In my first ever blog post, I promised that I would make a “Learn Arabic” playlist. For all the folks who’ve been waiting on the edge of their seats (joke), it’s finally here! I’ve been working hard on my Arabic, and in this post I want to give you a little glimpse of the craziness …
Category Archives: Culture
Photos and Friends
“That is simply epic.” A phrase I have used very often during my time abroad. I love the way this phrase draws my attention back to the reality that much of what I am experiencing is “simply epic.” The two seemingly opposite words fit together so beautifully. “Epic” is often used to describe an extraordinary …
Living with a Host Family
!مرحبا (marhaba—hi!) I’ve been in Amman for almost a month now: wow, is time moving fast! (If only my Arabic skills were moving at the same rate—learning vocabulary is taking me forever.) My amazing host family has played a huge role in making my experience so far such a positive one. Their hospitality and kindness …
Sidewalks
I prepared for the major cultural differences before coming to Jordan. I knew that I would have to dress more conservatively than I do in the U.S., and I expected to struggle to communicate in Arabic. There are bunches of little cultural differences that are impossible to prepare for, though. Jordanian beds usually don’t have …
Four Countries, One Week
Hello from Ireland, Wales, and Italy, although by the time this is published, I’ll be back in England! At Liverpool Hope University (LHU), terms are split into four weeks of class followed by a reflective week. Reflective weeks are weeks without classes intended for students to catch up on work, study, research, or rest. This …
Rain and Shine… and Snow?!
Where has the time gone!? A rhetorical question because I know where the time has gone; it has turned moments into memories. My mind and heart are becoming acquainted with the fact that life moves fast. Hospitality A few things I have been grateful for recently: my kind host who knitted me a beautiful pair …
Discovering Amman
“Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past.” Eliot, T.S. “Burnt Norton.” Four Quartets, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1971. The English major in me will always want to add poetry to my blog posts, but I chose this specific quote because I got to …
Vietnamese Lunar New Year!
Denver has a large Asian community, and Lunar New Year is a big celebration there! There is a place called the Far East Center which is an outdoor/indoor business space that has restaurants, stores with traditional artwork and food, bakeries with delicious treats, and even a place with freshly caught fish. The first store that …
Prague, Presidential Elections, and Panoramic Views
I must admit that as my plane touched down at the Prague airport and I looked out the window to discover snow on the tarmac, I felt a stab of trepidation. The little bit of anxiety wasn’t just because of the snow (our relatively mild Michigan winter spoiled me this year) but also because I …
Continue reading “Prague, Presidential Elections, and Panoramic Views”
Sefton Park
Happy Monday! I’m thankful to have one week of classes under my belt! With each passing day I feel a little bit more settled. Daily I learn something new, like the fact that there are no drinking fountains on LHU’s campus or that nobody closes the refrigerator doors in the grocers or that it costs …
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