taller waterfall! On the way back, we were able to float back down the waterway in the deeper parts. I would love to go back and try some of the harder trails in Wadi Mujib, which require a guide, but unfortunately the site is now closed for the winter.

The morning view from our chalet at the Dead Sea - Israel/Palestine is in the background

We spent an afternoon in Amman, trying not to get ripped off by taxis, visiting the Citadel, walking along one of the more 'upscale' streets in Amman, and wandering through the suq downtown. We bought dried dates from the vegetable market, bargained for scarves, drank fresh sugar cane juice, and bought sweets at arguably the best bakery in Jordan. And then we had dinner later that night with my host family, which was a lot of fun, but also slightly awkward at times since my parents don't speak Arabic, and the only person in my host family who speaks English is my host dad. I think both sides enjoyed themselves, though, and the food was delicious, as always.

In Amman, with the Citadel in the background

The next day (Oct. 28) we took a long road trip to the northern part of Jordan, first visiting Umm Qais, which has some ancient ruins, although is most known for its gorgeous views. Again, the weather was hazy, so it was difficult to see far, but we were able to see the Golan Heights, Sea of Galilee, and Israel, which was pretty incredible. It was hard to believe that we were so close to Syria, especially since we were there to admire the panoramic, bird's eye views. We made our way to an extremely well preserved castle in Ajloun, which was fun to explore, and then to Jerash. This is an enormous ancient Roman site, with truly incredible buildings and architecture. We all thoroughly enjoyed exploring the site, although were pretty exhausted after a long week.

View from Umm Qais of the Golan Heights and Sea of Galilee (to the far left)

We treated ourselves to some sushi and Western food later that night in Amman. I miss Japanese rice so much! We said goodbye the next morning: they were off to the U.S., where they ended up having to stay overnight in Chicago because of Hurricane Sandy, and I had to get back to my 'normal,' non-touristy life here.

Part of the ancient Roman ruins at Jerash, about an hour drive north of Amman

 And on a side note, it is strange and somewhat sad to be in Jordan watching all of the election festivities going on 6,000 miles away. But at the same time, it has been an incredible experience to hear Jordanians talking with earnest about the elections, hearing about their seemingly unanimous support for Obama, and being able to watch the concession and victory speeches in class today. Of course there are no political signs or banners here, so the election spirit is definitely lacking, but multiple Jordanians have congratulated me, and my host mom even gave me a hug this morning when we found out that Obama won. Trying to explain the electoral college system in Arabic was certainly a memorable experience, too. No matter what, the next four years are sure to have a lot in store, both on a personal and political level.

Jerusalem Journal

I have been slacking lately on writing actual blogs, but here is another article for the Rice Standard on my short trip to Jerusalem, Oct. 4-6.

http://www.ricestandard.org/we-the-people-of-the-disunited-israeli-palestinian-territory/

And some photos to go along:

We waited over an hour on the Israeli side of the border, just for the bus to Jerusalem to fill up

Old Jerusalem at night

The  Western Wall in Old Jerusalem. It was a Jewish holiday, so there were even more people praying than usual

Ordering our deliciously, incredibly cheap dinner of falafel sandwiches

Part of the Temple Mount area, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Mount of Olives in the background.

Exploring the Greek Orthodox cemetery in the Christian quarter of Old Jerusalem. The other quarters are Muslim, Jewish, and Armenian - all within the old city walls.

Outside the old city walls. We were incredibly fortunate because the night we arrived, we met another young man staying/living at the same hostel. He had been living in Jerusalem for the past year, and he offered to take us on a tour of the city for free the next day. Needless to say, we took him up on the offer, and it was an amazing experience.

On the old city walls, overlooking part of the new city - we did part of the wall walk, but the other part was closed

Toward the end of the wall walk, overlooking the Mount of Olives. To the left is Vitale (our guide) and to the right is Jeremy (my CIEE classmate).

Father and sons - we saw so many families around the old city in traditional garb. There was an influx of Jews for the Sukkot holiday, as well, which is a week-long festival to commemorate when the Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple of Jerusalem.

The olive orchard and steeple at the Russian Orthodox Convent at the top of the Mount of Olives. Vitale helped us get in since he had previously lived there for a few months.

The view from the other side of the Mount of Olives from the Russian Convent, overlooking part of the West Bank.

Jerusalem through the front window of the Dominus Flevit Roman Catholic Church on the Mt. of Olives

The famous olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane. We visited so many Biblical sites, which was amazing to put things more into context.

The crowded entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the old city, which is on the spot of Jesus' crucifixion and contains his grave.

Part of New Jerusalem at night. It was eerily deserted for the most part because of the Sabbath and holiday.

