The small "graduation" ceremony, where we all recieved our grades and said goodbye to our teachers, was nice and to the point. We even recieved a nice certificate with our names on it saying what level of Arabic we completed. I took some pictures with my teachers and then left the language center at Yarmouk University for the last time. The rest of last Monday was spent organizing my belongings.
I relaxed a lot on Tuesday, but went on a GREAT adventure Wednesday. Sara took me to this amazing old town just outside of Iribid, called Sumit. Sumit is only a fifteen minute car drive away from Irbid, but one of Jordan's secret treasures. The town sits up on a hill and has old houses from the Ottoman Empire. There are also more recent houses that were built in the 1950s that are mingled in with the older ones. Some families still live in the town, with the old ruins surrounding them, but not many. I also saw a really old Muslim cemetary, which was almost unrecognizable. There were sheep, camels, donkeys and dogs in the small town. I really enjoyed walking amidst the ruins and taking lots of pictures.
I relaxed for a few hours after Sara dropped me off at my apartment. Sara picked me back up a few hours later so that we could go to a shisha bar with some of her friends for my last night in Jordan. Some of her friends were Christians from Israel studying in Irbid. We all went to a shisha bar at the top of one of the local malls. The cafe looked like it was decorated for a wedding reception. There were round tables everywhere with nice tan colored tablecloths on them and matching coverings for the chairs. A skinny man was singing to some keyboard music that was being played by his friend. The cafe was really decorated for Ramadan and was a little loud, but the environment was relaxing nonetheless. We decided to move to a different cafe that was outside and not as loud. I liked Sara's friends that she introduced me to, and we all spoke about our lives and what we study. The night ended all too soon, but it was a great ending to an amazing trip.
Leaving Jordan was bittersweet. I have so many fond memories from my now two summers there, and I learned more than I ever expected. I feel like my Arabic has really improved and I've made some great friends! My plane ride back to America was uneventful but seemed to go by quickly. I am now back in Oxford, MS getting ready for my last year at Ole Miss.
I relaxed a lot on Tuesday, but went on a GREAT adventure Wednesday. Sara took me to this amazing old town just outside of Iribid, called Sumit. Sumit is only a fifteen minute car drive away from Irbid, but one of Jordan's secret treasures. The town sits up on a hill and has old houses from the Ottoman Empire. There are also more recent houses that were built in the 1950s that are mingled in with the older ones. Some families still live in the town, with the old ruins surrounding them, but not many. I also saw a really old Muslim cemetary, which was almost unrecognizable. There were sheep, camels, donkeys and dogs in the small town. I really enjoyed walking amidst the ruins and taking lots of pictures.
I relaxed for a few hours after Sara dropped me off at my apartment. Sara picked me back up a few hours later so that we could go to a shisha bar with some of her friends for my last night in Jordan. Some of her friends were Christians from Israel studying in Irbid. We all went to a shisha bar at the top of one of the local malls. The cafe looked like it was decorated for a wedding reception. There were round tables everywhere with nice tan colored tablecloths on them and matching coverings for the chairs. A skinny man was singing to some keyboard music that was being played by his friend. The cafe was really decorated for Ramadan and was a little loud, but the environment was relaxing nonetheless. We decided to move to a different cafe that was outside and not as loud. I liked Sara's friends that she introduced me to, and we all spoke about our lives and what we study. The night ended all too soon, but it was a great ending to an amazing trip.
Leaving Jordan was bittersweet. I have so many fond memories from my now two summers there, and I learned more than I ever expected. I feel like my Arabic has really improved and I've made some great friends! My plane ride back to America was uneventful but seemed to go by quickly. I am now back in Oxford, MS getting ready for my last year at Ole Miss.
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