Jordan: Emmalyn Bergman (Sustainability in Amman)

Program: SIT Refugees, Health, and Humanitarian Action in Jordan, Spring

Growing up in Lake Country, Wisconsin, I was constantly surrounded by water. There were three ponds in my neighborhood and a lake was never more than half a mile away in any direction. In just a small corner of my county, there were dozens upon dozens of sources of freshwater.
Jordan is not Lake Country.

Jordan is one of the most water scarce countries in the world, second only to Qatar. Because of its scarcity, water is interacted with in a much different way, with access to water and the prevention of its waste defining key aspects of daily routines. Water is delivered to most Jordanians only once a week and kept in rooftop tanks. Unlike where I grew up, water is finite. Showers are limited to less than 10 minutes (ideally five) not only to generally save water, but also because if the water tanks run out before the end of the week, there is simply no more running water until the next delivery. Laundry day is also once a week, falling on delivery day.

Jordan also has different attitudes towards drinking water. As the program director, Dr Abdulhaq, once told us at a group dinner, “I’m Jordanian, I don’t drink water.” Because water is so scarce, many Jordanians primarily drink other beverages. As someone who is accustomed to bringing a reusable water bottle with me nearly everywhere I go, this norm was definitely an adjustment for me.

Studying in Amman has made me much more conscious of my water usage. While I previously had a few habits to limit my water consumption, such as turning off the tap while brushing my teeth, Jordan has led me to make many more substantial changes. For example, I only fill my water bottle twice a day, once in the morning at my home stay and once before I leave at the SIT offices, in order to limit my impact on each of their water sources.

Living in Jordan has made me incredibly conscious of every drop of water I consume as well as the ways I was unintentionally wasting water back in the US. In the future, I plan to continue to minimize my water consumption like I do in Jordan. I can’t believe I ever took 20 minute showers!