by Matthew Detrick

اهلا و سهلا من الاردن (ahlan wa sahlan min Urdon) in English is “Welcome, from Jordan,” and is a common greeting among Jordanians. This phrase is also read from right to left, making this portion of my blog terribly oriented and grammatically incorrect, so from now on, we will stick with what we all know.

I arrived in Amman on 2 September and have finally conquered jet-lag. I arrived at Queen Alia International Airport, south of Amman, in Jordanian fashion – late! I was warmly greeted by CIEE staff at the airport, loaded into a minivan and dropped off at my host family’s house at approximately 9:00 P.M., to a table of food like you would not be able to imagine. This included rice to feed a hundred people, chicken that fell off the bone, and a traditional Jordanian salad. It was the perfect meal after eleven hours of flying.

My host family is so gracious and accepting and I am learning a lot about Jordanian culture and traditions, as well as Arabic. My host mother, in particular, has been very supportive and kind enough to prepare breakfast and dinner for us each day. Breakfast typically consists of bread, eggs, zaatar (thyme), olive oil, and lebneh (kind of like yogurt). Dinner has been a variety of traditional Jordanian meals in which the entire family partakes. Friday brunch is also served and is a time for a family gathering including eating and socializing.

Classes began on 9 September after a week of orientation. Yes, if you look at your calendar, this was a Sunday. In the Middle East, the weeks start on Sunday and end on Thursday with the weekend being Friday and Saturday. Friday (Jumah) is the holy day in Islam, much like Sundays are for Christians. Muslims go to the mosque at about noon and then spend the rest of the day with family eating, socializing, and relaxing (see a trend here?).

Here in Jordan, I am taking 5 classes, which includes 9 credits of Arabic. I am excited to expand my knowledge of the language and be able to speak with more confidence by the end of my time here in December.

After class, we typically embrace Jordanian culture and go to a coffee shop to study, drink coffee/tea, or just hangout. There are a plethora of coffee shops in Amman, so much so that it would be impossible to visit all of them before the semester is over. However, many of them are on rooftops, overlooking the city (pictured) and is one of the many perks of Amman.

So far this is all I have. I hope this short introduction of my time in Amman compels you to comeback for a future post. In the future, I hope to share more about Jordanian culture and the amazing historical sights we will visit soon, inshallah (God willing). Thanks for reading. Until next time…

Matthew Detrick is a second-year SIA student focusing on Middle Eastern and security studies, and hopes to expand his knowledge of Arabic during his time in Jordan. An alumni of Penn State, he is excited to share his experiences with the Nittany Lion family.