Wow it's November already?

Time has been both an enemy and a friend recently. I've been very stressed out with all my classes, not to mention the looming case study for my internship. I cant believe it's already November, but I also am counting down the days until I step off the plane in December. My mixed emotions have continued, I feel out of place here, like I will never fully fit in. Part of me feels like I am missing out, I wish I could travel more and see more places while Im abroad, but I have so much work I have to stay committed.

My friends and I are planning a trip to Syria over the next Eid (break) which is around 4 days right at the end of November. I am bummed I am going to miss out on Thanksgiving, it will be my first official Holiday away from home :( as well as my 21st birthday. I'm sure the celebration will continue once I return home though, and I know my roommates have some stuff planned here :) Other than that things are pretty low key. I've really cracked down and started researching for my Case Study and have been productive. I honestly dont have that many class days left, I think we are down to 23 or something like that. Its really close, but far away. Ive got a ton to accomplish before I wrap the semester up.

As for Jordan, I found a blog of a student who studied here over a year ago... he had a really great post of "typical life" here... thought I'd share it with everyone!

Arabisms

You know you’re in Jordan if:

• The policemen carry AK-47s and wear camo.
• The graffiti crudely spray-painted all over the concrete walls either 1) contains a religious phrase praising God, or 2) advertises for some local business.
• None of the signs written in English are grammatically correct.
• Crossing the road is an act of faith and everyone is devoutly religious.
• American fast food places are ritzy.
• American fast food places do delivery.
• American fast food is ridiculously expensive.
• Taking out your Gateway 2000 desktop computer that’s been in storage since 1999 and starting a local internet cafe with it sounds like a good idea.
• The local microbus has “what God wills!” written above the door and plays Qur’anic verses after sunset.
• Even though the women show infinitely less skin than they do in America, they have a much more heightened sense of fashion.
• Climbing around on the thousand year old local ruins isn’t only allowed, it’s encouraged.
• People teach or run a business during the day and drive a taxi during the night.
• Everyone out in the country honks and waves for you and invites you over for dinner.
• The local bookstore carries twice as many religious books as anything else.
• Any article of clothing with any kind of English printed on it–no matter what it says or whether it even makes sense–is posh.
• Local traffic laws would make more sense if you posted them at the bumper car arena at the theme park back home.
• Several newspapers refers to Israel as “the Zionist entity,” not as a sovereign nation.
• Men hold men’s hands and women hold women’s hands, and nobody has a problem with it, but it’s rare to see a man holding a woman’s hand.
• Cell phones double as boom boxes.
• Even though the streets are abhorrently filthy, everyone’s clothes are immaculately clean.
• The television is another member of the family.
• When you go to pay a taxi driver and ask for change, he responds by saying “no, that’s alright.”
• You go to the bathroom and instead of toilet paper you find a hose.
• Watermelon is the quintessential after-dinner dessert.
• Copyright doesn’t exist, especially for pirated DVDs.
• Olive trees are so common, they grow uncultivated on the roadside in some places.
• Taxi drivers try to pick up passengers by honking at every pedestrian walking on the side of the road.
• You can enjoy fireworks every night from all of the wedding celebrations.
• When you’re driving in the country and you pass a village, you have to slow down for the speed bumps.
• There are metal detectors at the gates of all the malls and hotels, but nobody cares if you set them off…repeatedly…

That's all for now... Ma'salaama :)