During my time in Jordan, I was taken back by the warmth that Jordanians had when I interacted with them. They were always eager to learn where I came from, why I was there, and what my favorite foods were so far. I felt that this kindness deepened my relationship with my host mother Maha, who was extremely caring and far more open about her life than I had expected. For as interested as she was about my life, Maha shared the most important aspect of her life, something that was a common value for many Jordanian people: family. Engaging with Maha and her family became my foundation of my understanding of Jordanian culture and made me more optimistic about conversing with people in the future. I was able to talk about a variety of things because of it. Islam, their careers, even their obsession with their cats. Being able to talk comfortably with so many people despite a steep language barrier at times was something I never expected, but really played a huge part in shaping my experience aboard.
The biggest piece of advice that I can leave to anyone going to Jordan, or traveling aboard in general, is that even if it is hard, try to connect with people. It could be over the littlest things, in my case it always tended to be my name which is Arabic in origin, but it could be anything. One time, I had an Uber driver once that noticed me and my peers were American, so he blasted “Hips Don’t Lie” on the radio because Shakira was his favorite artist. This of course led to an impromptu dance party that I haven’t forgotten to this day. The simplest questions can lead to the most interesting interactions and can be what makes your experience one of a kind.
Learning more about Jordan allowed me to get a deeper understanding of race and ethnicity in a different culture which has broaden my vision of my career. As mentioned, I am a psychology major and Africana studies minor, and as evident from my picture, I am a Black woman. This has caused me to be very sensitive to matters of diversity and cultural comprehension. As I observed the culture, I noticed an East African community and variety of Middle Eastern ethnicities that I had not been aware was present in Jordan. I became close with an extremely kind Iraqi woman named Jenan, who shared her experience being in America along with her life since moving from her home country to Jordan. Such conversations allowed me to get a more nuanced idea of life for non-native Jordanians as well as what the process of assimilation can be like for non-refugees. I also encountered people who were openly curious about my hair as they had no knowledge of diverse hairstyles like dreadlocks since they had little access to media with people of African descent. My observations and interactions pushed me to reanalyze and apply my own thoughts on what I want from my professional and personal life. While I have experience engaging in spaces where I am often the minority, I now have the desire to observe Blackness aboard in spaces where people of African descent are in the majority, which includes possibly visiting the Caribbean where my mother is from. In general, I think that my experience aboard has taught me that this is truly the beginning of my journey aboard and that I have so much more knowledge to obtain from the world as a whole. Even though studying abroad in Europe is far more popular, I loved my time in Amman and believe that it is a destination that even first-time world travelers can navigate and have so much to learn about.
In general, I think that my experience aboard has taught me that this is truly the beginning of my journey aboard and that I have so much more knowledge to obtain from the world as a whole. Even though studying abroad in Europe is far more popular, I loved my time in Amman and believe that it is a destination that even first-time world travelers can navigate and have so much to learn about.
