Tag: amberherrle

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!

...continue reading "Last week in Amman"

By amberherrle

I am excited to finally announce that I received a grant from the Elliott School to study Arabic in Amman this Summer. This means that while I will be leaving this May, I will be back in Amman soon enough! I cannot wait to be back and studying Arabic here again.

I haven't been doing much since I started my research (other than research) BUT I am happy to also announce that I will be turning my ISP in a few days early. I am really happy about this because I have worked on this project since February.  Finishing the project early means that I will have a few extra days to relax because flying back to the states. So here's my advice for SIT students, I wish my program had placed a larger emphasis on planning and timing out our ISP, as many of my friends are in crunch time right now.

For those that don't know - a big part of SIT programs is the individual study project which is field research that is presented in a 30-40 page paper and in class seminar-presentation. It's a lot of work but a really great experience!

January: BEFORE (yes, crazy town, I know) you come on your program, have a clear idea of the general topic you want to research. So if you want to research radicalization in Jordan, do your research on theories of radicalization before you come here so you have some framework and context of your research.

...continue reading "What’s next"

By amberherrle

The travel warning issued by the US Department of State last December has severely limited my travels in Jordan and my program had to cut our educational excursion to the Badia.

This was a huge disappointment, the homestay in the Badia was one of the big reasons I had chosen this program. The Badia region is where the Bedouin population in Jordan are from, this area is much more rural than the rest of Jordan. There are three regions of the Badia: the northern, southern and eastern Badia. Okay, so anyways - life in the Badia is very different than in Amman. There is a much larger emphasis on tribal connections, families are larger and even the Arabic there differs greatly from that of Amman!

My research in Jordan relies on qualitative interviews conducted in the northern Badia in Jordan. This meant a lot of coordination with my program to find interviews and spend time in the northern Badia. So with their help, I managed to get up to the Badia "capitol", Mafraq for interviews with youth and mothers in the Badia about masculinity in their community.

I was surprised by what a short trip it was to get to the Badia. Only an hour away from Amman, it really feels like a different world. I am always surprised to realize how small Jordan really is, there are so many things to see and they are all really close to each other (all the more reason to visit Jordan!).

...continue reading "Qualitative Research in the Badia"

By amberherrle

As everyone is well aware, last week Bashar al Assad's regime carried out chemical weapon attacks on Syria's citizens in the northern province, Ilbid. The US President react swiftly by bombing one of Assad's airfields that is mostly used by Russian military forces. I have had so many friends reaching out to me, asking me what it feels like to be here at this time.

My reactions are not any different here than they would be in the United States. Amman is the same, Jordan is the same. In Amman, I'm only a few hours away from the airfield that was bombed but still, nothing has changed here. That has been the most surprising aspect of all of this. Jordan is so exceptionally peaceful and stable. And that has not changed.

The crisis in Syria has had detrimental effects on the Jordanian population and economy. There are an estimated 2 million Syrian refugees in Jordan. But still, Jordan keeps its doors open.

So when the United States, the same country that has pushed refugees out of the country and demonized these people, bombed a Syrian/Russian airfield I expected Jordanians to be angry. Angry at the United States and angry at the international governing bodies that have failed them. But I have talked with my family, talked with my family's friends and talked with friends. For them, this is no surprise. The US looking for a regime change is not a solution. Jordan will continue to take in hundreds of thousands of refugees. Jordan will continue to welcome new refugees into their economy, into their communities and into the societal fabric of Jordan. Just like they did in the early 2000s after the US invaded Iraq. Just like they have for the last 5 years in response to Assad's barbaric regime.

...continue reading "In reaction to US Missile strikes"

By amberherrle

After visiting Petra, my program took us to the desert. Wadi Rum more closely resembles Mars than it does Earth. It is no wonder that the film, Martian was filmed here. The Sahara offers expansive views of dunes upon dunes upon dunes. But Wadi Rum offers something different. I had heard from so many Jordanian friends that Wadi Rum is their favorite spot in Jordan but I didn’t quite understand. Now I do. Pictures certainly do not do this place justice.

We spent the afternoon driving through the desert, stopping only to race up the sand hills. The pick-up truck beds had been converted into benches that bounced with the dunes. Rolling across the desert, you feel like you are in space. The large mounts above you remind me of drip castles. I would go as far to say that Wadi Rum reminds me of the earth’s day out at the beach. I know, it sounds crazy but everyone in my truck agreed!

Aqaba

Aqaba is the only port in Jordan. This bustling multicultural beach town is a perfect spot for travelers coming to Jordan from Egypt or Israel. In fact, you can see both Egypt and Israel from most points in Aqaba. Our program took us out on a large yacht for the first afternoon we were in Aqaba.

Aqaba sits on the red sea, after driving the boat out about 30 minutes we arrived on the most beautiful reef I have had the pleasure of seeing. The area that we snorkeled in is nick-named the Japanese Garden and it is no wonder why. The beautiful reef is covered in green and blue choral of all shapes. The water was the most beautiful shade of turquoise making visibility ideal.

...continue reading "Wadi Rum, Aqaba and ISP"

By amberherrle

Wow! I am so lucky to have visited Petra this past week. I cannot begin to describe just how beautiful the red sandstone is, and how immaculate the entire landscape is. Petra is one of the new wonders of the world – and it’s NO WONDER why. Despite being over two thousand years old, the site has features that look like they were crafted yesterday.

Driving towards Petra, you are struck by the archaic landscape. Large boulder mounds break the landscape into pieces and the dark red sand looks endless. I would equate the experience with driving into the Flinstones.

