It's already been three weeks?

As my third week comes to an end, I have had so many great experiences here in Jordan. School is going great and I am finally feeling completely ready and prepared for both classes.

All of our apartment's health issues haven't been completely resolved so I ask for your continued prayers.

Tomorrow we will go to Wadi Rum and ride camels in the desert and camp in Wadi Rum. After that, on Saturday, we will continue on to Petra and be able to see the amazing history that IS Petra.

Classes have ended for the day for me and a few of my roommates and we are now enjoying the luxury of air conditioning and only semi-censored internet!

I promise to write about Petra as I know that is a point of interest for most. Hopefully when we arrive home this afternoon, we will have our internet back as it went out yesterday!

A picture or two next time as well - I promise!!!


Love from Amman.

Two weeks down...

Howdy from Amman! So many things have happened and I am SO sorry to not have kept everyone informed!!

This past week of classes has been rough, to say the least! Our Arabic professor has been going through the material so incredibly fast that we are all having a hard time keeping up. I think we've addressed the issues, that she's under the impression we are WAY ahead of where we actually are in the textbook, and hopefully the pace should be less strenuous (انشالله )!

Our professor for foreign policy is doing a really great job. She is from Indiana and really has a passion for educating us about the realities of politics in the Middle East. I can tell the class assignments will be difficult [such as preparing a presentation about an American foreign policy acting in the Middle East] but I enjoy her class and I think she'll be willing to help us form our presentations.

We've been closer together as an apartment through hanging out at night and doing homework and watching various movies. We have found some GREAT DVDs here in Amman! ;) Just last night, Ashley and I watched 21 Jump Street!

Four of the girls in our apartment [myself included] are in the Arabic 201 course this semester. It is SO nice to have people working on the same assignments as me for once! I can talk to them and know what they're talking about and have my questions answered back!? It's AWESOME. (Sorry, Zac. Computer Science assignments have never [and will never] make sense to me!) We all work together to figure out what the questions (and directions) are asking and it's great to have a community like this!

We traveled to the Dead Sea yesterday. It was only about an hour by van and we were able to use the facilities at the AMAZING Holiday Inn Dead Sea Resort! We walked straight down to the sea and were able to float so effortlessly! It was an incredible experience. On the other side of the water, we could SEE Israel/Palestine/The Holy Land/whatever-your-preference! It was really enjoyable and an experience I'll never forget. We had an amazing time last yesterday and we were all dreading returning to school this morning.

I wish every reader well wishes and will pray for you and for your loved ones. I just ask you do the same; one of our roommates is having some serious health issues and I ask that you pray for her recovery and for answers.



Have a great Sunday. Love from Amman.

Greetings from an exhausted taaliba.

Howdy fam (and friends and other loved ones)! School has now started in Amman and it's providing somewhat of a routine which I find extremely helpful! I am still not used to waking up at 6:45 for school! I haven't woken up that early [regularly] since junior year of high school!!! The bus that the جامعة (university) provides stops at our دوار (circle) at 7:25 IN THE MORNING. Just in case you were wondering, I set an alarm for 7:15 reminding me to get up... and dressed... and moving.

Yesterday, the first day of classes, was rough. I was up late the night before learning of the sudden and tragic loss of a friend and a sister. Kristen (Ambriz) Stoltman passed away from injuries from a car accident Friday night. She was a beautiful girl. We met through Kappa Phi last year even though she was from The Woodlands. She was recently married and had even more recently lost her father. Her husband, Jesse, is still in critical condition in the hospital. I didn't know Jesse but I was friends with Jesse's brother in high school. It hurts my heart to think about how much loss these two families have suffered as well as all of their friends. Kappa Phi has lost a sister - but gained an angel.

Needless to say, I didn't sleep well Saturday night. After three hours of sleep, getting up and going to classes was difficult. I didn't feel well during Arabic (which is at 8 - 10:20AM Sunday - Thursday) and had trouble concentrating during my US Foreign Policy class (10:30 - 12:20PM Sunday - Thursday).

After classes, we came home on the 3PM bus and the entire apartment fell into a slumber.  Ashley, Rosalynd and I went to the grocery store last night and I finally bought some real food. I am getting pretty awesome at hailing a taxi cab! I also am getting used to nice, cold showers.

This morning was a lot better. I had prepacked a baggie of Golden Grahams to take on the bus with me (which were delicious, if you were wondering). I realized also that it's been quite a while since I had a real meal so the breakfast was extremely welcome. I don't know what it is but I find myself not eating a lot while here.

Arabic was okay today; we're reviewing the first ten chapters of al-kitaab which I've learned previously. We were supposed to start chapter 11 tomorrow but she has been going at a slower pace than anticipated so we are a little behind and will need a couple more days to finish a review.

I'm really enjoying my foreign policy class. Our professor, Beth, is an American who graduated from American University in DC. She moved to Jordan about 4 years ago, got married, and hasn't looked back. On our first day of class, she gave us "rules of the road" and tried to help us stay away from cultural taboos. That much thought was definitely appreciated.

