Ajloun Adventures

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Here is a photo of Ajloun Castle taken by my friend Becca when we visited last week.

This week was our first week of Arabic classes. Boy what a wakeup call that was. My Arabic is very limited to basic conversations and Iโ€™m better with the local dialect in Jordan than I am with the academic Modern Standard Arabic. We spend about 5 hours in class a day and thankfully my class is small so itโ€™s much easier for me to get my questions answered. Iโ€™m making more of an effort to talk to y taxi and Uber drivers in Arabic. They are always willing to help, and itโ€™s been a great way to pick up on slang and informal vocabulary that the typical Arabic textbooks usually omit.

The Palestinian family Iโ€™m living with is also extremely helpful and patient with me. Iโ€™ve found it helpful to listen to their conversations in Arabic and pick out the words I recognize and try to get the general idea of what theyโ€™re discussing. Once they finish a sentence of thought, theyโ€™ll turn to me and tell me in English what they said. When communicating with them, I use the Arabic words I know, and I use English for the words I donโ€™t know. I already feel like Iโ€™m making a meaningful improvement here.

On Thursday, the 28th we went to Ajloun which is a really interesting place in Northern Jordan. We met with an organization that puts on events and outdoor activities for Jordanian children. It was great opportunity to practice our Arabic and play some games with them. The children were very patient with me as I put together basic sentences. After that, we went to Ajloun castle which was very interesting. I had been there last semester with my other program, but the structure is a great experience.

Walking through something with such a long history is fascinating. To think about how many people over the course of hundreds of years have walked in the same path you have is humbling. Getting to do it with your friends only sweetens the deal. This week Iโ€™ll be going to the Jordan Museum here in Amman. It has long been on my list of things to do here and Iโ€™m finally checking it off so look forward to pictures from that. On an unacademic note, I highly recommend the restaurant Shawerma Zarb near Abdali mall if anyone reading this is ever in Amman. Best shawarma in town.