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By arosema93

One very distinct part of my experience abroad is food, mostly because I eat a lot of it. Just kidding. But actually, food and eating are a huge part of social life here at my college. Because the kitchens are communal and it is just one massive area, any day between 5 and 9 pm you will see a large majority of the 500 or so residents at some point grabbing a bite to eat or cooking something up. This makes it the major social area of the college. Most people are free to socialize during this time anyways. So everyone congregates in the kitchen. Sometimes we cook in large groups, and every once in a while this includes some sort of new dish contributed by an exchange student. I have tried quite the platter of interesting foods, and at times I was unaware of it. Last week, one of my Chinese friends made a meal. Halfway through I asked him what the meat inside was and he told me it was pork. I responded that it tasted really interesting, at which point I was informed it was pig ear. Actually quite delicious. I have also tried things such as intestines and stomach as well. The intestines were better than stomach, and it was fairly difficult to get over the thought of my stomach digesting another animals’ stomach. It is great to try traditional dishes from other cultures, while also bonding over meals and cooking together.
Australians don’t really have very many distinct foods that they are known for. Their culture is similar enough to America that they eat pretty much the same except for more beef and lamb. There are two foods that I can think of that are different however. When an Australian talks about pie, it is not a pie in the way Americans think of it. I picture pie as a delicious sweet strawberry pie or apple pie. Here, it refers to a meat pie. I very much enjoy them, but I also miss fruit pies from back home which are probably my favourite thing to eat. Another distinct Australian food (although New Zealand claims they were the original inventers) is Pavlova. It’s a delicious dessert that is made with a meringue base and various kinds of fruit on top.
Cooking and eating in the kitchen can also be quite a distraction. A phenomenon that many residents label ‘the kitchen trap’. Because at some point, most people need to come get food to eat, this leads to a constant stream of friends coming and going from the kitchen throughout the night. At times, you talk to the same few people for several hours and completely lose track of time, and other nights you talk to heaps of different people for small amounts of time, but either way, before you know it, it has been four hours and you haven’t left the kitchen. That is the kitchen trap. It is so easy to get sucked in and socialize for a while instead of heading off to do the work that actually needs to be finished. For example, the four hours I spent in the kitchen ‘eating’ before writing this blog post. There is always someone you know in there, and it is quite simple to get caught up in chatting and small talk. This is a great way in which my college is different from the American ‘apartment’ style living and the catered colleges where everyone eats at once and then leaves. It creates a fantastic community area that most other communities tend to lack.

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My friend Stephen feels the freedom of an open desert at night.
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A view of the deserts and mountains of Ma'an
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The Nabataean monastery sits atop one of the highest hills in Petra

 

While I did a lot of cool things this weekend—camel riding in Wadi Rum, sleeping in a Bedouin camp, romping around the desert, exploring the ancient city of Petra—I really only brought one significant thought from it, one experience for which “cool” is an inaccurate understatement of its reality. It was a weird convergence of realizations that led to a state of mind I've never really been in before.

After walking through an expansive, once-thriving, long-dead city, wealthy enough to support a population of 20,000 people in the middle of the desert, with complex architecture and intricate water conduit system, I climbed to one of its highest points, where the monastery is located. I stared at the building's huge facade, in awe at its sheer size, but more so at the people it stood to commemorate. Then I hiked over the peak of the mountain to overlook the sublime scene of the surrounding rift valley, and for the first time in a long time felt completely insignificant. Like the strong breeze that had just kicked up could blow me away like a grain of sand without remorse.

But at the same time I looked at the people around me--American, Jordanian, British, Italian, and others—and felt a sense of connectedness to them and the world around me. But standing with them in the face of the universe we looked out upon, I felt very at home in this pile of insignificant grains of sand, who, despite wildly contrasting lifestyles and cultures, really have a lot in common. I felt free and happy to be even the smallest part of something so sublime.

