Jordan: Ayah Amer
Program: CIEE Advanced Arabic Language and Summer Arabic Language in Amman, Summer
Ayah’s Major: Neurobiology and Psychology
What is your most memorable experience from your program?
The most memorable thing about my program was the people that I met and the conversations that we had with one another. Whether these conversations were with locals or my peers from around the United States who also had a passion for learning Arabic, there was so much to learn from everyone and their individual life experiences.
To students looking to connect to their roots, I highly recommend taking on a study abroad experience in a country that will provide you with that opportunity.
What is the moment you are most proud of?
A driving factor for my selection of this program was my grandparents, who primarily speak Arabic. While I was abroad in Jordan, my grandparents spent some time in Amman before heading to their home in Palestine for the summer. I met up with them during their short stay and immediately recognized how far my fluency in Arabic had progressed since being in Jordan and spending everyday conversing with locals. I was proud of how much I had learned in such a short time and my ability to communicate them with a level of fluency I never had before.
How did your identities impact your experience? What advice would you give to students with similar identities who are considering a similar experience?
Living in a country where my identity as a Palestinian was not only shared with a large number of people, but also welcomed with such a sincere warmth was unlike anything I had experienced before. I felt a deep sense of community, where my cultural background fit into a majority, rather than a small minority among other small minorities. Walking into restaurants or cafes and hearing the music I grew up listening to at home—classics like Fairuz or Abdel Halim Hafiz—and immersing myself in the language spoken by all past generations of my family provided me with a deeper connection to them and our history. To students looking to connect to their roots, I highly recommend taking on a study abroad experience in a country that will provide you with that opportunity.