A lot of
things have happened since I last wrote. The thing foremost in my mind at the
moment is my ankle. It behaved for all of my hiking during the holiday, my
running at the gym, and most of the additional day of tourism we had on
Saturday. And then, just as I was climbing down the steps of Ajloun Castle, it
slipped, and I fell on it. And now I have this lovely bruise and swelling on my
heel. However, as bad as it looks, it doesn’t hurt at all, and the doctor said
that just wrapping/bracing it for a while should be enough, so it’s not that much of a
problem. It just means I won’t be on a treadmill in the near future.
However,
that is far from the only thing that happened. I’d better start at the
beginning so as not to leave anything out. I got my midterm grade back, and I
got an A, so that’s good. We only had one day of school last week, and we spent
most of it talking about holiday traditions, since the chapter we were in
happened to line up nicely with the end of Ramadan.
Then there
was break. I ended up, last minute, joining a group that was heading up north
to Ajloun for the break. We spent three nights in bungalow-type accommodations.
During the day we lounged, snacked, and went hiking through the beautiful
mountain countryside (pictures attached). And at night we grilled dinner and
roasted marshmallows, and then sat around and talked. It was nice to have
nothing to plan except for dinner, and I hadn't had s’mores for ages. It was
wonderful.
We got back
on Thursday, and I watched TV for most of Friday. Having Eid al-Fitr in the
middle of the session is like trying to recover from Spring Break with a
week-and-a-half left of school; no one wants to do anything, but there’s no
time left to procrastinate. I did do some studying over break, but it was a lot
less than I’d planned to do. I don’t really regret it, though; I’ve worked
ahead in the book, and I am learning. And besides, it is summer.
On
Saturday, everyone studying in the program headed up to Ajloun (yes, the place
we’d just gotten back from) to tour. First we visited the Roman ruins at
Jerash, and then we went to Ajloun castle. I also have nice pictures from the
views there, all taken before I sprained my ankle and had other things to worry
about. Luckily, that didn’t happen until we were on our way back, which meant
that all I had to do was awkwardly stick my leg across the aisle all the way
home to elevate it. It’s getting significantly better every day, though; I’m
hoping I won’t even be worrying about it by the time I’m on my way home.
As far as
academics go, things are beginning to wrap up. One of my teachers is still on
vacation, but she should be getting back soon. Meanwhile, we have a quiz in
formal and colloquial Arabic tomorrow, a colloquial Arabic project due on
Wednesday, and an oral exam on Thursday. And after that, there’s only finals to
worry about, and I’ll be done. In a way, things are getting busier here, so
there’s more and more to do. On the other hand, I’ve been here for long enough
now that I’m in practice; my Arabic is in a constant state of semi-readiness.
It’s like jogging; after a few miles, your body is more tired, but your muscles
are warmed up, so things get easier. Especially in language-learning, where
everything is cumulative, that’s a great help.
This is
especially true with my speaking skills. At the moment I’m fairly comfortable
launching into a broken conversation in Arabic, despite the fact that I can’t
communicate a lot of what I want to say. I just finished a practice oral exam,
and it went nominally well, though I’m not sure how I did yet. I’ll be more
prepared for the actual exam (which was of course the point of practicing), so
I’ll let you know how it goes. But my speaking and listening improve markedly
from week to week.
Church
services are great for gauging language learning, because if you've been to
church enough, you’ll probably know the general ideas, and the speaking is
generally slower, but still at an adult, real-life level. I love going to
church in Arabic, singing the songs, attempting to decipher the sermons, and
then chatting with a few people afterwards. It’s been a great way to supplement
my classes with real-life experience, outside of directing taxis and ordering
food.
It feels
strange to think that by the time I write again I’ll be all packed and ready to
reflect on the events of the summer, and then sign off again until the start of
next semester. I like it here, and I don’t want to leave, but I’m certainly
looking forward to seeing everyone again. Just one more week to go!
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