By stlake

Before I get into this post, I want to apologize for the amount of typos in last week’s post. I was so excited to tell y’all about my Barcelona adventures, I did not proofread as much as I normally do. I also want to correct one of my extremely witty pop culture references; the quote “the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain” is from My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn not Funny Girl with Barbara Streisand. Got two of my favorite divas mixed up, my sincerest apologized. Now onto this week’s post involving another one of celeb idols.

As many of you reading my blog know, I have been dancing my whole life. I did not think I would continue through college, but I have now started to study it through an academic and performance lens, and I couldn’t be happier. However, when looking for study abroad programs, I did not look for a program with dance. I thought I could use a semester off and did not think I would miss it as much as I do.  But, I do feel like a part of my day is missing because I’m so used to rushing from class, work and rehearsal. Yes, I know jam packing my schedule is not sticking with my new “go with the flow” mindset, but something’s got to give. So when my friend Audrey found a dance class at a local gym, I jumped at the opportunity to join her. But hey, that was a YOLO moment right? So I am kind of sticking to my new mindset-cut me some slack ok?

Back to my story. Running late, I rush into the studio and see Audrey surrounded by a group of teenage girls wearing regular street clothes. I was wearing sneakers, leggings and my trusty Beyoncé concert t-shirt; ready to bust a move. They looked me up and down (something I have gotten so used to here in Spain, but that’s another blog post.) and the teacher laughs and asks me if I was ready for another class. At this point, Audrey and I are nervously laughing, wondering what to expect. The teacher then says he normally teaches “Dancehall hip hop”. The combination we learned was to “Shell it down” by T.O.K; I definitely recommend it for a prime dance party. So needless to say, there was a lot of poppin, lockin and twerkin. The girls in the class were so nice and we had a great time. Then at the end of class, after admiring my t-shirt, one of the girls ask me if I wanted to see a dance they learned a few weeks ago to a Beyoncé song. Of course, I was thrilled to see their combination to “Upgrade You” and wished that was the class I went to.  Our mutual love for Queen B led us to having a conversation about what to do around Alicante and more information about their dance company.

The class wasn’t particularly challenging or unique. So at first, I couldn’t quite understand why it made me so happy. And then it dawned on me; during a week where I was feeling a little bit of homesickness and FOMO (fear of missing out), it was extremely comforting to realize that many things are universal. Dance is a language in and of itself. I could understand exactly what the teacher meant even though I did not understand all the Spanish vocabulary.  Although I don’t think I will attend the class again, it did get me back in a dance state of mind.  Now I am on the hunt for a challenging modern dance class either at the university or at another studio in Alicante.

Until next time, peace, love and Beyoncé.

By nmbutler3

Blog 2

The first thoughts that come to mind when we think of spending a semester studying abroad usually run along the lines of traveling to new and exotic places, meeting new people and trying new things you’d never find back home in the States. Oddly enough though, we rarely include actually studying and taking classes on that list. While admittedly, studying for exams probably won’t be the most fun you’ll have while abroad, if you come at it with the approach, you might end up actually enjoying your time with those textbooks.

1. Café Crawl

If you’re in a city like Edinburgh, you’re likely to encounter quite a few cafes and coffee shops. So rather than limiting yourself to just pub crawls, try a few coffee crawls, (or park, bookstore or museum crawls, or wherever your studying preference may be). I’m personally a fan of coffee shops and cafes, so instead of holing myself up in my flat or the library this first week of classes, which yes, if you study in Edinburgh you will be expected to do actual work starting the first day of classes (and in some cases, before the first day), my flat mates and I spent our Friday morning and Sunday on café crawls, where we tried out the local cafes and coffee shops in search of the perfect studying spot. Not only did it give us a chance to explore the area and hit the books, but it also gave us a taste of the local cuisine and native favorites, like apricot scones and various teas and hot chocolates. It was quite a good learning experience in terms of local culture as well. For example, although not as rampant as the stereotypes would suggest, tea tends to be the preferred and usually less expensive drink of choice here. Also, coffee here typically follows the European example, rather than the American, so a warning for anyone who prefers just a plain cup of coffee in the morning: it’s hard to find. Since plain brewed coffee isn’t a common drink here, if you go into a café and ask for a cup of coffee, the person behind the counter will ask you what kind. If you’re going for plain black coffee, an Americano or a Long Black is usually the best option, but they both vary between shops in what they actually mean, so don’t be afraid to ask.

