Kyle is in Amman, Jordan for the semester on BYU's Jordan Intensive Arabic Study Abroad!! I am incredibly sad to be away from him but so proud of the work he has accomplished to get to this point (4 semesters of accelerated Arabic). With my extra time, I have felt so blessed to be working a second job at a residential treatment center that I have fallen in love with!
The BYU students live in groups in multiple apartment buildings in the heart of Amman. They walk to the Qasid Institute every day for classes, and then have several hours of homework and are assigned to connect with native Arabic speakers in the community for at least three hours a day. Kyle has met the most amazing people, especially several Syrian refugees with incredible life stories.
This is a sand storm in Amman in the middle of 100+ degree weather. Super gross! They had to wear masks and limit their exposure outdoors for several days.
Kyle has been eating the most delicious fresh foods for pennies in American money. I seriously cannot wait to try that hummus.
The market by the mosque at night.
Not sure what was happening here ;)
This is the city of Jerash, filled with ancient Roman ruins.
I feel so grateful for Kyle's experiences and the growth that people experience from stepping outside of themselves and immersing their lives in a different culture. My favorite thing so far has been hearing about Kyle's new Middle Eastern friends and their stories of love and loss within their families. It has been really difficult to hear the bias our American culture has against Muslims and Middle Easterners in general as people have learned about Kyle's trip. It is nice to be reminded that no individual, group, culture, or area of the world deserves an outsider's judgment because we are all humans who struggle with the same core issues and are striving for the same core meanings in life.
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