I decided to take a taxi home from the university instead of waiting until three and managed to get home and get a solid start on my homework before the rest of the apartment got home, which they are now. I'm not sure what the plan is now but I think we've decided on watching The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (the American version) later this evening. If anything cool happens, I'll let you guys know.



In the meantime, I would really appreciate some thoughts and prayers for Mrs. Ambriz and her family as well as the Stoltmans in their difficult, heart-wrenching time of need.


Miss you all lots.




Love from Amman.

Thursday 6/14

Finally settling in to my apartment. As mentioned yesterday, we watched a movie as an apartment and it was really nice just to sit and laugh together. Everyone was up and running about until around 3 this morning! Today was the first day of a conference that several of the ISA students are attending. I am not participating so I can [hopefully] spend some time with my girlfriends from A&M that are also studying here in Amman.  Today allowed me to collect myself, catch up with the time difference and calm my anxieties. I was able to talk with Zachary and with my grandmother who let me know that her traveling group is reading my blog - talk about pressure!! (Hah - Hi, KBG!)  It was really good though; I haven't gotten much feedback and it was really wonderful to know that people are reading my blog (and enjoying it)!

I met up with everyone for dinner at a local coffee shop.  After dinner, I went to Safeway with Maegan and Brenda for water and school supplies. The other set of ISA apartments is close to the market so while there, we ran in to three other students we know! It's so refreshing to run in to a familiar face. We took a taxi home (which I am getting VERY good at even though I have never used a taxi in the US) and have just arrived in our apartment. I spoke to my friend Nina earlier and we discussed visiting each other tomorrow. If we do, I'll let you know what crazy shenanigans a couple of Aggies can get into :)

Miss you all so very, very much.


Love from Amman.

Photos from Amman.

Queen Alia Airport

Our living room!

 

Our kitchen :)

 

Pictures of the Citadel

 Overlooking Old Amman

 

Me and my AMAZING roommates! So blessed.

Four days already!?

It's already been four days since my arrival! ISA has been so absolutely amazing in EVERYTHING! Every problem mentioned previously was taken care of in less than 24 hours. They're so awesome and my roommates have been so absolutely amazing!

Since the first night, we have been on two walking tours of different parts of Old Amman. It was so cool to see so much history!! We saw downtown Amman and saw the Royal Film Commission's film library. It was so cool! The commission has so many films and periodicals and this really modern viewing station. Me + movies + super cool setting = Oh My Goodness. YES PLEASE. Yesterday we were able to visit old parts of Amman that have been transformed into art houses that show contemporary local artists. It was a really great experience.

Today we toured our university! Oh, HEAVENS there are a lot of hills in this city!! It is so hard to get up some of the hills but the facilities at the bottom are awesome! We got to see the pool, sauna, athletic equipment and bowling alley!! I love that there is a bowling alley! We also took our 201 entrance exam today. I don't think I did very well so we'll see what happens. Other than that, I also received my schedule today. I have Arabic at 8 in the mornings, Sunday through Thursday, and then an American foreign policy class at 10:30 until 12:20.

We went to an orientation meeting tonight then out to dinner to a local restaurant, Jabri. Now we're at the apartment, bonding over a movie and blogging :)

I wish I would have been more detailed but it's been a long couple of days. I promise to try to update more frequently!

Love from Amman.

mini post

Family and friends, I'd like to take this opportunity to write a little summary of some of the unusual circumstances we are now aware of in our apartment. One of the toilets is broken in the bedroom with its own bathroom, our water pressure SUCKS and my hair is crunchy and feels like stuff is still in it [probably because it is because i can't wash anything out], we have a water ration (tanks get filled up once a week by the city; if we use all of it before the replacement, then we don't have water), and it gets freaking hot in the bedrooms with no AC (which we solve by opening the windows even though the screen doesn't exactly cover the whole opening).

Just thought you should know.

Love from Amman.

FINALLY IN OUR APARTMENT!!

After two days, I have finally arrived in Amman and to my apartment! The flights were good and I even managed to know someone on my flight from Heathrow. After I arrived in Jordan, I descended onto the tarmac from the plane. That was REALLY cool. I felt like I was a foreign dignitary (expecting a crowd and all... needless to say, there was no crowd). Then after the bus ride to the airport itself, I walked to the visa line and had to purchase a 30-day visa. The official asked me what I was doing in Jordan. When I responded in Arabic, he was (pleasantly) surprised and said something back which I didn't catch but he didn't say anything else so I'm assuming it wasn't a question... After the visa line, Immigration stopped you and asked you what you were doing and checked that you got the visa stamp. Once past immigration, my bags had to be scanned again and once approved, I was FINALLY allowed out of the airport.

