Most of the people following this blog will already know who I am for the most part, so I will not start it by talking about myself. Who wants to hear that?! It would not be entertaining in the least bit. It would most likely be boring. In fact, it would be cumbersome.
So I will begin with my most recent excursion...
Despite having said I will not tell you about myself, I am going to tell you a little. I lied. Perhaps this will show you how fickle I am.The main reason I am composing this blog is because I am going to be studying abroad next semester in Ammon, Jordon, attending the JETS program and the Kelsey Arabic Program. There, I'd be taking a couple Bible classes, but mostly I'd be taking Arabic classes (about 12 credits). If you're interested, here are the links to the schools:
JETS (Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary) http://jets.schoolinsites.com/
Kelsey http://kelseyarabicprogram.org/
That being the main factor for this blog, I also realized that it's a good idea to start a blog now, as I am going to be an over-seas missionary in the future.
I can't tell you that I have a fantastic story of why I wanted to study abroad; I just did. So, one day I just walked into the Academic Records office of the school I am currently attending (Moody Bible Institute, the Chicago campus) asking of options where I could study abroad. I hadn't discussed the idea with anyone, nor did I have a recent conversation with a friend about traveling or studying abroad. There was no inspiration about it, there was just simply selfish want. I had previously toyed with the idea of studying abroad for my second year at Moody when I was transferring to the main campus (I attended a satellite campus of Moody in Spokane, WA for my first year), but I decided against it, thinking that it would be unwise for some reason (perhaps it was because I would be moving too much? I'm not sure what I thought. But, for whatever reason, it did not happen). So, after having walked into the office and asked the secretary of somewhere foreign I could be, she gave me a numerous list of various places I could go.
Ireland, England, Spain, Australia, New Zealand...the possibilities seemed to be endless. It was a little overwhelming, I'll admit. "How in the world will I choose?!" (no pun intended) and these thoughts and places ruminated in my mind for the next few days. Europe was always appealing. I knew Spanish fairly well, having taken 5 years throughout Middle School and High School, and having earned and been given the nickname gringa (or better yet, snowflake) as I the only white person working at Chipotle in Chicago (IT WAS THE BEST), so there was always Spain. Or I could go to Italy; I figured I was mostly Italian, and I could visit the "land of my forefathers" or something of that odd nature (I'm not exactly sentimental). Then there was Germany, which I was oddly attracted to for a while, despite the devestation that my mother and grandfather recently shared with me when they informed me that my grandfather discovered he was no longer German, that he was in fact Austrian. He was truly devestated. "Schweiger! That is the most German-name you could possibly have! And to think- we are Austrian! You know what I think happened? You know with the von Trapp family in the Sound of Music? I think that is what happened to our family back then. We went over the mountains." I consoled him with the fact that he would have been a musical singing boy. He agreed.
The Europe-appeal, however, would not stick. I was later informed by the secretary, Anna, that going to Jordan would best coincide with my major. So, after discussing Germany vs. Jordan with some friends, it was really a no- brainer. Jordan it would be! I ran around school, getting forms and papers signed, filling out applications, finding out that I had to tweak my major in order to attend (I am now an Intercultural Studies Major with an interdisciplinary in Arabic Studies, previously I was just an Intercultural Studies Major). I also found that by the time I would be going, I would be pretty late in the game, studying abroad as a 2nd semester Junior. O well. If God wanted it to happen, it would happen. And so it is...
As if this were not exciting news enough, that I would be going to Ammon, Jordan for 5 months learning Arabic and living among Arab people, I was also informed that we (the team and myself, there are 4 other students going which I will share about later), were going to be living in a Palestinian refugee camp. WITH REFUGEES! *GASP! Now, I know I shouldn't be excited about refugees; I will clarify, I am not excited about the fact the they are refugees. That is sad. I am, however, excited to be living and working with refugees. If you know me at all, you will know that I have been volunteering with World Relief working with Bhutanese refugees (or Lhotshampa, as they are officially called. I learned this from reading a book. You can too. Apart from books, I know nothing) doing ESL work. And that I love these people. A lot. Here's a weird collage picture of some of the kids I worked with when I was in Spokane (Although I worked mostly with their mother, Bishnu):
Pictured above is Barun and Kalpana, and their cousin Hemanta
And here are some Youtube video's of a Bartabanda celebration (although I was invited, I did not attend because I didn't know if it would be appropriate. It's a Hindu religious celebration and it's like a rite-of-passage for young hindi boys. I can tell you more of that later if you'd like.) This is the Rimal Family. I work with a young women named Goma in Chicago. The celebration is for her son named Nischal and his cousin (her nephew) Anish. There are 2 parts:
So, all that to say I am excited about going to Jordan. I think I'll get a lot of direction regarding the future on this trip. But who knows? I'll probably come up with a lot more questions as well. But God is faithful. So I'll rest in that.
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