If you do happen to be studying in Edinburgh or just visiting and need a nice place to grab something to drink and read a book here are my personal recommendations:

1. Beanscene Coffee and Music House

2. Press Coffee

3. Black Medicine Coffee Co.

(All of which are located in the George Square campus.)

2. Take Advantage of Supplemental Learning Resources

This one is pretty simple, especially if you are in Edinburgh. Utilize the unique off-campus resources, like the free national museums like the National Museum or the National Gallery, historical sites like the Edinburgh Castle or the Underground, historical tours, or local and national nature reserves like the Hermitage of Braid. There are usually at least one or two sites that are relevant to whatever you’re studying and since much of the UK education system is based on self-guided study, it is a great way to immerse yourself into the material, as well as the local culture and history, without having to read a book for hours. Or at the very least, it gives you an excuse to do all the touristy-things without having to actually be a tourist.

3. Make Studying a Learning Experience

As I just mentioned, the UK education system is much different than that of the US. Courses are based on self-guided study, which means you have much less class and homework assignments, but are expected to do much more work on your own, including personal research and background reading. Now that can be rather intimidating, but it can also be a great way to explore other ways of teaching, explore your own areas of interest, and maybe even give you some useful preparation and perspective for your thesis or grad school.

4. Learn from a Local Perspective

In addition to experiencing a new teaching style, studying abroad is a great way to get a new perspective on a subject you already study or to learn about something unique to your location. For example, one of the courses I am taking this semester is Conservation Management. Granted, this doesn’t exactly seem like a typical local-perspective based course like Scottish History or Gaelic Culture, but as one of Europe’s leaders in conservation and the sustainability, Edinburgh, and Scotland more generally, offers a very different approach and perspective on conservation methods and techniques that I would never be able to learn or engage with back home. Classes like this are also a great way to learn about related historical, political or cultural aspects of your location without having to take a history or politics course. In my case, the conservation course gives insight to cultural values, historical events that have shaped the current state of affairs and political policies like the establishment of the Scottish National Nature Reserves System and Scotland’s role in international conservation efforts and planning. If you’re not interested in or not able to explore new perspectives, studying abroad is also a great time to take a completely random course unique to your location, like Medieval Scottish History or Scottish Pict Archaeology.

5. Don’t be Afraid of a Challenge

Last, but certainly not least, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself with difficult courses while abroad. For many programs you have the option of take first or second year courses in addition to the upper-level courses. Sure, introductory courses are easier and allow you more time for non-academic pursuits, but they also limit your opportunities. At the University of Edinburgh at least, many of the upper-level courses not only offer smaller, more engaging classes, which means you actually get to meet and get to know new people, but also more chances to take advantage of the unique opportunities in the city and university. For example, my Conservation Management course (a fourth-year course) brings in guest speakers every week from all over Scotland to teach us about policies, methods and current issues in conservation. Similarly, my Principles of Ecology course (a third-year course) involves an in-depth project at a local nature reserve and my Plant Evolution course (a fourth-year course) includes visits to several Scottish agricultural and botanical research sites, including the Royal Botanical Gardens. Of course, these upper-level classes obviously involve more work and can be rather challenging depending on your background, but it’s a fair trade-off for the immersion opportunities that you cannot get with a 200 person introductory lecture.

