First Day in Amman

August 26, 2019 – The last few days leading up to my flight to Amman, Jordan were filled with anxiety. Thinking about how long the semester will be, worrying about fitting in with peers and my host family, and the persistent feeling that you forgot to pack something important (which seemed hard to do with 2 50-pound checked bags). However, my anxiety was not going to stop Royal Jordanian Flight #262 from leaving JFK at 9:40 PM on August 24th. Now, sitting in my room in my host family’s house on August 26th, I realize all that fear was misplaced. After my first day of orientation, I’ve already made some friends and dreamed up some travel plans. Here’s how the first day went:

The day began with a lovely breakfast of eggs, pita bread, hummus, apricot jam, and mint tea. After saying goodbye to our host family, my housemate and I hailed a taxi to take us to the CIEE Study Center near the University of Jordan. After a short ice-breaker, the CIEE staff began sessions on navigating Amman, host families, health and wellness abroad, etc. Then all the students gathered for lunch in the lobby of the study center. A few of us decided to head outside and sit on the steps while we ate.

After a few more sessions and a short Arabic lesson, we said ” مع السلامة ” to our new friends and headed home. When the taxi dropped me and my housemate off on our block, the sun was setting over the hills of Amman.

Finally, I ended my day by sitting on the patio and listening to all the sounds of Amman, including the call to prayer from the nearby Great Mosque of King Abdullah. Tomorrow, we will take a tour of ancient Amman! I can’t wait to see what else this beautiful city has to offer over the next 3 months. But for now, I am very jet-lagged and must go to sleep. Until next time.

-Matt