Navigating Amman: Academics, Culture, and Adventure April 14, 2024

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The courses were interesting and engaging. All of my professors were excellent educators. The language courses were selected for us based on proficiency tests, and we additionally chose electives suited to our interests. The assignments were helpful and useful to our learning. The homework was very manageable. The assessments were graded fairly and professors were always willing to provided feedback and assistance.

On-site administration of your program

The administration is superb, the directors and program assistants are the core of this program and they do incredible work to support students during their experience abroad.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I feel that my language skills improved significantly in part due to living in a homestay and speaking with my host mom every day about a variety of topics. It was also an important cultural experience for me. At the same time, I would have preferred to have more independence in taking care of my personal needs. The water crisis in Jordan made any water related tasks especially difficult; for instance, my host mom limited my laundry to one medium sized load once per week, shower usage was only allowed every other day, etc.

My host mom clearly stated from the beginning of the program that she did not like to cook and it was just too much time and effort for her. I met with a program assistant and we spoke about the possibility of adding more fruits and vegetables to my diet; when my host mom was informed, she was very upset and accused me of making a deliberate complaint about her to the program. Most days for breakfast I was given a small tupperware of fruit (e.g. some apples slices and a few grapes) and butter on bread, for lunch was leftovers from dinner the day (or 3-4 days) before, and dinner was most often chicken and rice. Every Friday, the extended family would visit the home and my host mom would prepare a very nice, delicious meal for her children and their partners, grandchildren, friends, and living in the home, I was also expected to join. Despite this, I believe that my home stay was an exception in regard to food, as when I spoke with every other student they said they were all very satisfied with the quality and enjoyed trying the authentic Jordanian dishes their families prepared for them.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt fairly comfortable being a part of Jordanian society. I used the public transit bus every day to get to the university and back, and also to explore the downtown area. I went to cafes and restaurants, malls, etc. alone and I felt alright. I was very fortunate to have been paired with an amazing language partner for my community engagement throughout the semester, and our time together chatting and visiting places really made such a difference to my experience abroad, and especially getting to know the local culture. The same could be said about our mentors, Jordanian students directly enrolled at the university, that accompanied us on trips and made plans with us to go out and explore the city.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had no experience with healthcare, but other students seemed to have a positive experience.

I feel that the city is pretty safe. As a female student, there were a few occasions that taxi drivers would try to flirt with me, give me compliments, ask me if I'm married, etc. For this reason, I started to use Uber instead, and drivers were almost always just silent and chill.

The program was so well-organized. I was extremely impressed with the administration since orientation week, and felt that I had been given all of the tools and resources to have a successful, meaningful, and fulfilling study abroad experience. In addition, my language skills improved dramatically due to the language pledge and constant language reinforcement at the homestay with my host family, at the university with students and professors, and in the city with friends and locals. This was an unforgettable, invaluable experience that I would absolutely choose again if given the opportunity.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students

• Academics
• Administration
• Excursions

• Integration
• Homestay

The Academic or Linguist