A sukkah on a balcony in the new city, built for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Jewish families are supposed to eat their meals in these structures during the week-long holiday

 These are just a small number of the pictures I took, but hopefully they give a better idea of my short, but eventful trip to Jerusalem.

I also recently returned from a five-day rural retreat that was organized by CIEE. We (the 7 students in the Arabic Language program, 2 of our professors, 1 guide, 1 cook) stayed in a camp outside of a small town called Shobak. We had a couple hours of Arabic lessons a day, but most of the rest of the time was spent doing other activities, such as hiking in the spectacular Wadi ibn Hammad, lessons in Jordanian cooking, a visit to a local school, a visit to a local family, exploring the nearby Shobak castle, to name a few. One of the best parts was the chance to get away from Amman city life, including the pollution, internet, and classes.

I was even able to get in a couple early morning runs, which was so peaceful, and we had an intense 7v7 soccer game at the school, which was definitely one of the highlights. I'll have to write more about it later, but here's one last picture of our group at Wadi ibn Hammad:

Taxi Time: Rice Standard Article

Here is a recently published article I wrote for the Rice Standard on my past month in Jordan. I used - or perhaps I should say, tried to use - actual experiences in taxis to discuss the broader meaning of studying abroad:

http://www.ricestandard.org/taxi-time/

And here are a couple photos that aren't really related to the article, but are interesting nonetheless:

A wedding taxi :) The decorated car that the groom drove from his family's house to the bride's house to take her to the wedding hall. I attended this wedding with my host family on October 1, and the groom was a cousin.

Driving in the car caravan from the groom's house to the bride's house. When we arrived, the women went upstairs to sing and dance in the bride's family's apartment, and the men stayed downstairs and drank coffee to wait for the bride to come down. Then we caravaned again to the wedding hall.

The bride and groom preparing to enter the wedding hall. The guests stood along the entrance and sang and clapped with music. The bride was from a more conservative Muslim family and has covered her hair and face. The wedding took place in two gender-separated rooms, so we saw the bride in the women's hall.

Waiting for the bride and groom to enter the women's hall. The groom spent a little time in this hall, where he and his bride danced for a couple songs, and then cut the cake. Then he went to the men's hall, until the end of the wedding when he came in again to take photos, and other male relatives were allowed to come in to congratulate the couple and give them money, as is tradition.

Another cousin in front of a giant, cheesy photo of a bride and groom that was on the wall near the entrance (see picture above). In general I avoided taking too many pictures of the actual wedding itself to respect the privacy of the other women.

The Best of Both

The main gate of the University of Jordan

One month down, three to go. Life is really starting to pick up here after a fairly relaxed first two weeks. The material covered in classes is piling on, the projects are building up, and I want to do everything all at once since my time here is so short...talk with my host family, watch the news in Arabic, read my book of Arab short stories, keep up with my scrapbook, go to the gym, spend time with friends, visit museums, attend concerts, and the lists goes on. I'm happy to be busy and am thoroughly enjoying my classes at the University of Jordan (JU), and I feel incredibly fortunate to be here right now, and upon starting my fourth week of classes, I will try to contextualize what it means to be living here. 

\What I love most about Amman:

- Limestone-covered buildings. All buildings in Amman are required by law to be covered with limestone blocks, which creates quite a stunning view, especially at sunset with the city's hills are covered with white stones glowing under the fading light. 

Happy after purchasing several Arabic books at an international book fair in Amman. My birthday present to myself.

- Home-cooked meals. Jordanian food is incredibly delicious! It definitely beats out Morocco, and probably even beats Egypt, although nothing can top Egyptian mangos and fruit juice stands. I especially love tabbouleh, felafel, and ma'looba, which literally means "upside-down" because a huge pan of rice, chicken, eggplant, and cauliflower is baked and then turned upside down on an equally giant plate to serve. Yummmm. Every meal also must have some form of bread or rice. I am also spoiled even more with occasional Indian food because the maid who lives with my host family is from Bangladesh, and she is an amazing cook! Not to mention that my host mom teaches other women how to bake sweets and cakes... 

Birthday dinner and cake at my host family's

- My host family. I can sit and talk with them about anything from politics to religion to the events of my day, or I can study in my room and have time to myself if needed, without feeling obligated to do anything else. They are incredibly generous, easy-going, and have the patience to explain anything to me that I don't understand.

- Arabic. I have taken a language pledge to not speak any English for the entire semester. To be entirely honest, a few words slip here-and-there, but otherwise it is Arabic all day, every day, and I absolutely love it. A lot of people in Amman speak English (at varying levels), but that doesn't mean I have to respond in English :)

The intersection near my house where I wait for the bus, early on Friday morning with no traffic.

