Orientation

CIEE (Center for International Education Exchange) provides a comprehensive four day orientation when students arrive in Amman. During this time we stay at a hotel in the city. There are approximately 100 students in the program for the semester. A few are staying the year and returning from last semester, but the majority are new students. Of these 100 people about 60 will be staying with a host family and 40 will be living in apartments. I will be living with a host family.

Throughout the course of our orientation we got to see parts of the city, the University of Jordan (UJ) and meet the people we’ll be spending our semesters with. On the first day we went to a few landmarks in Amman which introduced us to the city we’ll be living in for the next four months. It’s HUGE! And I feel like that’s an understatement. The city is built on seven hills so no road is straight. There are no such things as city blocks like New York or Chicago might have so it’s going to take me a while to learn where things are.

Views from the Citadel

Not only are the roads different but the drivers are different too. A Jordanian woman I met summed it up nicely. “In America, you learn to drive but not how to avoid accidents. In Jordan, we learn how to avoid accidents but not drive.” Some two lane roads become three or four lane roads if the drivers deem it necessary to get somewhere a few seconds faster. Thankfully, we are not allowed to drive so I won’t have to worry about that.

Another place we visited on the first day was ACOR. ACOR is a small library where many academics (often they are in the process of writing books) do research. But it is open to all students and it has free internet! Another factor that makes ACOR appealing is that it is the only place in Jordan that offers JSTOR. For those of you who don’t know what JSTOR is, it is an online database of journals and publications that is available at almost every college, university and high school, among other places, in the States.

On our second day of orientation we got a tour of the UJ campus which is where we will be attending classes. UJ is much bigger than GU in terms of area and attendance so that will be an adjustment for me. About 38,000 students attend UJ and it’s a 25 minute walk from the north to south end of campus. I don’t have my bearings quite yet, but once I spend a few days on campus I’m confident I’ll know where everything is.

The third day of orientation was lecture day. We got lots of information on rules and regulations while we’re here, the area, living in a homestay and a “survival” lesson in Colloquial Arabic. Jordan is a safe and stable place…but in a rough neighborhood. King Abdullah said, “Jordan is between Iraq and a hard place,” which is a comment that many people repeat. So despite the fact that it is relatively safe, there is the risk of something happening. Other interesting facts about Jordan: Traffic accidents are the second leading cause of death. It is the third poorest country in the world, I’m told, in terms of water availability. Women must not make eye contact or smile at people they do not know. This is proving very hard for me to get used to and is a 180 degree change from my trip last summer to Zambia.

We also met our host families on the third day! This was nerve-wracking but exciting. I am living with a couple who are about the same age as my parents. After a somewhat quiet ride to their apartment in the Shmeisani neighborhood, the conversation picked up a bit. Their English is better than I was expecting and they are really, really kind. Nuha has taken to calling me “habibti,” which means “my love” in Arabic. They have also expressed multiple times already that they want to make me feel as comfortable as possible and it is very important to them that I am. They are Muslim; Nassar works, Nuha does not. A few of my rules: curfew is 10pm (somewhat negotiable); no male friends at the house, ever; always ask before bringing female friends over; never bring alcohol home, come home intoxicated or smelling of alcohol; shower daily (although I've since learned I can only shower 2x/wk at the house)! As nervous as I was, they are kind and generous people and it will be great to live with them.

Our fourth day of orientation was all about our academic schedule. This semester I’ll be enrolled in four classes. Two of these will be Arabic language courses; of these one is Modern Standard Arabic and the other is Colloquial Jordanian Arabic. These classes are very intense and I’ll spend about 12 hours a week just in language classes. The other two courses will be area studies courses. For me this is “America and the Arabs” and an internship (hopefully). In total I’ll spend about 18 hours in class each week and 30-40 extra hours studying and doing homework, most of which is for language classes. Our weeks run Sunday to Thursday with Friday as the holy day. This is definitely going to be another mental adjustment.

