My First Jordanian Wedding

On Our Way My ears are still thumping from last night when I had the privilege of attending my first Jordanian and Muslim wedding. After a week of orientation, I was picked up from the Grand Hyatt in Jabal, Amman, and swept to Sweileh, a neighborhood in northwestern Amman. At 4:30, I rode with my …

The one where the Earth trembles

“Sarah, Sarah!! Grab your chanclas and come downstairs!! Hurry!” Dee cried out to me as the world’s most horrid sound blared in the background.  In a state of confusion, I rushed downstairs and out the door just as the ground began to shake, the telephone poles swaying and dogs howling in reaction. Oh how little I …

Many Miles to Mexico

“Wait a minute, you’re scared!” my friend proclaimed. “Correction, I’m absolutely terrified,” I laughed with a look of panic in my eye. This exchange happened no earlier than a week ago and while I have managed to calm myself down, my wariness remains. In T-24 hours I embark on my semester abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico …

Two Days ’til Takeoff

Hey guys, I’m Leah, and in just a few days, I will be writing to you from Amman, Jordan! I am going into my senior year here at Hope College and will be wrapping up my degree in Global Studies and Spanish. It has been a wild few years on campus, and I am so …

Exploring Florida Culture

A wise man once said that “one safari leads to another” (Oscar Mbogo Paschal). When we were told we had to evacuate Kenya do to COVID, we were not given instructions on where to go. All we knew was that the rest of our program was online and we could not remain in their country. …

ISP Week

SIT is a school for hands-on learning experiences. One of those experiences offered across all of their programs is the Independent Study Project, better known as the ISP. Under normal circumstances, the ISP involves a prep week, three weeks of data collection, and then one week to work on a paper. Under COVID circumstances, they …

Free Time around the Coast

Our free time around Kilifi was far and few in between, but we made sure to make the most of it. Activities in the immediate area included tuk tuk rides around town, trips to one of the local beaches (sometimes waaay too early), walks through the mangroves, and rides on the Waka Waka, which was …

Coastal Ecology

As soon as we were able, our professors got us back to learning ecological research methods, only this time it was in water. With the help of local guides, we were able to visit a variety of marine parks in and around the Kilifi area. Local seagrass expert Dr. Charles headed up our field data …

Kilifi Life

We finally arrived to Kenya on the 13th of March. We got to Kilfi in the evening following an 8 hour drive; we were all tired, sweaty, and ready for bed. The next morning, we got to see just where SIT had elected to set us up for the foreseeable future. So far as quarantine …

Kiswahili Crunch Time!

Just prior to our Serengeti Safari, we were informed that the U.S. Department of State decided to upgrade the travel advisory in Tanzania from a level three to a level four. The reason why is still a mystery since Tanzania has not been reporting their COVID case load, from the beginning. Per SIT’s guidelines, this …