It was a beautiful time, but as the month drew to an end, I got ready to begin my new adventure which was going to Pakistan and working on a new project. My purpose in Pakistan was two-fold: intern at Aman Foundation and get a flavor of what it is like to work at a foundation aiming to measure and evaluate data related to NGOs' performance in Pakistan and also lead a summer leadership training project for 15 students selected to study at United World Colleges around the world. Here's a photo of me at the Aman Foundation's office (on the far right):
And a selfie with the students(me on the right!):
After a fulfilling and eye-opening experience in Pakistan, once again, I packed my bags, said my goodbyes and flew to Jordan for my study-abroad experience.
I knew I had only one semester in Jordan and wanted to make the most of it. Right away, I started learning Ammiya (local dialect in Jordan) because I had only studied Fusha Arabic (traditional) at Middlebury. I tried to talk to my host family as much as possible to not only increase my vocabulary but also understand Jordanian culture, food, traditions through their eyes. My host mom and host sister talked to me in depth about Jordanian culture, women's rights in Jordan, and of course politics and about the divide between East and West. I also explored the major cities and places in Jordan: Amman, Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba, Karak, Irbid, Jerash, Ajloun and others. I took Media in the Arab world, Politics in the Middle East, Fusha and Ammiya as my courses and generally improved my speaking, writing and listening skills. Here is a photo of me enjoying nuts, standing on the back of a jeep on our trip to Wadi Rum (my second favorite place in Jordan, first is Petra of course!):
After my wonderfully challenging semester in Jordan, I traveled to Dubai and California and finally came to back to Middlebury after a long adventure consisting of 9 months of hot sunny weather and beautiful breezes to freezing, snowy and beautiful Middlebury. Second semester of Junior year has been amazing so far. The best part have to be the courses (after studying abroad, you realize how perfect Middlebury classes are). I am taking Econ stats, Japanese Economy, International Economics and Arabic and I love all of them one more than the other. I am also doing yoga with the yoga club and keeping myself busy by working out regularly. Some fun things that have happened so far in this semester: did a radio show in Arabic with my friend on my study-abroad experience, signed up for a yoga retreat in April, went to Miami for the first time to attend CGIU!! It is such a beautiful city and I loved my experience there. I will write about my CGIU experience in another post, but here is a photo for now with my friend Rohma:
It is spring break now and I am flying to California tomorrow to speak at a panel for the opening of the Center for Social Impact Learning Center at Monterey! I will keep this blog updated with news, and new projects and random thoughts or ideas to promote well-being and happiness (which is what I am getting increasingly interested in). Thank you for reading :)
“People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spot blues. Murky darkness. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief (my favorite book and movie right now)
