In one week, I will be in Jordan. In ONE WEEK, I will be jetlagged and exhausted… but IN JORDAN.
Right now, being jetlagged and exhausted are the only two things I can predict for sure. I have signed up for the Arabic Language program in Amman, which stipulates that I take a proficiency exam during orientation. If I pass the exam, I will be taking all of my classes in Arabic. If not, I’ll be doing the Language and Culture program with my classes in English. So while everyone else I know is discussing which classes they are taking, which ones they are most excited about, and which professors everyone else should sign up for, I have absolutely no idea which classes I’m going to be signing up for – or even in which language they’re going to be taught. I also have no idea where or with whom I am going to be living, other than that it will be with a host family somewhere in the city.
I’m not very good with unknowns – I like lists and planning and organizing. So the fact that the only thing I know for sure is what time I am arriving in Jordan is a little unnerving. To make up for it, I’ve been making list after list of what I need to pack and what I need to get before I go. (How much have I actually packed? Not at all. Like I said, I like “planning.”)
Despite all of the unknowns and all that I have yet to put into my one backpacker’s backpack and carry-on suitcase, I can’t wait to finally arrive! I lived vicariously through all of my friends who were abroad last semester, so I am pumped to be putting up my own pictures, updating my facebook status (with things like “Beirut for the weekend!”), and posting my own blog entries with all of my adventures. I should have lots of interesting travel stories – both throughout Jordan and the rest of the Middle East – as well as recipes for traditional Middle Eastern food and updates on whichever classes I end up taking, إن شاء الله (God willing). Until then, مع سلامة (goodbye, or literally, “with safety”)!
