So, after quite a bit of confusion, I know the homestay situation now (kind of).
After having such an amazing homestay/exchange student experience in Spain last year (shoutout to Clara, Elena & Julia <3), that I was really looking forward to living with a homestay in Jordan. But when my acceptance letter came and it said that we were staying in apartments with other NSLI-Y students, I was excited to live with the other NSLIYers but also kind of disappointed to not get the authentic experience of living life with a Jordanian family. After all, when in Spain, my favorite experiences where when we went to the Feria (huge carnival) and walked around and had the best Spanish churros with my host family and got to experience life as a Spaniard. Those experiences were just as enriching as all the sites we saw. Recently though, I found out that we will be staying in apartments with 3 other NSLIYers for about 3 weeks and then after Ramzan ends (around July 6), we will stay with host families for 3 weeks. I am so excited because this is honestly the best of both worlds! I am so excited to get the chance to get to know the other NSLIYers really well in the beginning and go through the process of getting adjusted to Jordanian culture together, but we will also have quite a bit of time to live with and become a part of a Jordanian family. It also makes a lot of since because I know that many families speak little to no English and when we move in, we want to have a foundation of Arabic so that we are able to communicate. Furthermore, moving in after Ramzan is smart because life definitely slows down during Ramzan and we wouldn't want to be rude and eat in front of our host families while they are fasting. I haven't gotten any specifics about who my host family is but I know that that information should be coming around the beginning of June. I will keep you updated. Bye! Sophia
1 Comment
Athena
6/6/2016 09:51:10 pm
Sophia - I finally have had a quiet moment to sit and read your blog. I can actually hear your voice in my ear as I read - you write as you speak which makes reading your entries all the more enjoyable.
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We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us. !أهلا و ساهلاHi! I'm Sophia, a high schooler from the San Francisco Bay Area. I received a scholarship through the State Dept. to study Arabic in Jordan in the summer of 2016. Categories
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