ISA mentioned that there would be signs to greet us. Well, an entire TRIBE was at the airport, singing, dancing, and playing music, to celebrate the homecoming of a family member who just received a bachelor's in medicine. The reception area was PACKED!! I walked around for about ten minutes with two duffel bags, a carry on and a purse, while hopelessly searching for someone I might recognize or the sign that was somewhere in the crowd. Luckily, Ghadeer, a lovely woman who works for ISA, recognized ME and came up to me and pointed me to a meeting location where I waited for the other three people in my arrival group. 

Once there, I met Ryan, Brett, and Anndrea. Ryan is an amazing photographer (ryankolter.com) and is SO excited to be here. Brett is getting his masters at TAMU so that's pretty cool; at least I can have someone I know back home that will KNOW what all will happen this summer... Ha. Anndrea is from Oklahoma but goes to school in Iowa. She has such an exuberant personality that is infectious! Once we were all together, we were directed to a driver who took us to meet Mohammad, our other ISA contact, at the Safeway in central Amman. 

This Safeway will be our grocery store [and whatever else store since it has two stories] during our stay. We were told to get snacks for the night and then we would be escorted home. Obviously, as four Americans in a Jordanian supermarket, we had WAY too much fun.. Everyone purchased a 6 pack of water and various American snacks. [Zac, they had flaming hot FUNYUNS... I KNOW you're jealous.]

As we shopped, we ran in to another ISA group and greeted and introduced each other. Post shopping, we walked outside and got into our vans and then were deposited at various apartments throughout the city. Of course, I was the last person in my van to get dropped off, at the last apartment ISA had. I was alone in our van and my new friend Rosalynd was the last one in her van so we decided to conglomerate our belongings and use one van so the other driver wouldn't have to stay there for us.

Rosalynd and I got to our apartment to meet Janna and Magean, two other Americans who had arrived days before and had stayed in other accommodations in Amman. After dropping off our things, the four of us explored near our apartment and ended up getting fresh Jordanian pizza. On the way back to the apartment, Janna and I ran into some of the boys from earlier, who are living in separate housing arrangements, and we agreed to have some sort of group exploration later this evening.

As we were all getting to know each other, with the arrival of our fifth roommate, Brenda from Denton - love her already, the power went out. Apparently, you can't have more than one AC unit on. Oops. No one told us that.... So that's when we opened all the windows and decided it was time for bed. The mattresses feel like a foam pad on top of wood instead of on top of a mattress. It's not the most comfortable but it's not unbearable. I need to put my sheets onto the bed as the bed had an undersheet (I'd say a fitted sheet but I'm not sure if it IS a fitted sheet) and a comforter but with a variable AC, I'll need a flat sheet on there for sure.

We awoke at various times this morning. Of course, my body, being dumb, woke up (the first time) at around 6 AM. I then dozed on and off until 11 when the stifling heat became intolerable. We ALL woke up sweaty.

Mohammad came by just a bit ago and managed to coax the electricity back on and told us that we should only have one AC unit on at a time but that we could get multiple fans for each room and that the fans wouldn't cause an electricity problem. Needless to say, fans are on our Safeway list. Speaking of which, I've decided to compose a list of things we need and surprisingly, things we don't.

THINGS TO PURCHASE FROM SAFEWAY: 

-Toilet paper. There was one roll for 5 girls....We need TP.

-FANS. This whole 1 AC unit demands fans.

-Soap... There is no soap in our house or paper towels for that matter

-CANDLES in case the power goes out again...

THINGS WE SURPRISINGLY DON'T NEED FROM SAFEWAY:

-Bug spray... there are no bugs.

-Red Bull... because every child under 12 has so much energy, that MUST be their source...These kids are ALL HYPER ALL THE TIME.

-Makeup... no surprise here. No makeup.

-Milk... none of it is pasteurized so I'm just gonna stay away from it for now...

-Sweets. There is an entire candy aisle that I just didn't even walk down. It's ALL American candy, too. It looked SO good but I'd rather get some traditional Jordanian sweets instead.

We're all enjoying the AC in the living room which we've designated as the specific AC which will be kept on at most times. We need to go shopping at some point for household items and we all need to shower as well for the most part. We'll take care of all of it later today I bet. We have to meet up with ISA staff at 4 [which is in 3 hours from now] at a local circle and then will go on a tour of Amman. Walking shoes will be at the ready here pretty soon. I'm not sure what else today holds but as long as the power stays on this time, you'll know later tonight!! 

And I promise I'll put up pictures soon. Ryan Kolter (www.ryankolter.com) said I could use some of his photos so you'll probably see mine and the significantly better ones which will be Ryan's photos. 

Shukran wa Gig 'Em. 

Love from Amman.

Uhhhh... How is it already JUNE?

I can't believe I'm leaving for Jordan on Saturday.. Wasn't it just August and I was the overachiever getting everything situated? It's finally here and I can't wait to finally just get to Amman and be there. انشالله everything will go as planned and smoothly. My friends Nina, Erin, Tonya, and Brawnlyn are already in Amman and LOVE IT already! Saturday, get here faster!!!