I'm Back!!!

Hello again!

As many of you may have heard, I didn't spend nearly enough time in the Middle East last summer, so I'm going again this summer, but this time, I'm going to Jordan! I will be leaving on June 28th and returning on July 27th. Why am I going? Well that's a fun story...

So there's this gym I go to called InFitness. One of the owners/personal trainers, Stephanie, was reading an Arabic textbook on the elliptical one day that I had previously studied from. I decided to ask her about it. Good thing, because we've been friends ever since! When I was in Morocco, she sent me a Facebook message with a crazy idea--to go to Jordan to study Arabic in December! I thought the idea was brilliant, but December was an awkward month with finals and family coming for Christmas. On top of that, Pitt only has a 2 week winter break. So we chatted, and eventually, we determined that July would be the most convenient, especially since I'd be finished with school and moved out of my apartment. It took some time to convince my dad, but since learning Arabic will only help me with my career, he and my mom gave me the okay to go.

This whole thing is so surreal- I'm leaving in 24 days! I am so incredibly excited to be going back to the Middle East again... Just a few things I'm excited for:

1. Jordanians eat hummus and baba ganouj. (Moroccans don't...I mean, they would, but it's not on the Moroccan menu.)
2. I'm probably going to be eating falafels and shawarma for every meal.
3. The sound of the Azan (call to prayer) 5 times a day.
4. Experiencing the Middle East during Ramadan. (Our last week there will be the 1st week of the holy month of Ramadan.)
5. Swimming in the Dead Sea!
6. The only language spoken natively in Jordan is Arabic...so I can't cheat with French this time, like I did in Morocco :-p So I'm sure I'll improve even more!
7. Bargaining. If you remember from Morocco, I am a beast at bargaining.


Some things I learned from Morocco to apply to my trip to Jordan:

1. NEVER DRINK THE TAP WATER, EVEN IF DOCTORS SAY IT'S OKAY.
2. Don't tell people where you are from. Once they find out you're American, they'll try to practice their English with you. Cool, but come to America and do it...I'm in your country to practice YOUR language!
3. Take more pictures! 600/800 or however many I took in Morocco was NOT ENOUGH!!!


Stay tuned for more!


Want to read or re-cap from my adventures in Morocco? Click here!