- Riding buses. I think I'd being lying if I said I loved commuting to JU by bus, but I will admit to enjoying it, mostly because it is so vastly superior than my other alternative of taking taxis. I stand on opposite the side of the main road, a short walk my host family's apartment, and wait anywhere from 20 seconds to 20 minutes for the bus to come. I have memorized the pattern of the traffic signals now at the intersection, and amuse myself by watching the newspaper man running in and out of cars at the stop light, handing drivers a newspaper in exchange for a coin. I wave at the bus to stop, and then usually have to push my way on board because for some reason all of the women like to stand directly in front of the door and are extremely hesitant to move for passengers getting on and off (the men are in the back, so I don't know what their bus-customs are like). I swipe my prepaid card, and then usually stand for the 30-ish minute ride (depending on traffic), trying not to hit too many people with my large backpack and cinch bag (with gym paraphernalia). Jordanian women all carry the more fashionable shoulder bags, so I totally feel like an unstylish American...same story in the U.S., though, so nothing every changes :) I stay on until the end of the route, which is the main gate of the university, get off, and go to class. Easy. Nearly the same story on the way back. (I'm currently in the process of writing an article for the Rice Standard on taking taxis, so I'll post that whenever it's published.)

One of the sites at Petra (not the main Treasury), Sept. 15

However, I also can't help but mention what I miss the most about the U.S.: 

- Clean bathrooms, with soap and toilet paper. The bathrooms at JU are pretty abominable. I'm lucky to find a "normal"-style toilet, so learning to squat is a much-need skill. Toilet paper and soap are a guaranteed "no," so it's byo style. Side note: Jordanians call toilet paper and tissues "Fine" because the first major company to sell these products in Jordan was "Fine," and the name has stuck (just like we call tissues "Kleenex" and bandage strips "Band-Aids").

- Jogging outside, or any form of exercise outside for that matter. I joined a female-only gym that is only a ten-minute walk from my house, so I am extremely thankful for this opportunity and convenience. However, it's on the second floor of an office building (next to Starbucks), and I really miss being outside, off of a treadmill and running on grass, and playing on a team. There are definitely benefits, though, because I am learning better techniques for arms weights and other new exercises, and I am honestly happy just to have this opportunity, since I didn't while I was in Egypt.

Signs at Wild Jordan in Amman, the official company in charge of organizing trips to Jordan's various nature preserves

- Water fountains. Jordan has a serious water-shortage problem and is one of the poorest countries in the world with regard to water scarcity. Each family receives a weekly water ration, stored on a rooftop tank, for everything from flushing toilets and taking showers to cooking. I have yet to come across a functional drinking water fountain - there are a few in some of the university buildings, but they must only be for decoration because none show any signs of every carrying water. So I fill up my Nalgene at home in the morning, and try to make it last all day, which is definitely less than ideal. I hate spending money on bottled water, but I may have to start making exceptions

- Oatmeal and cereal with milk. I doubt I will be having any of these for the next few months, since both are incredibly expensive here and therefore, very uncommon. I enjoy breakfast here for the most part, usually consisting of break, tomatoes, fuul (broad beans with oil and spices) if I'm lucky, cheese, cream, and zaatar (mix of dried thyme and sesame put on bread dipped in olive oil). At the beginning, it was only bread and cheese, but they've started replacing that with jam after realizing that I'm not a big cheese eater. Also, the milk here is horrendous.

- Smoke-free spaces. The number of smokers here is staggering, and I can hardly go anywhere without smelling smoke, whether it's inside the house, inside buildings and women's bathrooms at JU, or inside taxis. I tried to avoid inhaling as much as possible at first, but I found this virtually impossible to maintain for extended periods of time.

Riding camels in Wadi Rum (Sept. 14), heading for our desert campsite

- Lily and Abby. I am surprised with the lack of stray dogs and cats in Amman, especially compared to Morocco and Egypt, but most people also do not own domestic animals. Needless to say, I miss the pugs a lot!

- Family and friends. That's a given, although I am really thankful for my host family here (as I mentioned above). I also have a Jordanian language partner at JU, and we meet nearly every day to talk in Arabic. She is a junior, studying English and Spanish, and I thoroughly enjoy talking with her and meeting her friends. Even though our meetings are technically "required," I definitely do not have to "force" myself to meet and talk with her - far from that, in fact. I went with her to her cousin's wedding on the night of my birthday, and she invited me to her house this Friday for lunch, as well. She has really helped make me feel more connected to JU campus life, and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the semester.

The language center at JU. The CIEE office is here, but most of my classes are in other buildings.

These are the comments that first come to mind when thinking about my daily life in Amman. It has been a lot easier that I expected to adapt to life here, and although this city is admittedly not as exciting as Cairo, my experience so far has been mumtaz ('wonderful'). I hope all is well, from wherever in the world you may be reading this.