By mfretes93

Studying abroad, it's easy to get lost in your surroundings, overwhelmed by the people, the language, the sights and the sounds of being in a brand new place while accumulating to a brand new culture. You spend your days running around the city, taking in historic buildings and monuments, meeting locals and practicing the local language (with many failures) and, at least for me here in Rio, relaxing on the beach. It's a good life to be living.

Unfortunately for all of us study abroad-ers though, a dreaded season is approaching: midterms.

Midterm season here in Brazil isn't that much different from midterm season in the States. Most people wait until the last minute, then find themselves cramming, reading all of the readings they neglected to ever look at, and looking at all of the slides from the classes they never went to. Many professors give out take-home midterms which are comprised of a few essay questions that students need to answer, although some do go with the normal test-in-class route. It's all routine.

What has been a difficult adjustment for me this midterm season, however, has been the question of where to study.

Coming from GW, the question of study space is already somewhat contentious. Students flood Gelman from the wee hours of the morning to the wee hours of the next morning, only leaving to get refills at Starbucks. Either that, or you study in your room, in study space in your dorm, or you find a random classroom on campus and claim it as your own for the week. While there aren't that many options, there are options, and students make the best out of all of them.

And at least for me, study space is incredibly important. I can only successfully cram or write papers at lightning speeds in the right environments: small rooms in Gelman, away from the noise and chatter of dorms at night, with coffee readily and constantly available.

Here in Brazil, however, the right environment can be hard to find. Students commute to classes, and therefore "studying in the library" is near impossible: not only can it take up to an hour to get to class, depending on what neighborhood you live in, but the library closes at night. That, and the "library" on-campus is just a large room in one of the buildings--it isn't the same study space I'm used to in Foggy Bottom.

Not only that, but given how lively this city is most of the time, studying in my apartment can be loud, especially if there's a big soccer game happening in town, which at this time of the year, is a given. That liveliness also means that most restaurants and coffee shops aren't meant for quiet--they're meant for gathering with friends or family, laughing with them and enjoying your time with them. Want to read a book? Go elsewhere.

All of this, as you can already tell, points to a need for me to get creative with study space. The first step was leaving my apartment and really getting to know the neighborhood that I'm living in, and will be living in for the next couple of months. That means getting off the main streets and going into side streets, walking around and really taking in the places around me. Doing this allowed me to find some beautiful plazas in the area, small spots of seclusion from the bustling city surrounding it. Spots that could be perfect for catching up on readings and slides. These plazas usually have beautiful statues in their centers, dedicated to important figures in Brazilian history, surrounded by colorful flowers, tall trees, and other people looking for their moment of peace.

Which means I have one piece of advice for future study abroad-ers for their future endeavors in the world of midterms. Think outside of the box when it comes to study space, especially if you're going somewhere where students commute to school. Explore the area that you live in, and find that perfect place, which could be a plaza or somewhere by the beach or maybe in the middle of some wilderness. Either way, where you study right now at GW is probably going to be completely different from where you'll be studying while you're abroad: embrace it!

As for me, I'm still exploring these plazas looking for the right one to commence reading about Brazilian foreign policy. But as of right now, one of them will provide me the perfect study space I've been looking for during this midterm season.

So? I think I'm good to go. Of course, we'll see how I am in about a week. Tchau for now!

By kathleenmccarthy1

Many people don’t know this, but the Irish don’t refer to their Prime Minister as “the Prime Minister.” Instead, Ireland’s Prime Minister is called the “Taoiseach” which means “chief” in Ireland’s native language and by being in the right place at the right time, I got to meet the Taoiseach last weekend.