Classes in Jordan are different than classes at home. Three things stand out. First, everything is hierarchical. Second, things are professor-centered. Third, education is a privilege! Basically this means that classes are lecture based, there is not much discussion, if you have an opinion that differs from your professor—keep it to yourself and grades are based on one or two exams. A couple other things are different. You are not allowed to eat or drink during class. Water is a possibility but gum is a definite no. Lastly, you have to look nice when you go to class! Sweats don’t cut it here. Maybe, hopefully, a few of these things will stick with me when I go back to school in the States…we’ll see. 

Tomorrow is my first day of class and I’m really looking forward to it.

At one point, Amman was named Philadelphia. 

Me and Hannah at the citadel. 

Amman

From the top of the historic Greek amphitheater.

Europe!

As I write I'm sitting in my hotel room in Amman and thinking about the past 16 days. I left home a little more than two weeks ago. I've seen so many new things in that amount of time I feel like I've been gone so much longer. I will do my best to take you on the journey with me, with my words and my pictures.

Dad, Mom and I at the airport in Chicago the day I left.

Vienna

After flying from Chicago to Munich I caught a train to Vienna. In Vienna I was meeting up with a friend, Denise, from school. She was coming to Europe for a different reason but we decided to spend a few days together. After we met up we checked in to our hostel and got some breakfast. Our body clocks were a bit off but we wanted to push through it and do some sight seeing that first day. We walked to the city center and saw St. Stephen's Cathedral, many of the Habsburg's palaces and walked along the main shopping streets. For dinner we found a pizza place a friend had recommended and then did more walking around. Vienna has great holiday lights in their city center and although many of them were not lit, the ones that were, were beautiful.

We also took a free walking tour one day that taught us a lot about the buildings we had been looking at. I had the best hot dog of my life from a stand outside the opera house. The story goes, at least we were told, that the stand originally was only open after shows at the opera house and the people operating the stand were people who had been in the show! It was a way for the audience and the performers to interact. It's not the case anymore, but it was still a delicious hot dog.

Denise and I outside St. Stephen's Cathedral

Amazing light from the stained glass windows in the church.

Part of the Habsburg's grounds

Opera House

Budapest

After a wonderful stay in Vienna I was ready to head to my next destination, Belgrade, Serbia. I bought my ticket and would be taking the train from Vienna to Budapest, switching trains and then going from Budapest to Belgrade. What actually happened may have been a blessing in disguise but that did nothing to make the situation less stressful as it was unfolding. 

Despite the fact that my train left Vienna on time we moved very slowly and soon I started to feel like we were behind schedule. I only had ten minutes to switch trains once I arrived in Budapest so I didn't have a lot of wiggle room. We finally arrived in Budapest about 15 minutes late, five minutes after my train to Belgrade was supposed to depart. I was hoping that train had been delayed as well, but no such luck. There were no options until the following day. Time to problem solve. My original plan was to visit Budapest in a few days and while I was there I was going to be staying with old friends of my parents, the Newmans. I had their email address and a phone number so I thought my best bet would be to get a hold of them. However, this proved to be much harder than I anticipated. There was no wireless internet and despite multiple attempts and the help of some locals I could not get a pay phone to connect the call. Also, I discovered that the number of people who spoke English in Budapest was much smaller than the number in Vienna so that was another speed bump. Finally someone directed me to an 'internet cafe' of sorts and I was able to send an email to Newmans. After waiting a couple hours and a few more failed attempts at reaching them by phone I decided to check my email. I kept my fingers crossed as I logged in and there it was: an email from Charles saying yes, I could stay with them with directions to get to their place. I have never felt better. 

We met at a cafe next door to their apartment and had dinner. After talking about it with them and my parents (via email) I decided to not go to Belgrade and just stay in Budapest. I'm glad I did. That first night was the beginning of a wonderful visit and a wonderful friendship with the Newmans, who shared not only their home but their love for the city of Budapest and for that, I will always be grateful. 

