Quick Post from Jordan

Wow it's been a crazy few days! I finally managed some time for a quick post in between all the orientaion activities!

I've been in Jordan for 3 days now and have to say it is BEAUTIFUL! The weather is so amazing and the city has so much personality! The first day I explored the city a little with my Dad and we had a nice french dinner. After checking me into my program my Dad and I said our goodbyes ( tear) and I started orientation.

I immediately dried my tears and made some friends and we all went off and explored some ancient ruins and a Temple, then after we went out for a night on the town! Yesterday, I traveled to the Dead Sea with my program for a grand Jordanian Welcome and honestly experienced the most breath-taking view of my life. I only wish my pictures could accurately portray how powerful the dead sea was. A group of girls in my program and I got covered in "mineral mud" and swam, well floated in the extremely salty water. It was the coolest thing to float in water without even trying, swimming on the other hand was a challenge.

Today, I took the hardest Arabic test of my life to determine my placement, 17 pages and 3 hours later, I had an oral interview in Arabic, which was also an interesting experience. I toured my new campus at the University of Jordan, watched a film on King Abdullah and registered for my classes. Two local NGO's have shown interest in my resume, so I have two AMERICAN interviews in the upcoming weeks and hopefully I will land some type of internship! Tonight is the last night of Orientation, we have a big Iftar dinner (breaking of the fast) and then tomorrow I move into my new apartment! Keep your fingers crossed for good roommates :) Once Im all settled in I will post again! Ma'salaama!

Dubai Pictures

The Villa!

Part of the souk

Painted camel that are done by artists and are all over the City!
Another Souk shot

Dad and me in first class, BIG smiles!

Ahlan from Dubai!

Ahlan wa Sahlan! Hello and welcome from Dubai. My Dad and I arrived late last night after a long flight from Dulles to Qatar and then from Qatar to the UAE. We were graciously welcomed by his co-worker Joe and Joe's lovely wife Lumenita. We're staying at a beautiful Villa owned by my Dad's company right out of the heart of Dubai.


My first impression of Dubai (besides the smoltering heat) was one of complete and utter shock. This place is so extravagent, it looks like Las Vegas mixed with NYC, with HUGE skyscrapers, beautiful buildings and all the lights. It is a very hot spot in the Middle East, and proves to be very Westernized. It almost feels like home, to be honest, everything is written in both Arabic and English and there's a Starbucks or McDonalds on every other street corner! To one side of the city there is the gulf, the water's crystal clear and is a magnificent shade of green. To the other side is the desert, a vast space of sandy dunes as far as the eye can see. The desert is beautiful in its own right too.


Today, after a good night's rest, I experienced my first "call to prayer", done 5 times a day, I'm sure I'll be getting used to it! After a needed cup of qawa (coffee) Joe and Lumenita gave me a quick tour of the city. First, we went to a "souk" or market, and enjoyed a wonderful Thai lunch. Since it is Ramandan, many restaurants are closed, so finding one that's open and serving food was a large challenge. After lunch, we walked around the souk and I saw the worlds ONLY 7 star hotel! We then headed to the "mall of the emirates". Let me preface by saying I was on a mission to find a new suitcase (a liter of shampoo exploded in one of mine during travel, leaving me with tons of suds and a big mess to deal with, needless to say although I flew first class, my luggage did not) During the summer months the malls are a big hangout because of the heat, which is almost unbearable. You can even cool off and ski inside on the indoor ski slope if your heart desires! I walked out of the villa this morning and my sunglasses immediately fogged up, "It happens ALL the time" , Joe says to me. I also wanted to buy some light linen pants, that are very fashionable here, if of course your not covered from head to toe in a black muslim female's veil. We struck out at the mall of the emriates but found success at the Ibn battuta mall which is very close to the villa. Both malls were AMAZING, with many designer stores and crazy cool architecture. Tonight after the "breaking of the fast" tons of places are going to open up and many muslims stay up all night eating and drinking tea, so we are going out on the town for some good food! Im hoping to catch up on some sleep, my body's starting to feel all the travel. Hoping all is well in America! Will write soon! Ramandan Kareem! Ma'salaama!

Goodbye Home sweet home :)

I leave today and am not sure quite how to feel. I've honestly got about a million thoughts running through my mind and am on the biggest emotional roller coaster of my life! I just want to thank everyone for all the support and prayers, I know this is going to be an amazing experience but it's nice to have good family and friends behind me. My dad and I are taking off to D.C. this afternoon to catch our evening flight to Qatar. I'm lucky because I will be flying "Raymond Petty Style" which means business class the whole way BABY!!! I will take some pictures and post again soon, which will be the first time from an Arab country! I love you Beka and Forrest, have a great school year and make me proud! Mom, you're seriously AMAZING for giving me all the life opportunities and unconditional love and support. I know it's going to be hard for us "besties" to be apart, but I promise Ill come home with some great stories and lots of presents. Oh, and you know we will skype ALL the time :) Take care of the cats for me, esp Jojo, haha I know she's a pain. So I guess that's all, until next time. Ma'salama

The last supper

Tonight I headed into D.C. with the family for one of our last family meals before I leave. We ate at "Fogo de Chao" an AMAZING Brazilian steakhouse that provides customers with a "marathon" of meat. Each person is given a poker chip with a red and green side, once you're ready, you flip to green and the feast begins! The dining room is filled with men with huge scewers of 16 different cuts of beef, chicken, and pork, all slowly roasted over a fire and served table side. Once you've gotten a few slices of meat, you flip to red and enjoy! The "flipping" process continues until you have to unbutton the top button of your pants and crawl out of the restaurant! I'll tell you, us Petty's really put away some fine food this evening! Beka starts high school tomorrow and Forrest, my mom and I are going to enjoy the last bit of summer! 2 days till I leave for Qatar, then soon after my Dad and I will spend some time in the UAE! Ma' salama!

Packing will be the death of me!

SO... wow, this is my first post! I just wanted to get my blog up and running before I actually head out of the country. It's Saturday night and I just spent a depressing hour on facebook reading about how ALL my friends are heading back to Villanova to begin the new school year. While I did NOT miss packing up my truck with all the typical college things, I DO miss being on Nova's campus seeing everyone for the first time since summer. I have however been massively packing, unpacking and re-packing for my trip abroad. Seems my program and the airline have limited me to two bags (ONLY 2) for four months. I think I could probably fill up one with all my makeup and shoes. So, needless to say, the last month has been a challenge, choosing which parts of my American life to bring and which parts to leave at home. I have finally finished, after weeks of shopping, organizing and making list after list, I believe I am finally done getting everything ready. I have a few last minute items to add before my flight Wed. morning, but my last few days at home should be fairly stress-free. I'm planning on spending lots of quality time with the fam and seeing a few more close friends. Tomorrow we are heading into D.C. for a nice dinner, and shooting our infamous "Petty Christmas Card", my Mom's been nagging Beka, Forrest and I to pick out some matching outfits. I'll probably post once more before I leave, my nerves havent gotten the best of me yet! Until then, ma'salama (goodbye in arabic)!