The Arcadia program managers arranged for us to participate in a homestay weekend in Castlebar, County Mayo, about an hour and a half away from Galway City. Heather, another girl in the Arcadia program, and I were assigned to the Reilly family, consisting of a woman named Marie and her husband, John. Also living with them was Jannick, a German high school student spending the semester in Ireland.  Our first night was a little awkward. Jannick was much younger than us and Marie and John were much older than us, so it was difficult to keep up conversation. After we had dinner on Friday night, we watched the Late Late show, a popular Irish talk show that plays every Friday. To give us background on some of that episode’s content, Marie explained to us that the current Taoiseach is pushing to have the Seanad, one of the two houses of the Irish parliament abolished. I brought up that I had seen Enda Kenny, the current Taoiseach, at GW when he visited this past March. To this, Marie responded “Enda? He’s from Castlebar! His son goes to school with Jannick! They ride the same bus!” This completely blew me away and I found it impossible to keep my inner-fangirl in check. Marie was delighted that her American guest was so excited about meeting someone who knows the Taoiseach, especially since Enda Kenny is the first person from any part of west Ireland to hold the title. She said that the next day she would take us into town and show us his constituency office. She also told us that she would call her dad to see if he knew whether or not the Taoiseach would be in town that weekend even though she was pretty sure he would be in Dublin.

As we ate breakfast the next morning, Marie called her father, who actually knows Enda Kenny pretty well, to see if he could tell her whether or not the Taoiseach would be in his office that day. To find out, Marie’s father called Enda Kenny, who agreed to meet with us in town around noon.  Knowing I would be really excited about this, Marie came running into the kitchen as Heather and I were eating breakfast and said “Girls, you’re never going to believe this! Enda is going to meet us in town for a coffee!” I was so excited that I actually threw my hands up and squealed in front of this woman that I had met less than 24 hours before. I could not believe that I was actually going to meet Ireland’s Prime Minister and one-time President of the Council of the EU.

Marie drove Heather and I into town to the café where we had been told to meet him.  We got there a few minutes early so we sat in the car to wait for the Taoiseach to arrive. As we waited, Heather and I got to know Marie a lot better.  She told us about what she usually does on Saturday and also about her family and living in Castlebar. Even though Marie said she expected Enda Kenny to arrive in his wife’s car, he was actually walking up the street when we saw him.  Marie got out of the car and walked to to greet him as Heather and I walked timidly behind her.  Upon seeing her, Enda Kenny said “Marie! So good to see you!” and gave her a big hug. He then looked at us and said, “Are these your American guests?” Marie introduced us and we each got our own hugs from him. “I’ve known Marie since she was this tall,” he said, “You could not have a better host.” We expressed our agreement with this statement and then he said, “One thing that you should know about Ireland is this: everyone in this country knows each other.” Instead of going into the café and having a coffee as planned, we walked to the park across the street where Enda Kenny pointed out various buildings in the town square and explained to us the history behind them. After that, we sat down on a bunch and the Taoiseach called one of is security men over to take a picture. He asked if any of us had a camera. I offered up my iPhone, in its bright green vintage-inspired cassette tape phone case. As his security guard held the phone up to take the picture, Enda Kenny said, “Is that a cassette tape?” When I bought my iPhone case, I would never have guessed in a million years that Enda Kenny would be making fun of it. After taking pictures, the Taoiseach asked us what we were studying in school. When Heather told him that she was studying English literature, he said “You know, when we were visited by the Queen a while back, I said to her ‘Since gaining independence, look at all of the Nobel Laureates we’ve had. Beckett, Shaw, Yeats; the Irish have taken the English language and made it better.’”

After that, our time with Enda Kenny had come to an end. He, of course, gave us all another hug and told Marie he would see her again soon.  As he walked back to the car that had brought him there, a motorist driving by stopped their car to shake his hand. I found this so reflexive of Ireland’s culture of openness and accessibility. The Taoiseach, who is responsible for leading the entire country and handling foreign affairs, took time out of his day to meet with people he had never met. Up until then, I had thought that what people had told me about Irish hospitality had been somewhat overestimated. Sure I found that people were generally nice, but there didn’t seem to be much beyond common courtesy. After my experience with the Taoiseach, I realized just how warm Irish people genuinely are and how doing nice things for people is an established part of the culture. It also exemplified just how strong community ties are in Ireland. Being an important public figure doesn’t make you exempt from doing favors for friends and neighbors, it’s expected of everyone. And yet, everyone seems happy to do it.

