Arabic is a frustratingly difficult language. Something I didn't
think about four years ago when I decided I wanted to learn how to read and
write those squiggly letters. After struggling through four years of literary
Arabic in a classroom, I decided I needed to go to an Arabic speaking country
and give it one last shot. Not only that, but I needed to experience first hand
Arab culture, not just through relentless reading of Al-Kitab texts that dated
back to the year 600 BC, but in real life. That’s what led to me Amman , Jordan
After speaking with one student in my class she suggested I do
a six week program that she did called Afkar Academy Jordan
for six weeks, visit my boyfriend in Israel
for two weeks and still be back in plenty of time to make it to my brother’s
wedding in Ithaca, New York New York together prior to leaving to our
respective countries for the summer. As I was saying goodbye to my dad and was
about to get in the car for the airport he asked, “So do you have your
passport?” My heart dropped, I ran up to my room to search for my passport and
couldn't find it anywhere. I frantically called Lucia, my old roommate, I
must have left it there, but she couldn't find it. I would have to go to DC and
hope my parents or Lucia were able to come up with my passport, but shortly
after I arrived they both reported back that they couldn't find it anywhere. I
was supposed to board a plane in less than two weeks to go to Jordan and I didn't have my
passport, crap!
Later that evening when Dan and I were situated in our
friend’s apartment in DC I received an e-mail. It read:
Dear Ms. Levy,
I regret to inform you due to lack
of enrollment Yarmouk University is no longer able to sponsor the Afkar Academy
Best Regards,
I had been preparing for this trip to Jordan for over six
months, my expectations for the summer and what that meant for my relationship
were centered around me doing this program in Jordan. I could not wrap my head
around what just happened. I immediately emailed the Afkar Academy Jordan , Morocco ,
and Egypt
to see if I could enroll. One simple issue of losing my passport turned into
the potential loss of a life changing summer. I was devastated, but determined
to find a way to make it work. I refused to stay in Champaign for the summer and learn Arabic from a
book. After a few days, Afkar Academy called me and discussed the opportunity to
study independently with a professor from the University
of Jordan in Amman . He said me and another girl would be
apart of the program and we would share a studio apartment. I was relieved; I could
not believe how that had actually worked out. It wasn’t until two days before I
boarded the plane that I was informed the other girl who was supposed to attend
the program with me was unable to transfer her scholarship and it would be just
me in Jordan this summer as
part of the Afkar
Academy
I was prepared for the challenge of being an American woman
in an Arab country and even hiding my Jewish identity that so many Jordanians despised, but I was in no way prepared to do this alone, with no built in network
of American friends. I was scared, but I knew that this was my last opportunity
to study in Jordan
on a scholarship like the one I received and I was determined to make it work.
June 4, I departed on a plane to Amman as planned and began a very challenging
yet rewarding summer. I had an experience that I know I wouldn't have had if I
went on an organized program, yet I had enough structure to have a small
support group to get by. While the first
week in Jordan
was difficult socially, I entrenched myself in my studies and was able to grasp
the basics of colloquial Arabic very quickly. Little did I know how important
this would be in shaping the rest of my time in Jordan . As I became conversational,
my teacher required me to speak with Jordanian students for four hours a day,
five days a week, writing down the words I did not understand. Not only was I
able to quickly learn Arabic, but I made Jordanian friends, learned about
culture, politics and major challenges that Jordan faces.
While initially I
planned my trip to Jordan
to primarily improve my Arabic, I realized that the real benefits came from the
relationships I built, the culture I participated in, and the lifestyle I came
to love and understand. Though it seemingly started out as a train wreck, the
challenge only made the experience that much more meaningful and rewarding.
