End of Language Training

So...about that first night at my apartment. Little did I realize how hot it was going to get in my room. The heat, along with the sound of traffic with the windows open, were unbearable. Around 3:00am I walked over to my hotel room, which I had fortunately not checked out of because of my fear that something like this would happen. I cranked up the air conditioner (a luxury about the hotel I will miss) and slept for a few hours until I had to go to my last day of class.

My one month language training course is over. I'm glad to be able to have the relaxation time. For anyone ever considering coming to Jordan for a language training: I went to the Ali Baba International Center / Language Institute. It's a small, private company operated by Dr. Ali al-Hajj. He is very helpful, accommodating and enthusiastic about the success of his program. The cost was reasonable considering it included lodging and three meals for the duration of the program. The tuition however, is slightly more than what you would pay for University of Jordan summer Arabic class(es). However, the guidelines for the language training for Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars allows only one month, which was not available at the University. I mostly had a one on one session, which was not the original plan; but since each of the other students studying during the same time as me were at different levels, and so there was none of us could be in the same class. The lessons totaled 80 hours and were mostly Modern Standard Arabic (what is used for formal communication such as in the news, government and occasionally between people who don't understand each other's dialects.) I requested to a little bit of the colloquial for purposes of getting around on the street. While my Arabic professor was extremely nice and encouraging, she spoke very poor English. On occasion she would mis-translate words, which makes for confusion later on. There are plenty of teachers Dr. Ali knows, so one could always switch if needed. Here are some pictures:

('Ablah is on the right)









(Me studying)








My apartment is coming together nicely now. I bought several more things today. Since I got a fan I've been able to sleep at my apartment. I still have cockroaches, but I think there are less now. If they're not gone soon I'll get my own spray/powder and take matters into my own hands. The washing machine is "semi-automatic" meaning I have to dump buckets of water into it during the wash cycle, then drain it, then fill it up with more water to rinse and then drain it again. The dryer is a really small spin cycle only, so I hang the clothes up for another few hours to fully dry. While it's much more time consuming than I'm used to, it saves me from having to pay for dry cleaning everyday. Here are some pictures I took of the place...excuse the mess:





Ramadan starts on Tuesday. Life will be very slow during the daytime, as Muslims are required to fast from food and beverages from sunrise until sunset. One one of the receptionists at the hotel I was staying at invited me and some of the other hotel workers over for Ftoor (the big dinner after sundown). After a couple weeks I'll be volunteering with the Rotaract club to feed and hang out with the kids at orphanages.