Guest Blogger: Peyton Smith
After two and a half years at Tulane, I thought I had it all. A major I was passionate about, the best friends a girl could ask for, a Frisbee team that had my back, and a comfy off campus house. So when I decided to study abroad in Amman, Jordan, I was terrified. I was leaving New Orleans for a life in a conservative, Middle Eastern city to study and live with a new family. First thing you should know is that New Orleans is my favorite place on the planet, so leaving was sad enough, but leaving for a place so outside of my comfort zone was probably the scariest thing I have ever done. But after being in Amman for three months now, I can genuinely say that studying abroad was the second best decision I have ever made; only second to choosing Tulane. Here is a little about about my experience in a Middle Eastern country.
My abroad program is amazing. While here, I took two different Arabic courses, a course on modernization and social change in Jordan, and a class on research methods and ethics. You may ask, "Why would you take a class on research while you were abroad, Peyton?" Good question, I'll tell you why: I get to conduct my own research and write my own undergraduate research paper! For an entire month, I have no classes; its just me, lots of Arabic coffee, and my research. In fact, I am procrastinating my research paper by writing this blog post for you! It isn't often that undergraduates get to conduct their own research, especially in another country, so this a once in a life time opportunity. I am graduating next year, so I am hoping I can use this research to get me into graduate school!
But here in Jordan, I am not just studying Arabic and doing research all day. I have had the chance to experience life in the Middle East and to become a temporary Jordanian. As part of my program, I get to live with a home stay family. I am currently living in a three bedroom home with seven other people: my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. There is no such thing as privacy or personal space here. But I got used to it and grew to love my new family as if they were my own. We eat every meal together (the most delicious Middle Eastern food you've ever tasted), sing ridiculous amounts of tribal music, smoke hookah until all hours of the night and laugh at how bad my Arabic is. They are my big, fat, Arab family.
I have also had the chance to see some of the most beautiful sights in the world. During one of our excursions to the south of Jordan, I checked off one of the seven wonders of the world: Petra. The ancient city of Petra is an entire city carved into the most beautiful, red rock. It was absolutely breathtaking. But my fun didn't stop there! I went to Wadi Rum, slept under the stars and listened to the silence of the desert. The best part about that was the camel ride the next morning. Camels are awesome, by the way. Perhaps the coolest cultural thing I have had the chance to do is that I lived with a Bedouin family for a week. I left my home in Amman for a week to live in the village of Umm ar-Rasas (mother of bullets) with a Bedouin tribe. My family spoke absolutely no English, but that made it all the more interesting. My host mother taught me to make homemade bread, herd the sheep and milk the goats. I also drank the most delicious Bedouin tea, which consisted of tea, way too much sugar and fresh, warm goats milk. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.Although I was terrified to be leaving NOLA, I am getting sadder and sadder every day to leave Amman. In just four months here, I have learned and experienced more than I ever thought possible. It will be hard to leave the hospitality and kindness this country has showed me. But I find comfort in knowing that I am leaving it for the best city in the world. And the fact that I can finally eat po-boys again.
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