After some help from google translate to ensure I was spelling it correctly, the title of this post “ahlan wa sahlan al jama’a al urdineeh” was written in Arabic. This phrase translates to “Welcome to the University of Jordan!” (exclamation point added by yours truly).
Through my program I have officially became a student of the University of Jordan for the semester. The University of Jordan is the largest and oldest university in the country, but only founded in 1962! 1962! That’s only 50 years ago that higher education was taken seriously in Jordan. But since its founding public and private education has become an issue of immense importance for all ages.
To tell my taxi driver each morning that indeed, I am going to the University of Jordan to study, is always reciprocated with a glance of “wow” and perhaps some words of how his cousin also attended and how proud he is of him or her. Attending the university is for the best of the best here; my host mom told me that one needs at least a 85% on the rigorous state test to get in. I feel simply blessed that I am able to join this select community for a semester.
I started classes yesterday, and boy, am I in for a semester! Since the weekend runs from Friday to Saturday, classes began Sunday morning. Every morning I have beginning 1 Modern Standard Arabic and every other day I have Colloquial Arabic, the Environment and Politics of Water, and the Middle East: Alternative Perspectives. I’m really excited for my water class. Since I’m a Biology major, this is literally the only class that has anything to do with science, thus, I’m pepped!
Walking around campus is also an experience in its own! Compared to the 3min walk across Whitman, walking across UJ is a marathon! As I dodge direct sunlight by walking under the tree lined roads (gotta get my shade while I can), I notice the various students around me. I have seen women dressed in niqabs (everything covered except for the eyes), elaborate hijabs (a headscarf), and many in jeans and shirts. My favorite has been a women wearing her hijab, but in full makeup and designer skinny jeans – so unexpected! It’s interesting, wearing a hijab has many different purposes: for some its a sign of religious devotion, but for others it’s simply a cultural habit. For these women, their mothers, or grandmothers, or friends wear it, so they wear it. They might not be the most devout muslim, but they do it because their culture does it. If you think about it, its similar to how women in America wear white dresses on their wedding. There’s no law against wearing that bright lime green dress on one’s wedding, but what would people think!
Studying Arabic is so fun. But, oh so hard! I embrace the challenge of learning a new script, reading right to left, opening books ‘backwards’, and even making weird gargling sounds to pronounce letters that have no English equivalent. Although I’m just a beginner at learning Arabic, I feel as though I have learned so much already. I can’t imagine what it will be like in 3.5 months after actively engaging this language. It’s already been an adventure, and its only the beginning. There’s a phrase in Arabic , insha’Allah, that translates to “If God Wills”. Most Jordanians freely say this when talking about future events and it has become one of my favorite phrases to say. And with learning Arabic I feel like it is highly relevant. But if I have anything to say about it, I’m gonna learn it and it’s gonna be great… insha’Allah.
Till next time, salaam.
