Another semester is done and boy am I relieved. I feel pretty exhausted, although I must admit that I just spent a half hour reviewing vocabulary words. I can't stop studying, but I definitely plan to slow down during the break. I feel I have learned a ton of Arabic in the six months we have been here, but also a lot about the culture/society here. I, by no means profess to be an expert, but I feel like I understand much more than I did before as a result of the numerous conversations I have had with folks here and from watching and reading the local/regional news. I wish more people could see and experience the things we have. I think it is difficult to comprehend how poorly informed and misinformed we are about the rest of the world, as a result of our pitiful news media, until you live outside of the U.S. for a while. I strongly recommend reading the Economist for anyone seeking an informative and balanced, English language news source.
With that said, I definitely have a greater appreciation for how good we have it in the U.S. and am looking forward to coming back in five months or so. Aside from my friends and family, there are a whole host of creature comforts that I miss and long for. In the short term, I am looking forward to getting the heck out of Amman for a while and enjoying the creature comforts of a hotel in Aqaba. I guess I am tired of Amman and the noise and pollution that go along with it and just need some quiet and fresh air to "get my mind right."
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