Camel ride in the desert
Author: Lydia Samoff | Major: Pre-Nursing | Semester: Fall 2022
Studying abroad in Jordan with the School for International Training (SIT) was one of the hardest things I’ve done, but also one of the best. I visited the biggest refugee camp in the Middle East, shadowed healthcare workers who serve refugees, and became a part of a Jordanian family. I adventured to Petra, one of the wonders of the world, traveled to Turkey, and fell in love with falafel. The semester challenged me academically, socially, and emotionally, and caused me to grow in confidence and independence. The entire time was only three and a half months, but I found myself growing attached to people and communities faster than my first year at the University of Arkansas.
This semester was significant in my academic and career journey. As a pre-nursing major, I knew my space for studying abroad would be limited. Based on advice from my academic advisor, I decided to go for the fall semester of my sophomore year. I knew I was interested in working internationally with refugees but wanted to have a better understanding of what that meant, so as I looked for programs, I was more interested in the theme of the program than the location. I found a program through SIT which takes place in Jordan with the theme of refugees, health, and humanitarian action that seemed to check all my boxes, so I went for it.
The program included a variety of experiences very different from a semester at the U of A. First was that I lived with a Jordanian host family during my stay. Having a homestay family turned out to be a great cultural experience. I learned a lot about Arab culture and hospitality simply observing the day-to-day interactions of my homestay family and conversing with them.
Another aspect of the program different from a normal semester was all of the excursions our program took. We went to various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that served refugees and vulnerable populations, including an organization that provided care for girls who had aged out of orphanages and an after-school program that provided a safe space for school-aged children. Other excursions included trips to Petra and the port city of Aqaba as well as an international excursion to Istanbul.
The last unique aspect of this semester was the classes were condensed to the first couple of months so that the last month we could do an internship with a local NGO. I interned at an organization called Institute for Family Health. During this internship I spent my days either shadowing at a medical and psychosocial clinic or going to an office to learn about the administrative side of humanitarian projects.
There was a lot of travel packed into our semester, but there were also the ordinary days of ubering through the sandy-colored apartment buildings of Amman, the capital city. There were days of going to class, eating shawarma from the street, picking my way between olive trees planted in the sidewalks, and drinking black tea with fresh mint with my homestay family. One of the beautiful things about studying abroad for a semester is that you have enough time to just live everyday life in a different country. One of my favorite activities in a normal week was playing ultimate frisbee with a club I found in Amman. The relationships I made there were some of my favorites.
During our classes we discussed the regional conflicts that have caused waves of refugees to come to Jordan, especially Syrians and Palestinians. We discussed international standards in humanitarian action, and challenges refugees face in Jordan regarding lack of job opportunity and needs in education. It was a great start learning about refugees and humanitarian action, but the more I learned, the more I realized how little I actually knew. My desire is to continue to learn as I head back to U of A and begin nursing school this spring.
One of the highlights and frustrations of my semester was in language learning. I went into the program knowing pretty much zero Arabic! It’s a beautiful language, and I wish I could have been able to communicate with people better. For future students, because the focus of this program is not learning Arabic, more could be gained from the internship if basic communication is already mastered. That being said, I would still recommend the program to those who have never studied Arabic before, like myself.
The second piece of advice I would offer concerning all study abroad programs is to talk with an alumnus of your specific program before you go. The alumnus of the SIT program I spoke with offered me advice that impacted how I prepared and gave me a better idea of what to expect. She was also the one who made me aware of the ultimate frisbee group in Amman.
As I was preparing to leave Jordan, my sweet Jordanian host mom gave me a two-liter plastic Pepsi bottle full of olives that she had made for me to take back to the States. It was a great gift to sum up my time because olive trees are abundant in Amman and olives are a natural part of the diet. However, as I stuck it in my suitcase, I was more concerned about my bag’s weight and whether the bottle would make it all the way back. Thankfully it did, but when I opened up the bottle with my grandma in California we found that the olives were not finished curing yet. Because of this, the olives joined my family on a multiple day road trip back to our home in Arkansas. These olives are a good reminder that it will take a while for me to fully process all of my experiences and lessons learned while abroad. It was just three and a half months, but I hope that the lessons will bear fruit for years to come.