Fasting!

Howdy!

I don't have many new things to report. Classes have begun and I am really enjoying my classes so far. My Arab-Israeli Politics professor is Canadian and really friendly. I think it will be a good class!

My days are long as I am fasting during this month. I do have breakfast as early as possible before school and I do drink water when it's absolutely necessary but then I don't eat or drink anything else until the adhan (the call to prayer) plays over the loud speaker outside our neighborhood mosque. My professor said the first time he fasted for Ramadan, he lost 17 pounds!! I'm just hoping for five!!!

We have 24 days left here in Amman before we all go our separate ways. An Aggie has moved in to our apartment and we will even have a class together next semester back at A&M! We have a lot of mutual friends and interests and it's so wonderful to have someone who is willing and able to get redass and sing the War Hymn with me!!! I'm so excited to share this journey with someone who will be with me during my last semester at Texas A&M... Wow. I have no desire to say that again for a while....

Class starts in an hour and a half and I still need to finish homework so needless to say, that will be my morning. Frozen orange juice, blogging and homework. Not a bad morning.



See you all soon. I can't wait.


Love from Amman.

Summer II

So, friends and family, the first summer semester has come to a close. After a short, short holiday in London with my mom, I am back in Amman for the beginning of Ramadan (which is today; Ramadan kariim).

Needless to say, London was absolutely AMAZING. It was so, so wonderful to spend time with my mom. Over the course of our 6 days in London, we went shopping at Harrod's, saw Wicked at the Apollo Victoria theater, and I taught my mom how to use the Tube!!

We stayed in an awesome hotel (Thistle Hyde Park) right on the north side of Hyde Park. A few blocks down was a street named Queensway, a street full of stores, restaurants, and souvenirs. We had dinner here a few times, past all of the shisha/argiila places! Goodness, I thought I was back in Amman! We took advantage of being able to plan our own schedule with leisurely paced breakfasts and shopping! I purchased a great watch from Harrod's as well as tops from the UK store Evan's and the H&M on Regent Street. It was my first time shopping at either store. When I compared the sizes from UK to US sizes, turns out I purchased a size smaller than I was buying when I left the US! All of this not-eating business is doing my waistline some good!! Ha :)

We walked around Hyde Park, Oxford Street (the prime shopping district) as well as Piccadilly Circus. We had an amazing time and it was so nice not to have a schedule or school to worry about. I would love to go back given the chance. We had some great food (a steak one night as well as Planet Hollywood and the Hard Rock) and saw some great sights (the hop-on, hop-off buses are a great value)!

There was also an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience that I was able to enjoy: I went to the Harry Potter set in Leavesden! I was able to walk in the Great Hall, exactly where Harry, Ron, and Hermoine walked in the films. It was so incredible to see so much Harry Potter history so close to me.

The weather was dreary most of the time but the rain held off most days and we even had some sunshine for a while! It was so refreshing to have air conditioning in most everywhere, people speaking English, and my mother so close. It will hold me off for the 29 days I have left in Amman before my return home.

As I said, Ramadan starts today and will end in 29-30 days. The month of Ramadan is the Islamic holy month which consists of devout prayer, alms giving, fasting from sunrise to sunset, and abstaining from certain activities. A lot of stores and restaurants will be closed for most of the day, allowing for prayer time and reflection during the heat of the day. Some restaurants will serve food to be consumed at home after the sunset. It will be a great opportunity to experience Ramadan in Jordan as an adult as I don't remember much about Ramadan in Qatar.

School starts Sunday. I will be taking an Arabic language class as well as a class on Arab-Israeli politics. I'm sure that will be a very heated and emotional class for everyone. I don't know the professor yet but I'm not too worried. Balqees is my Arabic teacher for this semester as well and I am excited to continue my education with her. She is a great teacher and really has a passion for teaching and making sure that we absorb the material instead of just learning it.

Tonight, I think the plan is to go to a souk later this evening after the sunset and hang out with some of the other ISA students. I'm not sure what the schedule is exactly but I'll let you guys know :)

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I really do appreciate it.


Love from Amman.

Aqaba!!!

