Saturday, January 9, 2010

first post

here it is. the first blog post we've all been waiting for!

...or not. but here goes:

i'm getting ready to head to jordan for six months (well, 5 and a half). that will be the longest time i've spent away from my friends and family, and certainly the longest i've spent out of the country.

i'm so so so so so so so so so excited to go (did i put enough 'so's?) i want to learn arabic and live in the middle east. i want to speak arabic with the people who live in it and think in it, and hopefully i will be able to think in it after living in it for so long. i'm excited to see new places, to try new things, to eat new foods, to hear new sounds, to meet to people. i want to see this infamous 'conflict' from a new perspective, and to understand what it means to appreciate the ever-valuable resource of water. i can't wait for the olives and dates, zeit waa zataar, kahoua aswad (shukran, abu yosef).

but i'm scared. not about cultural differences or seemingly uncomfortable standards of living--i can't wait for those things! i am so excited for new things, for awkward moments of cultural ignorance, for crazy cab drivers, for greasy street food, for trying to explain 'vegetarianism' to people who love lamb (yes, i will be eating meat. yes, that is one thing i am not overly excited about), and for using 'arabian' toilets in public places and running out of my personal stash of toilet paper.

what i'm afraid of being away from friends, especially those that i've come to be so close with this semester. i'm afraid of being too nervous to speak. i'm afraid of not being able to speak with men because i'm a girl (a young lady, as they say). i'm afraid that i will have waisted this year if i don't become fluent.

so that being said, i'm going to use this blog talk about everything, from how often i can shower to how long the ferry from aqaba to nuweiba takes, so that all of my far away friends and family can read my ideas (fikrat) and listen to me talk about how many falafel sandwiches i eat in a day.

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