Even though I still have 2 months and 15 days left until I leave for PDO (Pre-Departure Orientation) in Washington DC, NSLI-Y is what I spend a lot of time thinking about. Here are some of the random things that I have been doing/stressing about/are super excited about in preparation for NSLIY: 1. Clothes!!!! So, as many of you may know, in most other parts of the world, people dress a lot more modestly than they do in America. This didn't come as much of a surprise to me because I have experienced this first hand in a lot of my previous travels. And honestly, dressing more modestly isn't just beneficial because it respects the local culture and makes you stand out less as a tourist, it is honestly often more comfortable (keeps you from getting too hot)! But despite the fact that I dress pretty modestly by American standards, I found that most of my clothes that fit the dress code parameters were also more suited for 40-70˚ F temperatures and would not work well in the 85˚ climate of Amman during the summer. So off I went to oldnavy.com, which is generally my go-to site for cheap and comfy travel clothes that I can mix-and-match and wear without worrying because I know if it gets stained or torn, it's not the end of the world. But everywhere I looked, I saw tanktops and low cut V-necks and the only non-form-fitting 3/4 tops I found seemed to be worn by models closer to my mother's age. Anyways, I managed to find several modest but cute tops and bottoms and luckily, there was a random 40% sale that day. When they arrive, I will try them on and get back to you on how they end up working out. 2. Food!!!! In case you didn't know, I am a big foodie. I love cooking, baking, sharing and eating and I am so psyched that I am going to Jordan. I have heard the food is just AMAZING!!! And I've also heard that Jordan does the simplest things, like pita, so well it might as well be a completely different food from the kind you get in American grocery stores. If you are ready for your mouth to water, read this article on the 10 Dishes of Jordan. If you want a more comprehensive Jordanian food-(edu)ucation, look through this link. Here are some photos- 3. More Paperwork. So as I mentioned before, I have been overwhelmed by sooooooo much paperwork, and what is even scarier is that once I have sent it in, I have no idea if they have gotten it or not. And considering that some paperwork is mailed, some is scanned, some is uploaded etc. it is very stress-inducing. Luckily, I just got a confirmation that they have received all the things they need for me to officially be a finalist so YAYYYYY! That is a great relief.
4. Study Group. Following up on finding all my co-Jordan-finalists, we formed a study group so that we can practice speaking the Arabic we learn to each other and get to know each other a little. I think we underestimated the difficulty of coordinating Google Hangout meetings with people from across the country (thus across 3 different time zones) ;). More to come after our first meeting this Saturday. 5. Travel within Jordan. While I know that the purpose of NSLIY is cultural exchange and intensive language learning, I am sooooo excited for the parts of our trip when we will be traveling to Petra and Wadi Rum. I have spent so many hours reading travel blogs and looking at pictures and I can't wait to share my very own pictures and accounts of these places with you! Anyways, I should be getting my Arabic textbook next week and will let you know how the start to my language studies go. Bye! Sophia
2 Comments
Julia S
3/14/2017 09:50:40 pm
This is where I am right now, just got accepted for the summer Jordan program with American Councils and I can't focus on anything else!
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Sophia
3/16/2017 05:56:13 pm
Hi Julia!
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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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