Oh, my goodness!! Family and friends - you will NOT believe the weekend we had! We, as a group, traveled to Aqaba, a port city on the very south side of Jordan. We were able to swim in the Red Sea, which Moses parted, scuba dive, snorkel, and hang out around the AMAZING town. The water was so many beautiful different shades of blue, ranging from a teal to a deep navy. It was gorgeous!

We stayed in the wonderful Mina Hotel in Aqaba. I don't think I have gotten that good of sleep since my arrival! Ashley, Claire, and I walked around and ended up eating dinner at the 35° East restaurant. (In case you're wondering, get the margarita. It's DELICIOUS!) The restaurant prided itself on its international hospitality as well as American cuisine. Their tagline was "Cocktails, Steaks, and Seafood." It was awesome. They had various countries' flags around the walls - even an American flag!

It was really great. I really got to know some of my fellow travelers and I think this weekend was a great bonding experience. I am so sad that some of my friends will be leaving this weekend. They have become family to me and I will miss them so much. 

I've included some pictures to show you guys just how AMAZING this city was. It was one of the world's "Four Corners." The Red Sea separates four countries: Northeast is Jordan, Southeast is Saudi Arabia, Southwest is Egypt, and Northwest is Israel/Palestine/Disputed Territory/The Holy Land. Seeing that was a really cool experience!

Israeli city of Eilat

The only bad thing about this weekend was that I was absent from the wedding of one of my very best friends. Mr. Ryan Alexander McCoy married Therese Rihovsky Saturday night. Zachary went and sent me so many pictures. I really wish I could have been there. Oh - guess what - Zac caught the garter!! Whoop! ;) Ryan and Tess, I am so so so happy for you two and I miss you guys! Congratulations!!

Hope you enjoy. See you all very, very soon.

Love from Amman.

Petra and Wadi Rum

Howdy!!

As the Aggies have officially joined the SEC, I thought I'd let you all know how much I am missing College Station!! There is another Aggie coming to the program next session but I don't know her!

Friday, we drove to Wadi Rum - literally Sand Valley. It was beautiful! The entire area was underwater and so the stone had all sorts of pore holes in it and it was just magnificent!! We went on a camel ride for about 30 minutes then climbed a rock to watch the sunset! It was a beautiful sight. The sand has a lot of iron and other minerals make the sand a gorgeous red/peach color! It was so pretty. We rode back to the camp and were able to get settled before bed. Yes, family, we were in TENTS but inside said tents were two twin beds on two-foot-off-the-ground bed frames. It was definitely my kind of camping. There were full shower facilities (somewhere on site) as well as multiple bathroom stalls designated for women's use only. It was a really cool place that I would definitely recommend. I even got full with the dinner!!! Dinner was different meats that were cooked under the ground with a fire underneath. It was a really cool set up and we got to see it get unearthed with shovels. After dinner, we all kind of hung around a fire with several hookah pipes around us. It was a really great experience. Breakfast the next morning was also great! (We even had hard boiled eggs!)  We gathered our belongings then went on a drive on pick up trucks and went all around the desert and saw all kinds of cool historical markers!


After the ride, we started our voyage to Petra! Heavens to Betsy - Petra is beautiful! It is a great historical site. The amount of time that they put into that monolith (the Treasury) is absolutely astonishing! The entire site is actually a huge area that is all downhill from the start - making a NICE trek at the end. (and YES, family, I DID actually walk the whole way!! No horse for me!) It was amazing how many different countries had representatives at the site. I met other Americans, a couple Italians and even some Australians! After our adventure in Petra, we drove back to Amman.


School resumed once more yesterday for our third week. In Arabic, I had my FIRST oral exam in all five semesters of Arabic. It was really intimidating but I think I did well. My grades in that class and in my foreign policy class have been above what I hoped so I'm pretty happy about that. Today, I explored Amman with a Jordanian girl, Diana, as well as Ashley, Rosalynd, and Anndrea. It was really fun! We went to a part of Amman that I had never been to before.


We all finished our homework early, have been watching movies, and we're currently enjoying each other's company :) It's been a good day here but I have to admit. I miss home. Oh well. Soon!
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and concerns and prayers and kind and encouraging words. I miss you guys so much.


I'm going to head to bed soon. I'll post pictures as soon as I get them from friends. Sorry, guys; I'm a photophobe.



Love you and love from Amman.