First Full Day in Jordan

I made it safely to Jordan! My flight from Indy was running late—enough so that I didn’t get to my flight in Atlanta until it started boarding. I sat near the wings on each flight, but was always able to catch a glimpse of something or other out the window, and looking was was well worth it. On my way in and out of Atlanta I could see the night lights of the cities we passed over, and as we crossed the East Coast I looked out just in time to see it; the lights cut off abruptly.

My seatmate on the Atlanta-Paris flight was a Ukranian man who'd had business in Ohio. His 3 and 6-year-old kids have been in 7 countries already! Also, I'm pretty sure they spoiled us on the flights; the food was yummy (though not as good as the food I just got back from eating).

I got into Paris fine, and while the organization of the airport was just plain weird, following the directions on the walls got me to my gate in plenty of time. The flight to Amman was chock-full (it stopped in Damascus afterwards). Also, turns out when planes fly over Israel, nobody's allowed to get out of their seats. I found other SIT students in the Jordanian airport and we all got through just fine, minus one student who got stuck in London. By the time we got to the hotel and ate, I was exhausted, and slept for something like 10 hours, though jet lag made today a little slow, too.

Today we had a good breakfast at the hotel (there are veggies and hummus with every meal, and I'm sure not arguing) and then went to the SIT building. It's in a really nice section of town, right next to the Venezuelan embassy and down the street from the British embassy. The British embassy's pretty big--I hear the US embassy is bigger--and a number of the embassies and palaces have armed guards outside them. There's a roundabout not too far away where we went for lunch where falafel places are side-by-side with McDonald's. Oh, and when you say "falafel," you have to use the tip of your tongue to pronounce the L, not the back. And falafel is delicious.

Most of the day was spent in lecture activities at SIT, mostly on safety. Main points: dress modestly, don't walk alone especially later at night, and tell SIT staff if there's anything at all that makes you uncomfortable. Also, taxis, culture shock, and a bit about homestay--we meet our families the day after tomorrow.

One of my roommates in the hotel is getting calls to her new Jordanian phone. No idea who or why, but they've called about 7 times, and can apparently speak both Arabic and English. We suspect a prankster.

Also, unless further searching produces it, I lost my hairbrush. As I'm fairly sure I packed it (Mom and Dad, check for two hairbrushes floating around my room; a second one means I forgot to pack it), I'm guessing it fell out on one of the flights.

Hope everyone's doing well!

One last note, this to my more redneck friends: I'm not censored, but it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on what you say.

Edit: According to those at dinner, lemon mint hookah is better than the orange flavor. Also, we sang happy birthday to a woman who was there; they brought out a cake with five sparklers in it. And there was live music; I could tell at least one was a love song by the "ya habeebi."

Off to Jordan!

I know, I know, I haven't posted in here since 2010. Also, I have a report to do and a ton of packing. I do NOT promise to post here much, either.

That said... if I blog, it'll be here, and I might as well make myself. Everyone wants pictures and stories, right? And I really should keep some sort of scrapbook or diary and I'm more likely to do it virtually.

So... welcome to the blog!

General info: I leave Sunday the 29th late afternoon and arrive in Amman the next day. I'll meet the family I'm staying with February 2, and start classes around the same time. The main subjects will be Modernization and Social Change in Jordan, and Arabic, and we'll be gearing up for an independent study project at the end of the semester; I'd like to study linguistic changes related to modernization (loan words, slang, etc.). The program will include three week-long field trips to stay with a rural family, explore Egypt (conditions permitting), and explore Jordan.

I'll return mid-May, though I hope to find a place to teach EFL (English as a Foreign Language) for the summer.

Oh, and if I post pictures of food? They WILL make you hungry, just fyi.