By mtumasz

New Zealand vs. South Africa Rugby Match

Ok guys, here's the scoop. I'm a huge rugby fan (and I also play for GW). Rugby is New Zealand's main sport. Their national team, the All Blacks, are incredible. Last weekend, I went to their match against South Africa. I thought the atmosphere at the game was going to be similar to something like an American football game, but I guessed totally wrong.

First off, the city of Auckland (where the game was held), gave free bus and train transportation to the game stadium, which was on the outskirts of the city. Once you got there, you were surrounded by happy fans, everyone wearing jerseys or hats, or whatever paraphernalia they had. I entered the 48,000 person-capacity stadium and took my seat (second row behind one of the end zones, I might add) and automatically felt energized. There's just something about watching a live game in person that gives me such an adrenaline rush.

Anyways, before the game starts, the national anthems of both countries are performed, but then the All Blacks perform their legendary haka, which is a traditional Maori war-cry that is now mostly known for the pre-game tradition for the Blacks. Once this was completed, the game starts and from the first minute, the game is extremely intense. New Zealand and South Africa are huge rivals, so tensions were high.

Half time comes, and the Blacks are ahead, but not by much. Second half is just as intense and invigorating as the first, and as the final minutes wind down, everyone in the stands is cheering and hollering, because the All Blacks are going to win. Final score: New Zealand 29, South Africa 15.

My friends and I head to the train station to go home, where once again, it's free, thanks to the city of Auckland. We are surrounded by happy fans, even South African ones! No fights broke out, there was no rude language, and everyone was just genuinely happy to be in each other's presence. This was a drastic change from American sporting events...

Overall, the game was incredible, and if anyone is in New Zealand, I highly recommend checking out an All Blacks game. It was definitely one of my favorite experiences so far!

Cheers Mates!

By fdecristofaro

My study abroad program is called SIT-Zanzibar Coastal Ecology and Natural Resource Management. Zanizbar is a small archipelago of two main islands off the eastern coast of Tanzania made up of Pemba and Unguja. This program focuses on on-site research and it began on August 24th. It is set up to teach us intensive Kiswahili in the beginning, now we have about four hours per day of Kiswahili class, then we work on field methods and research ethics, and then ongoing lectures on coastal ecology and natural resource management until the last month of the program.

This last month is spent applying the knowledge gained in the first three months to our Independent Study Project, or ISP. We formulate a topic and then are given one month and a stipend to go out on our own, collect data, and create a 20-40 page research paper and present on our findings at the end of the semester in early December. Currently my idea for my ISP is to investigate laws regarding ocean policy, such as fishing regulations and see whether or not those are effective in maintaining a sustainable source of fish for the populations which depend upon them. However I am not certain that this will be my final product.

We have already learned a lot about cetaceans, observed butterflies, visited an endangered amphibian sanctuary, and seen dolphins and tourism economy that threatens and thrives off of them so I am considering that as a possible back up. There is a ways to go before I have a concrete proposal so I will continue to pursue any viable options that interest me in our various outings, lectures, and excursions.

