I Journeyed to the Center of the World! Past Review
By Rebekah L (International Relations and Affairs., Tufts University) for
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury In Amman
I think this was hard semester for both Middlebury and me. They were struggling to start up a new program on the fly, and this was my one semester to be Rebekah at large in the Middle East. Sometimes these goals conflicted. Nevertheless, I gained a lot of self-dependency, confidence, and real-life experience. If I hadn't taken the initiative to learn learn learn about the people and places and ideas I encountered, I wouldn't have gotten a lot of it. But I did (even though it was easy to get stuck in a rut at times) and ended up learning a lot about myself and politics and culture in the Middle East.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was quite reasonable. As you can imagine with an immersion program, it was quite language-intensive, but worth it in the end. Teachers were good at incorporating human interest and political discussion into the courses to make it more applicable to our areas of interest. The grading was quite fair and Middlebury made sure to work with the teachers so that the grading system would match with US institutions'. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
This was the pilot program of Middlebury in Amman and the administration worked hard to make it a success. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge several shortcomings. Middlebury promotes a "do it yourself" philosophy, which was great for having the freedom to explore and get to know Jordan in a more personal way. But Middlebury could have done more programming and orientation for us. It was nearly impossible to find an internship or to get invovled in extracurriculars. I do know that the administration is working hard to make these available for future students though and it had a lot to do with fall 2011 being a trial run. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Middlebury normally sets study abroad students up with either a host-family or local roommate. If this option is available, you should absolutely take it. Not having the option was one of the biggest hinderences on cultural and language immersion. |
| * Food: |
I was vegetarian throughout and it was really easy. We cooked almost entirely for ourselves. As for going out to eat, as you might expect there was a light of falafel and hummus. It was great. Didn't get sick of it at any point. If you are a vegetarian, it might be worth breaking it for a meal just to see what all the rage about Mensif is over. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Several field trips were arranged and they were a ton of fun. We generally went as a 25-person group, which was really great. They took us to places we might not have gotten to on our own, but many of us returned in smaller groups later on in the semester. When I think of the highlights of my abroad experience they all involve just heading out into the desert or going on incredible hikes. The independence Middlebury gave us allowed us to meet local people in a much more personal way. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Even though Amman is known for being the modern center of the Arab World, there are plently of cultural differences that will make you question this description. It was very hard to be a woman there and travelling to other countries. That doesn't make it not worth it, but you do have force yourself not to get upset by verbal harassment. The program was generally concerned about our comfort and made safety a number-one priority. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save all your money for travelling. I travelled to Egypt for $150, Israel/West Bank for $150, and others travelled to Lebanon for $300. It's a lot, but those are the times we remembered. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Keep the language pledge! It's scary out first, but you get really used to it and it is very much worth it. The success of your experience is completely dependent on the extent to which you keep the langauge pledge and experiment with new words and phrases. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Expect it to be hard at times. Amman is a modern city, but the people are not all that "modern" by Western cultural ideals. Travel as much as you can! Every weekend if possible. Go in small groups and don't plan too much ahead. Rent a car and drive into the desert. Don't get stuck in ruts. |
