( The next few blog posts are going to be recaps on the last four months in Amman. To anyone who reads, thank you and I hope you enjoy :) )
November was a month filled with a wide range of experiences, from visiting Ajloun and Jerash, to helping decorate the new YES Alumni Park, oh and don't forget volunteering with the US Embassy for their Election Night Event. In this post, I am going to speak about some of the things I experienced during my fourth month living in Amman; I guess we are starting on November 5 ... November 5, 2016: The YES Alumni in Jordan were working on a project to open a park in Amman for the community. Because we are currently on the YES Abroad program, the four of us exchange students were invited to help "set up" the park for it's opening day! My roommate and I went earlier in the day with some of the Jordanian Yes Alumni. When we arrived, we all basically broke off into "groups" - some were planting flowers around the entrance pathway, others were painting stairs, and some were playing soccer. I helped plant flowers ( partially because anything which involves "art" isn't really my strength ) and it was hard work, but a lot of fun. I had the opportunity to talk to two of the YES Alumni while we planted and although we mainly spent our time laughing at our attempt at gardening it was really nice getting to know more of the "YES Family". Fast forward a few hours and the park was decorated, guests for the "opening ceremony" arrived, and all of the volunteers were tired. The ceremony was brief, and afterward everyone was welcome to buy snacks, jewelry, or get henna in a small open market that was set up, and some of the YES Alum played American Football. I got henna for the second time in my life ( the first was in Disney World ) and it was beautiful... about ten minutes later one of my friends and I tried to have the "perfect" high-five, and low and behold we partially messed up the henna! My favorite part of the day however was after we left the YES Park to get food. We went to a burger place near Taj Mall and while we all waited for food, one of my friends tried teaching me how to read some words in Arabic. I wasn't great at it, however I loved trying to figure it out - eventually he just pronounced it for me and I memorized and repeated it. But this moment, it was the first time someone actually attempted to teach me the Arabic alphabet without giving up after two minutes. I really appreciated the help he gave me, it allowed me to gain confidence with reading Arabic script and it helped me get out of the " I can't do it " mind frame. November 8, 2016: ELECTION NIGHT! Although I am not old enough to vote, this election was one of the most important elections I have lived through. The U.S. Embassy in Jordan hosted an event which allowed Jordanians and Americans to interact in a "party" like atmosphere, where we celebrated US and Jordanian relations as well as the US election. Results were not out yet ( because of the time difference). The four of YES Abroad students were invited by the Embassy to volunteer throughout the vent. Two of us worked on recruiting event guests to participate in making video messages to the future president, while the other two helped run a photo booth. My roommate and I walked around in heels with giant red poster boards using our Arabic and English to communicate with a wide range of people. Later on in the night my roommate and I switched shifts and I took a break. Some of my friends were at the event so I ended up hanging out with them. A DJ was playing music for the event and somehow we all ended up dancing and singing along to "Happy" by Pharrell and then doing the "Macarena". When the night was coming to an end, the US Ambassador to Jordan came out to greet guest who were coming for the second party the embassy was hosting. The four of us decided that we wanted to meet her, so we asked one of the employees if we could get in line to shake her hand. He walked us around the building and brought us to the front of the line! We shook her hand, which was a great ending to a really fun night. November 12, 2016: Downtown is my favorite place in Amman. I love the energy, and all of the new and exciting things you can discover while walking through the balad. My friend and I decided that we wanted to spend a day exploring and visiting historical sites. We started on Rainbow st and walked to the Citadel. I had been to these sites before, but it is always a different experience when you go with new people. We spent a lot of time at the Citadel and took some amazing pictures/videos. Afterward we walked to the Roman Amphitheatre - but first we stopped at a small store to buy chips and drinks. The Roman Amphitheatre is beautiful, it is my favorite place to sit and think. We walked up the steps and found a place to sit where we ate our food, discovered that Doritos and salt n' vinegar chips taste great together, and listened to music. We walked back to Rainbow st, later on and sat at the Wild Jordan Café, because the view of Amman their is incredible. November 26, 2016: Castles and Greco-Roman Cities! With the YES Abroad program, we take different excursions throughout Jordan. For this trip we ventured north of Amman to Ajloun and Jerash. We traveled to Ajloun to see the Ajloun Castle which was built in 1184. We walked its long corridors, learned about the history of the castle and the city from our guide, and stood atop the castle to view one of the most breathtaking views I have ever had the privilege to see. After leaving the castle we traveled to Jerash to see the ruins of a Greco-Roman city. We stood in what once was a huge chariot racing stadium, took pictures in "the Forum" ( a huge oval shaped space with massive columns ), and visited the Temple of Artemis. This day trip taught us all a great deal about the history of Jordan and we were able to gain knowledge about some facts we previously had not known - for example some of the best olive oil and honey in Jordan comes from Ajloun and Jerash.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Hello!
|