A Walk-About Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

It was the right amount of academic rigor to push our vocabulary expansion, reading abilities, and listening skills while also recognizing that we are abroad and want time to explore and have fun.

On-site administration of your program

Most of the time on-site staff and administration was excellent. Truly phenomenal. Kristen and Udai are great program administrators.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

There's nothing really to complain about my host in particular. I know there were difficult family circumstances during the term which limited her ability to be present, but that's okay. The physical components of the house were completely satisfactory - plenty of food, shower abilities, laundry times, good and warm bedding. I not only had a private room, but a private bathroom. The flat was very nice.

There was always plenty of food. It was never poor quality or anything like that. Most of the time, the daughter of my host who lived in the same apartment cooked both for me and her own student from the Middlebury program, but not from Middlebury College. There was always generous quantities and I never went hungry. In fact, it was the opposite. The daughter piled on massive amounts of food for both myself and her student and she frequently made clear that it was a personal offense if we were unable to complete all the food. I know this is a common stereotype about Jordanian mothers, but she honestly meant it and took it seriously. She very clearly treated me better than her host student and cited the fact that I finish the food she gave me while he could not. Overall, this was an annoyance for me but didn't really have any major negative affects on my study abroad experience. I can't say the same for my friend who was hosted by the daughter.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Completely at ease and comfortable being in the city and throughout parts of the country. I frequently used public transportation without any hesitation. I frequently engaged in conversation with individuals walking in the city and with taxi drivers. Although staff may not have liked to hear this, I along with two other friends felt comfortable enough with the local culture to participate in hitchhiking and couchsurfing. I didn't quite fit into the cafe culture and the preference for a number of students to hang out at these shops.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I didn't have any experiences but I found that information was very accessible if necessary.

From my point of view, Amman seems like a safe city. I had no major concerns, just standard moments of readjusting my course of action when necessary, such as switching which side of the road I walked on at evening/night to avoid shabaab or other small groups of hooligans (as is typical in any city in the world). Biggest safety concern is by far driving. Seat belts are rarely worn and not always even existent in taxis. Many taxis don't have adequate vents to prevent the windowshield from fogging up in the rain. I always used either taxis or buses and never actually had a safety issue, but I could clearly see there was the elevated potential for one. I did drive a rental car for a total of 15 days in Jordan and can confidently say that driving is very aggressive in Amman, especially during Ramadan, but that it's very straightforward outside of the city.

I love Jordan and find it a great country to drive, explore, hike, and bus around.

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

Very easy when you use mostly bus, have students nearby to split taxis, and specifically object to the use of Uber.

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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• Americans
• International Students

• It was in Amman
• The teachers and staff
• The trips

• More explicit and a helpful guidance in the process of renewing our visa. I had to do it on my own while other students were approached by the university to have it done for them. I found that information in the syllabus regarding which police/ government offices to go to were not correct.
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The Avid Adventurer