Written by Clemencia El Antouri (University of Georgia), Student Correspondent for CET Jordan, Summer 2023
On my 13-hour plane ride here to Amman, Jordan, I wasn’t completely sure what to expect. Sure, I had researched and watched YouTube videos about Amman before booking my plane ticket; however, it is so different to view a place online versus in person. When I hopped off the plane and was in the taxi on the way to my hotel to meet with the other CET program participants, I was really surprised at how bustling and full of life the capital of Amman really is.
One of my favorite parts of Amman is how social and friendly everyone is. Every day once a local discovers that I am a foreigner, I am always greeted with “Welcome to Jordan.” Jordanians have been more than kind to me with practicing Arabic and will often go out of their way to teach me something new about the Arabic language and Jordanian culture.
Amman also has so much diversity that I didn’t expect; people from Palestinian, Egyptian, Sudanese, Syrian, Lebanese, Libyan, Iraqi, and so much more coexist in the same city. I also saw the diversity of religion through the easy accessibility of both mosques and churches.
Every day there is something new to see in Amman and new people to meet. Restaurants, cafes, gyms, shopping malls, and cinemas fill the city with constant excitement. Now that I have been here for a week, I have begun settling into a new routine from what I was accustomed to in the US. I’m starting to see familiar places in my neighborhood and getting to know the rest of the students and staff in the CET program. I am excited to experience these new beginnings in Jordan and see my growth over time.