After walking through mounds of rock, you eventually come upon al Siq. This 1200-meter-long gorge winds its way through the colorful sandstone. The walls form mosaics, straight lines and images with their colorful displays. You can even see ancient art carved into the stone when you walk through the gorge. One of the more impressive pieces is the life-size carving of a camel and its keeper along the gorge wall. One of my initial remarks was that the gorge looked different every time I walked through it. I was happy every opportunity I had to look back and admire al Siq from a different angle.

When you eventually make your way out of al Siq, you see the treasury. This is the monument that is commonly associated with Petra and Jordan. This large sandstone building stands tall in all of its glory. I was most impressed by the details that can be seen on the treasury. After two thousand years, the treasury has truly withstood the test of time.

...continue reading "Petra! Otherwise known as: the most beautiful place on Earth!"

By amberherrle

I am so excited to finally start the ISP period with SIT. The Independent Study Project is a key component of all SIT programs. Through this independent research, students are able to dive into a niche topic and explore it though field and open source research. I would say that most students on SIT choose the program because of the ISP component.

My project will look at the construction of masculinity in Jordanian society and how this construction contributes to radicalization in Jordan. Specifically, I will be seeking to understand the ways that mothers contribute to this construction.

Aspects of ISP

1. Choosing your topic - when you apply to SIT, you propose a topic for your research, but most of us are doing a totally different topic than we applied with. With that being said, I am extremely grateful that we did have to apply with a topic because it gets you thinking about what possible topics for your country and program theme are.

2. Finding an advisor - when I have an advisor, I will let you know all my tips on finding an advisor! For now, I would say start early and seek out actual experts in the field your studying. It sounds basic but a lot of students end up with people who generally know what they are talking about for their research topic, but they aren't able to provide students with the most adequate resources.

3. Meet with experts - One of the best things I did was reach out to every author of every article I read. Yes - I cold called, cold-linkedin and even searched endlessly for email addresses so I could send cold emails. And guess what? I got two great interviews with experts in this field! And these interviews have helped me tremendously in creating a great topic.

...continue reading "Preparing for my ISP"

By amberherrle

Differences between the UAE and Jordan

Food

From my experience there, Emirati food is vastly different than the food that you'll find in the Levant and Jordan. For example, I ate about 10 different types of breads while at the Prince's house that were all "traditional Emirati". In Jordan, you're hard pressed to find something outside of pita and pita with thyme on it.

Dress

As I mentioned in my last post, the dress varies from emirate to emirate but notable one of the biggest differences in Gulf attire is that men wear Kandoras which are long white robes that tend to have a tassel towards the collar. This tassel has interesting cultural roots - it was originally used be nomadic peoples to swish away the bad smells that came from camels when they were riding from place to place. The men would dip the tassle in perfume and then when they needed to get camel-smell away, they would simply wave the tassel in front of their face.

From what I saw, abayas and hijab were more common among women in the UAE than in Jordan. While Dubai is clearly the outlier, in the other emirates most women were hijab and many women wore abayas with hijab. Abayas are beautiful black shear robes that you wear over other clothing. Typically, abayas will have intricate designs and patterns on them.

...continue reading "More of the UAE"

By amberherrle

I have taken Arabic every semester since I've been at GW, the language has provided me with some of the most challenging moments in college and some of the most uplifting moments. By most studies, Arabic is one of the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn. Studying in Jordan, I sometimes get stuck on the nuances of Arabic that make it so difficult to learn. But, I wanted to share with you some of the beautiful, and cool aspects of Arabic that make the challenge of learning the language so worth it.

Roots - every word in Arabic has a three letter root. So no matter if you want to say, "exacerbate" or "we" or "pomegranate", there will only be 3 letters that make up the root and then those root letters are put into forms to create the word. So, take for instance the word "to study". The root of "to study" is د ر س  . And so if you just put those three letters together you would have the verb "to study" but if you add a shadda above the "r" sound, you get the verb that means to make someone study (ie: to teach) درّس. For every root of a verb, there are 10 forms that you can put the word into to create more words. Although, not every variation of roots have an appropriate verb for every form.

On the same note, you can use roots to create active and passive participles. So you can essentially add vowel sounds (or adjust vowel sounds) and add an "m" to roots to create new words. So the word for author comes from the root letters which form the word "to writer". All you have to do is adjust the vowels to turn "to write" into "author".

I think that it's really fascinating to look at the way a language is built and the components of language that combine to create complex grammar concepts and dialogues. I hope I'm not boring you too much, but if I am - I'm done now!

...continue reading "!عربى"

By amberherrle

I have now been in Jordan for about a month and a half and I couldn't be happier with my experience. Before studying abroad, I was unsure if I was making the right academic decision, as going to Jordan would mean take a full course-load my senior year. With that being said, I think that living in the Middle East is essential to being a Middle East Studies major and I can't imagine my curriculum without it!

I wanted to take some time to write about a typical week for me so that other students going on SIT might get some idea of what their days would look like.

Sunday is the first day of the work week here which means that I have to be at my first class by 9am. I study Arabic with a 30 minute break from 9-12 and then I will go to the grocery store to pick up my groceries for the week. After lunch, we typically have a thematic seminar class. During our thematic seminar, we have guest speakers talk to us about a specific topic. The topic usually relates to the module subject that week. For perspective, this week the subject is Women in Islam.

After class I will go to a cafe or go straight home to spend time with my host family. Dinner is eaten on the floor and most typically done while watching TV - how can I object to that?

We used to watch Arab Idol on Sunday nights but now we watch Arab Idol ru-runs. Arab Idol is potentially the most popular TV show in Jordan, and every student on our program watches it with our family. I was extremely curious to find out what was going to happen when Arab Idol ended but to my surprise, we just watch re-runs of Arab Idol on the nights that we used to watch it.

...continue reading "A Typical Day in Jordan"