By amberherrle
It's my last week here, this time. I know I will be back to Amman soon and I couldn't be more excited. Amman is a city full of smells that permeate your clothes and coughs from smoking as often as laughs. It's a special place and I'm lucky to have called it home for the last few months.
I turned in my independent study project last Thursday and I don't have much more on my plate until I leave. All of the students on SIT here present our research proposals to each other this week. It has been really cool to see just how much we accomplished in a month. The topics addressed in this month varied greatly between students, making the presentations even more interesting.
There have been some aspects of my program that I am not super-duper grateful for, but I am extremely grateful for the research component. I have learned so much about the writing process in the last month, and I have gained valuable research skills that I wouldn't have gained otherwise. I just found out that I will be continuing this research next year with the Elliott School next year, through the Elliott Undergraduate Scholars program. I am really looking forward to continuing this research under the Elliott School's guidance, and I hope to continue it after graduation as well.
This past weekend I got to go to Aqaba to complete my scuba open water course. I can't recommend the red sea more for water-lovers. It is out of this world in its beauty and inspiration. The water is so beautiful and clear at any point you can mistake the choral for plans and the fish for land animals because of the visibility. Going to Aqaba was the perfect trip after turning in my ISP!
I have a lot of things I want to do before I leave Amman:
- Go to a Turkish bath. I haven't been yet and maybe that's because all of them seem a little skeezy, but everyone says you have to do it!
- Stow away all the falafel I can in my body before I board the plane. Seriously, falafel is so so good. Every Friday my host family eats lunch together which consists of falafel, foul and veggies. It is way more amazing than that made it sound and I always look forward to Friday lunch, yum! Also, I need to figure out how to bring as much foul back from Jordan as possible. Nom nom nom.
- Pick up gifts at the market. There is a huge market downtown in Amman and it is quite possibly the most overwhelming yet beautiful markets I have ever been to. Everywhere you look, someone is making a deal or trying to sell oranges beside used shoes. It's great.
- Cook a dinner for my host family - my host family is absolutely amazing and I owe them so much more than a dinner. But this Friday I will do a big family cookout for them to thank them for all the energy they have put into hosting me!
Okay, that's all I've got for now!