I left America for Jordan on August 21, 2016. I was beyond excited to experience a new culture, to hear Arabic all the time, to try new delicious food. I was sad to leave my family, my life back in Rhode Island, and the comforts and privileges within an american society. I was nervous that the girls I was traveling with wouldn't like me, that kids at Mashrek ( the school I'm attending) wouldn't be accepting of the exchange students coming in, or that my host family wasn't going to be as excited to have us. Once I got on the plane though all of my anxiety and stress kind of flew away with the clouds. I realized that eight months seems like a long period of time, but in the grand scheme of my presence on this planet, eight months is nothing. I decided to explore this country not as myself but as a character ( another wonderful piece of advice given by my Mom). Taking a step back from my normal and just embracing the lifestyles around me.
Fast forward 2 weeks, and I am still certain that I made the right decision - that ten year old me was destined to be here and that's why I found this program so long ago. I still can't believe I am here. I can't believe my years of sticking to the path and choosing academics and work over typically fun things paid off. There were moments where I doubted if I was doing the right thing by investing myself in becoming a YES Abroad student, but right now in this moment I don't regret any decision I've made to get myself here. Being in Jordan is ten times cooler than watching any movie. Don't let me fool you though. I have only been here for two weeks and I have already been confronted with challenges. Being in a country that is the second poorest in the world in terms of water changes a lot of a persons daily routine. For example, I never realized how much tap water I drink in the U.S. Here in Jordan you can drink bottled water or filtered tap water because the tap water here is not clean. But your family also only has a limited water supply because in Jordan water is delivered to a neighborhood once a week. You take five minute showers once/ rarely twice a week, ( five minutes is the maximum) but outside it is over ninety degrees and we walk almost everywhere. That is a challenge especially for someone use to taking a shower every morning or who takes one long shower back in the states. Having to take cabs to get to places but not being able to give directions is another challenge. Also, making sure your driver has the meter or "adad" on so you are accurately charged, and making sure that you have change or 1 JD bills in order to pay because cab drivers often don't give change and get very angry when they have to. Yeah taking cabs gives me a lot of anxiety here in Amman. I think the biggest challenge for me has been the school however. In Rhode Island I attended a far from traditional school. We don't have these structured sit down classes where retaining unnecessary facts is the name of the game. We go out and learn about what we love and bring it back to the community to help us all grow. But at this school it is very different - it's a private school, that offers an IB Program ( students can earn an international baccalaureate degree upon graduation), and is very, very textbook oriented. It is similar to my school back home in ways, for example students have internships over the summer, complete personal projects, and they choose classes based off what they want to be in ten years. I love academics don't get me wrong and the classes I am taking here are fantastic, I feel beyond grateful to have this opportunity - I mean some kids in Jordan would kill to come here. But the school just doesn't work for me. I love small classes - my math class has thirty students in it and I have never been in a classroom with more than 20 students. There are so many people in this school and things easily get crowded and loud. I do however love my Global politics class, which makes up for the things I dislike! Now again don't let me fool you. Living in another country is difficult... but amazing. I know I will have days when I miss home a lot and I will also have days where Shmesani is like my second home. In a month I will be seventeen years old and will officially be the oldest on my trip. In a month I will be able to give some direction to cab drivers inshallah and maybe talk with a store owner for more than two minutes. In a month I will hopefully be able to order treats from that bakery using the real names. I have so much to look forward to and all of the little things you overcome while abroad make you so much more appreciative. Actually what kind of motivates me throughout my day are the students at the Refugee dream Center. I am in Jordan for only eight months and I have some privileges while I'm here. When I was in china I got a small taste of what it's like to live in a country you know little about, to not know the language or how currency works, In Jordan it's the same thing. Although I cant 100% understand, I now have a small idea of how a refugee feels when they arrive in a place they must now call home.
2 Comments
Yo mama
9/9/2016 01:02:57 pm
You write authentically. Your voice comes through perfectly, and you give a clear picture of your experience on a whole new continent. You are loved by so many people around the globe..
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Bobby D
10/2/2016 08:17:26 am
You go girl. ....your heart and soul are on a fantastic journey. ..dream big.. Bobby D
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