The view from my bedroom window in Newman's apartment. Not bad, huh?
It's St. Stephen's Basilica. 

Inside. I really fell in love with this building. 

Notice the difference between the building on the left and on the right. The one on the right has been revamped since the end of Communism in Hungary. 

Opera House

Castle Hill on the Buda side of the river at night.

The beautiful Chain Bridge.

The Gresham Palace, a four-star hotel. I went in to have a look and use their bathroom.
It was an experience in itself. 

Thermal baths

One of the many amazing meals I had in Budapest.
This was some of the best hummus and falafel I've ever had.

A wonderful view of the Pest side of the river from Castle Hill.
I watched a rain/snow storm go over the city from here.
From start to finish it lasted about fifteen minutes.

Inside the Matthias Church. Nearly every inch of space is decorated with painting done by hand.
It's beautiful. 

Suzanne, myself and Charles

Prague

It was hard to leave Budapest. But Prague was my next destination and it was the first place I was going where I would truly be on my own. I was anxious for what the city would hold. 

I arrived around 4:30 in the evening and in the dark I struggled to find the hostel I wanted to stay at. I actually walked past it before some girls passed me going the opposite direction. They were speaking American English so I asked if they were headed to a hostel. Indeed they were and they showed me the way. When I walked in there were three people ahead of me talking to the receptionist. From bits and pieces of their conversation I put together that they didn't have any beds left for the night. Now what? I thought. I did not want to wander around Prague, at night, trying to find a place to stay. When it was my turn to talk to the receptionist she recommended a hostel on the other side of the river that was owned by the same people. I asked if that's where the other group was going. She said it was and I caught them as they were getting into a taxi.  I learned that they were from Argentina and had been traveling for about a month already and were only halfway through their travels. We cooked and ate a couple meals together during our time in Prague and as it turned out we were on the same train to Munich when I left Prague. We became friends over the course of a few days and they are great.

I was only in Prague for two days but I was able to see a lot of the city and really enjoyed myself. 

Charles Bridge

Old Town Square

I woke up early one morning to watch the sunrise from the bridge.
Unfortunately it was cloudy but it was snowing and beautiful just the same. 

Take me to my castle! 

John Lennon wall

And now I'm finally in Jordan. The next few days will be busy and packed with all new things. I'm nervous and a little scared. But also excited for the adventures that lay ahead. 

The view from my hotel window in Amman

Look out world...

In less than 48 hours I'll be boarding a plane to begin a completely new adventure. I'm excited, of that I have no doubt. But I'm also feeling a host of other emotions- anxious, nervous, scared and so on. I know there will be ups and downs, but I'm confident I will have the trip of a lifetime.

The experience of meeting new people and forging new relationships is one that I need almost as much as I need air to breathe. People-their goals and dreams, beliefs and ideas-keep me going. I have yet to leave the country and at least five contacts have been made with people living in the cities I will be visiting. Old friends of my parents or the grandparent's of my sister's classmate. These connections remind me how small our world is. We are all interconnected and depend on each other whether we know it or not.

My need to constantly be around others is a trait I usually like about myself. However, I also believe that it is important for one to be comfortable alone. And this is a characteristic I do not have. So it is with some hesitation that I embark on my European traveling adventure alone. I will be spending the first four days with a friend, but after that I'm on my own. It will be hard. But you can't get better at something without practicing it so what better way than to throw myself into a foreign country alone. And honestly, I don't want it to be easy. That would take away the adventure and mystery. It wouldn't challenge me and that is what I want. It will force me to step outside of my comfort zone. But it will allow me to create the relationships I desire so much with total strangers in a strange land and this, I know, will keep me going.

Who knows what will happen between now and the next time I post, but I promise a host of new photos and a story or two.

Happy New Year!

Some photos from Christmas...

Mom, Kate, Julie, Dad 

A few of the Mulvaney cousins.