So I finally finished my first week of school in Jordan!! It was quite overwhelming at times, but I made it through. The University of Jordan is so different from Siena, it has 30,000 people, compared to Siena’s 3, 000--surprisingly there are a lot of women that attend the university. I am taking about 12 hours a week of Arabic and another two area studies courses on top of that, so it is a lot of time spent at the school, but it will be worth it in the end. I successfully told the cab driver how to get home from the University this week, in Arabic, which made me feel pretty good about myself.
I also discovered my new favorite drink, which is mint lemonade. It is so minty and refreshing, it’s great--and it is apparently pretty popular in Jordan, so I should be able to find it all over the place, maybe I can even bring some home!! We also ventured to City Mall, which is 4 stories tall, and absolutely huge!! There is also a Wal-Mart equivalent inside called Carrefour, which we went into to get some snacks. Everything here is so much less expensive than in the US. I had lunch at the University cafeteria the other day, babaganoush, bread, an apple and a huge portion of rice, for 70 piastres!! So, lunch was essentially less than a dollar--bargain!!
We are still learning with the taxis--they know that we are not from the area, so they like to take us the long way to get to places!! Even with that, our most expensive cab ride was about 3 dinars (1 dinar is about $1.43) and that was mostly because we hit a lot of traffic. Even though there are so many people in Amman, it is surprisingly not built for people to walk around--there are randomly placed sidewalks, which just end whenever they feel like it. So, by the time I get home, I will be able to hail any cab--lookout NYC!!
I found out today that I will be staying in the same Arabic level that I was originally placed in, so that's a big relief. We are supposed to have a big birthday party n Saturday, and apparently it involves really loud music and dancing--it should be quite and experience!!
Oh, I also joined a gym this week, so not only will I get a workout, but I will be able to shower everyday now!! It's very exciting!!
I also discovered my new favorite drink, which is mint lemonade. It is so minty and refreshing, it’s great--and it is apparently pretty popular in Jordan, so I should be able to find it all over the place, maybe I can even bring some home!! We also ventured to City Mall, which is 4 stories tall, and absolutely huge!! There is also a Wal-Mart equivalent inside called Carrefour, which we went into to get some snacks. Everything here is so much less expensive than in the US. I had lunch at the University cafeteria the other day, babaganoush, bread, an apple and a huge portion of rice, for 70 piastres!! So, lunch was essentially less than a dollar--bargain!!
We are still learning with the taxis--they know that we are not from the area, so they like to take us the long way to get to places!! Even with that, our most expensive cab ride was about 3 dinars (1 dinar is about $1.43) and that was mostly because we hit a lot of traffic. Even though there are so many people in Amman, it is surprisingly not built for people to walk around--there are randomly placed sidewalks, which just end whenever they feel like it. So, by the time I get home, I will be able to hail any cab--lookout NYC!!
I found out today that I will be staying in the same Arabic level that I was originally placed in, so that's a big relief. We are supposed to have a big birthday party n Saturday, and apparently it involves really loud music and dancing--it should be quite and experience!!
Oh, I also joined a gym this week, so not only will I get a workout, but I will be able to shower everyday now!! It's very exciting!!
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