By arosema93

For many of you the weather is starting to eventually cool down and you are leaving behind the heat of summer, but down under we are just getting started. The flowers are blooming; the leaves are growing back…actually just kidding about that one. All trees in Australia are evergreens and do not lose their leaves in winter because it is still too warm. Therefore, the word ‘evergreen’ here does not refer to pine trees as it does in America. While there are some trees, especially around campus, that lose their leaves, this means that none of them are actually native to the country. It is awfully sad how Australians import trees from other continents when they already live in such a beautiful place. Anyways, spring means….spring break!! Although it isn’t even called that here.. I’m just finishing up the first week of spring break. Instead of going on any big trips for this break I am mostly hanging around Canberra to continue working as much as possible and catch up on some big assignments. However, since the break is two and a half weeks long, there is still plenty of time to have some fun.
One of my favourite things about Australians is how in shape most of them are and ready to participate in physical activities. ‘Bushwalking’ or hiking is a very common hobby among families and friends of all ages. Thankfully, this means there is never a shortage of friends who want to go spend some time bashing around the bush. One day last week we went caving…yes again. At this point we have explored half of the caves in Australia (there aren’t very many). This time we spent 8 hours underground between 3 separate caves and encountered all the dangerous of the subterranean world including, poisonous snakes, poisonous spiders, and rabid bats. Any animals that live that deep underground are probably not something you want to be bitten by.
We will also be going on a hiking trip this weekend that I am starting to get really excited about. It is supposed to be a very intense climb up the side of a mountain with some outstanding views and hopefully waterfalls! To give you an idea of how hard it is, it is a 10 km trail. I can run that on flat ground in under an hour. This hike will take us the better part of a day. More to come after the event. Most people head north for the holidays and I might join them up in Brisbane for several days. It can take some used to heading up north for holidays and warmth. Typically I have always associated south with warmth and tropics. For me, North has always meant the cold frigid upper peninsula of Michigan, not exactly someplace you would want to spend a spring break. One other thing that will take getting used to is that the two week break means that we are half way finished with our semester!! Exciting news school wise, but I am certainly nowhere near ready to return to America. For GW, the fall semester started up just two weeks ago or so. I feel like I will be finished by the time most are still getting their routine down for the year.
On a completely unrelated note, swans in Australia are black. Some things down here will never cease to contradict everything I think I know about the world.

Young Jordanian boy
Young Jordanian boy

After walking through a small garden of insignificant ruins, we stood in a group of about 20 others, who had just made their way from the nearby mosque to the entrance ot the cave that stood before us. The guard opened the door, and we crowded in to a small, hot room filled with small pieces of ancient pottery, and also body odor. A man started reciting a memorized script and gesturing to the 7 sarcophagus-shaped holes in the stone floors around the room. I think he was saying something like this:

The Seven Sleepers, commonly called the "Seven Sleepers of Ephesus", refers to a group of Christian youths who hid inside a cave outside the city of Ephesus* around 250 AD, to escape a persecution of Christians being conducted during the reign of the Romanemperor Decius. Another version is that Decius ordered them imprisoned in a closed cave to die there as punishment for being Christians. Having fallen asleep inside the cave, they purportedly awoke approximately 180 years later during the reign of Theodosius II, following which they were reportedly seen by the people of the now-Christian city before dying.

Muslims firmly believe in the story as it is mentioned in the Qur'an; however, some aspects of the story are not covered in its account, including the exact location of the cave. Some allege that it is in Ephesus, Turkey; others cite a place near Amman, Jordan. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sleepers)

So I went to the place near Amman on Saturday with a couple friends from my program and a new friend—the manager of a restaurant we frequent called Talielet Baladna (between 2nd and 3rd circles if you ever go). Yeah, we frequent a cafe. I've been wanted to find a bar to frequent for over a year now, but I never found one in DC cheap or cool enough to turn into my own personal set of Cheers. But I digress. The cave was pretty neat, but I really enjoyed touring the accompanying mosque more. I've actually never witnessed an Islamic worship service. It wasn't so different from other services I've been to. There was kneeling, listening to a dude up front, standing up, praying, kneeling, dude says more stuff. It was kind of meditative to chill in the green (a rare color here) of the garden and the singing of Koran verses.

Admittedly, this week was not packed with cultural insights, but I'm going to attribute that to the fact the I mostly stayed indoors to study for a final (one of our classes is super intense for like a week and then there's a final), and two quizzes. This weekend is our program-wide trip to Petra/Wadi Rum. Hopefully I'll have something a little more exciting than a Wikipedia article upon my return. You can at least count on some camel pics, for sure.