Two Weeks In!

Looking back, I realized I hadn't posted any pictures of Amman! Here's a typical view of the hills from downtown.

The beach at Aqaba

Volunteering at Ruwwad (photo: Mark Laichena)


First, to finish last weekend’s trip: Aqaba is Jordan’s only port city, situated on the Red Sea. We took taxis from Wadi Rum to Barracuda Beach, where you can see Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia from the shore. Since Aqaba is a resort and vacation town, prices were raised accordingly. This did not stop many of us (me included) from snorkeling off the shore around the Red Sea’s coral reefs. Although the sun was quite hot (Aqaba is in the southernmost part of Jordan), the water was surprisingly cold on the far side of the reefs. Still, it was well worth the plunge!


We spent the rest of the day at the beach and hanging out poolside at the Barracuda beach complex. We then headed back to the city, where (after some confusion) we took the public bus back to Amman. We arrived around midnight and took taxis back to Al-Amera before crashing for the night.


And now, the past week or so in review. This is the first year that the “Women and Leadership in the Arab World” study abroad program has been, and now that the dust is settling, the month ahead will hopefully run smoothly. At first, the Arabic aamiyah (dialect) class was fairly unstructured, and for I worried that we might not end up learning or really practicing any useful Arabic for our stay in Jordan! Others in class felt the same way, and we expressed our frustration to Nadia. Fortunately, she was receptive to our comments, and she has been sitting in on our class and working with our professor to mold the class to our needs. Additionally, I gave Nadia a list of the things I want to accomplish in Arabic this summer session (mainly vocal and situational dialogues that would be helpful when interacting with restaurateurs, taxi drivers, etc.), which she passed on to our Arabic teacher. I’m happy to report that we’ll begin working from my list on Monday. I’m both relieved and excited about this—at first I was worried I was being pushy, but I want to get as much as I can out of this study abroad program, and if the only way to do that is by creating a syllabus of your own, well, so be it.


Our women’s studies class is also started picking up steam. Last week we spent most of our time discussing the political, economic, and social history of Jordan in regards to women and women’s rights. This week we analyzed two books by Arab feminist authors and attended a lecture by one of these authors, Ms. Leila Al-Atrash. Ms. Al-Atrash’s talk was very interesting, and I was impressed by her frank attitude and steadfast conviction about her work and women’s issues. We have many other lectures and visits planned for the next four weeks, and I hope they will be as enriching as our first with Ms. Al-Atrash.


Best of all, I have figured out a plan for my volunteer work this summer! I will spend one or two days a week volunteering with the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), reviewing policies and proposals, aiding in research, and learning how an umbrella NGO works at the administrative level. Almost all of my prior volunteering has been more direct, and I am looking forward to learning about all the behind the scenes work and the steps it takes to create a functioning organization. I am also attending a series of workshops at Bait al-Bawadi, an NGO in Jordan that has ties to many community service projects in Jordan. The workshops are focusing on how to write successful proposals and creating workable projects to solve problems in a given community or area.


My final (and favorite) volunteer experience this past week was with Ruwwad, an organization in East Amman where Mark has volunteered for the past 8 weeks. I visited with Mark on Wednesday, where I ended up reading, drawing, and practicing English and Arabic with local children in the library, and then visited the preschool for playtime before leaving. The staff at Ruwwad was very welcoming and to my delight, encouraged me to come back soon. I was thrilled that the children, especially the young girls, were very enthusiastic and affectionate learning and playing with me. Here is a chance for me to put my prior volunteer experience (with Pacers and the like) to good use! I plan on volunteering there a couple afternoons a week around JNCW and Bait al-Bawadi, and I’m looking forward to the next session already.


Tomorrow I am headed to Dana Nature reserve with a small group of friends from my program (no big group this time). We will be hiking Friday and Saturday through the reserve as well as visiting the area—it should be another great weekend!