Happy Thanksgiving!

I learned how to say "Happy Thanksgiving" in Arabic today :)

So, عيد شكر سعيد everyone! Have a great day.

1000 Views.

So I just realized that the counter of people reading this blog hit 1000.

Whoa.

I guess I kind of started this blog to be able to remember things for myself, but also to share with others. And now, I'm really glad that I did, because that's a LOT of people reading it. And I have a feeling that many of those people, maybe yourself included, hadn't even heard of Jordan before reading this. I'm glad you know now.

If there's anything anybody would like to hear about in specific, or anything they're interested in about Jordan, just comment and ask :)

Thanks guys!

Wadi Rum

I keep thinking about this night...

We walked to those mountains in the background, by the way. Three of us, with no cell phones, water, or flashlights. That's what I call an adventure :)

Once upon a time, I was at Petra.

There's so many things about this picture that just scream "MIDDLE EAST!"

I love this so much. First of all, there's the fact that we're standing just feet in front of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Petra. Whoa. Secondly, it's the fact  that we're two high school kids from the Midwest, just chilling in Jordan. And that we've got some pretty awesome head wear.

But beyond that, there's the fact that we're there without our parents, living with host families who essentially made my life every time I talked to them. I miss my host family so much, and everything about living somewhere different. I miss being able to practice a new language in the alleyway between your house and the neighbor's house, and learning the word for turtle from your little host cousin, not from a textbook unit on animals. I learned so much there, more than I could ever write in a blog post.

Anyways, I want to go back. And I know that it won't be the same as before, and that's the beautiful part. I don't want the same experience; I want a new one. But I do want a new experience where I live in a new place, experiencing a new culture, and learning a new language. Next summer, insha'allah.

Until then, I'll stop barfing love for study abroad all over this blog. M3 salaama!

All Done...

Well, the application is all done now. At least, my part. There's still my transcript and parent essay. But my part is all done.

Better hope that I get accepted, or else this blog is going to be rather blank this summer! :) Ahhh I'm freaking out, it's strange to think about how much these couple of hundred of words count for. Well, for now, I guess I'll just be waiting to hear about semi-finalist status. Insha'allah!

(This post sounds way calmer than I am. I'm essentially freaking out, but in a totally good way).

ESSAYS! LAST POST!

I'M GOING TO FINISH THESE ESSAYS TODAY!

Here's my plan. Finish the one last essay I have to do for this application, submit it, freak out, then look at pictures from last summer and write random posts about them. Sounds like a good plan.

One last essay... here we go. I've put so much effort into these essays, I want to go back so badly!