Gilman Scholarship Project

My Adventures Abroad in Amman, Jordan click to watch my slideshow! 

Back in the States and Week 5 in Jordan

During week five, I was definitely ready to go home.  Mixed emotions of sadness due to having to leave  Jordan but also excited because I was ready to go home to my husband and my four year old son.   The last day at the clinic was a bit sad for me.  After having spent so much time with Dr. Duaa and her assistant and other doctors that I met in the clinic, it was sad to know that I would not be coming back for a long time or even the thought of never seeing them all again.  Everyone had been so welcoming, kind and helpful through my time there and I am so grateful to haven been given the opportunity to be a part of this all.  I hope someday to be able to come back.  

The last days of class were busy, busy.  For the classwork we had a final, a report of our analyzed survey data and a final presentation which all needed to be finalized and completed and altogether the workload was totally exhausting.  Not that I wasn't sleep deprived enough due to the busy schedule of weeks 1-4, but the day before our presentation I only slept for 30 minutes! For our final presentation, overall I thought my group did amazing.  Although we had some disagreements while working as a group (typical in all group projects), in the end our final product was outstanding and we were all proud of our work.    

Our last evening was spent attending a farewell dinner.   The food like always was amazing and being surrounded by such amazing people who went through this experience with me, made it even better.  As we watched the sunset from the restaurant, I knew my trip was coming to an end; but the experience, memories and friendships that were built during this trip would be everlasting.  

   

After a long plane trip home, I can't believe my abroad time is over.  This trip has brought new meaning to many aspects of my life.   I am very thankful for being able to explore out of my comfort zone and to be able to challenge and push myself to new heights I never imagined.   Stay tuned for a reflections/ update on how this trip has affected my life that I plan on writing in a couple of months.       

Week 4

This week came and went at a good pace for me, but then again, maybe I am just now getting use to the lightening speed.  On Wednesday, a group of 11 of us went out to lunch.  It was amazing.  The restaurant is called Tawaheen Al. Hawa.  It was a bit pricey but overall, it was delicious! There was so much food!   

  

Our site visit on Thursday was to the WHO (World Health Organization in Amman, Jordan).  During the visit, I was able to learn more about the larger level of aspects pertaining to health of the population.  Seeing things on a larger scale is definitely something else but being able to understand and apply why things happen the way they do based on the multi-level complexity of health was a good eye opening experience.  P.S.  Of course we took a class picture at the WHO but I have been unsuccessful in locating it.  I will post a picture of the WHO visit once I find it ! :) 

Thursday afternoon and evening was full of fun.  Shopping downtown!!! I love shopping, but what girl doesn’t, so of course I was able to get plenty of souvenirs.  It was nice to be able to use the arabic numbers I learned which came in handy when I wanted to bargain too.  I am really satisfied with my shopping experience because just interacting with the locals was an overall positive experience. Then that evening we went out and danced the night away! :) It was our last chance to go out before our last week, so our group of 18 overtook the club.  It was plenty of fun, and by the end of the night, I was exhausted and ready for bed. 

Today, Sunday is my roommate Ellin’s birthday.  I am glad I was able to help arrange for her to get a ginormous birthday cake here in Jordan for her 21st birthday. The hotel manager even had her cut her cake with a sword.  Happy Birthday roomie!  

Week 4 is now over and my last week in Jordan has just begun.  I am having mixed feelings about going home.  Sad to be leaving such a welcoming place with such wonderful people but happy to be able to go home because I miss my family very much.   I know these next few days will be flying by because I have finals and a report plus presentation that I need to prepare for, but I am going to make an extra effort to step back and enjoy my last week here in the Kingdom of Jordan! 

Week 3

My oh my, it has been over a week since I last blogged!  I am now more than half way through this program!  This last week and a half was hectic and crazy.  Moving, site visits, midterms, Petra and Wadi Rum.  There’s so much that I want to share with you all.   As I mentioned before, our group of 18 students moved to the Gardenia Hotel, but guess what?!!!! We still had the same internet issues, intermittent connection and at times it wasn’t even working at all.   So the group decided to move back to our original hotel.  The Arena Hotel.  And since the move back, the internet has gotten better.  It was a very tiring weekend.  So here I am, back at the arena hotel, no longer in my original room on the second floor but now I am on the fifth floor with all of my other classmates.  I hope that for the rest of this trip there will be no more moving! 

This week our site visits included the JHAS headquarters, (Jordan Health Aid Society), and Al-Basheer Hospital.  At the Al-Basheer Hospital, I was given a tour through the labor and delivery and pediatrics building.  Being able to see firsthand, the differences in the health system between a developed country (US) versus a developing country (Jordan) is just astonishing.  It has opened up my eyes on how healthcare can have such variation but still maintaining the  overall objective of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and illness.  By the way, an interesting culture difference, I wanted to mention is that women who are in labor are by themselves.  Husbands and family members do not assist or provide emotion support to the women at their bedside.  That was an interesting cultural difference that I had to absorb.  

JHAS

Al-Basheer Hospital

Being here in Jordan is not all about fun, well, maybe some fun, but there is also the studying.  We had midterms this week and I am definitely glad that was over.  In less than two weeks we will have our finals exams too!  We are moving at lightning speed and I’m really surprising myself on how well I am able to keep up.  It’s plenty of hard work, but its also rewarding at the same time.

From Friday morning to Saturday evening, we were able to relax and enjoy our mini trip that flew by way too quickly.  We spent Friday afternoon at Petra and then spend the night at Wadi Rum in a tent!  Words can’t describe how graceful and gleaming my surrounds were.  I kept asking myself if the mountains, and the views were real because it was truly unbelievable.  Being able to ride a camel before sunset, watching the sunset from atop of a mountain, camping in the middle of the desert, and riding in the back of a pick-up truck between mountains was all breathtaking.  I never knew such extravagant scenaries existed. 

next three photos are on the way to Petra 

Lindsay, myself and Claire

after 3 and a half hours, finally at Petra!

Notice how close the two walls are.

The Famous Treasury

about an hour away from Petra this is a campsite in Wadi Rum

Riding camels before sunset.

Watching the sun set on top of a mountain.

more pictures of the desert

and more...

Yippee!  to our amazing time in Wadi Rum!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! I have plenty more so if you are interested in seeing more pictures, please feel free to let me know!  Until next time, I will be studying hard and continuing my remaining two weeks here in Jordan. Have a great week everyone.   

Week 2

es salam alaykum (hello) everyone!

My first week went by fast, but my second week went by even faster.  This week was another week of excitement for me!  There is just so much to do.  First off, I’ve been so tired lately that I stopped noticing the 4 am prayer calls.  (Great for me because I’m a light sleeper and I don’t have to toss and turn to get back to sleep anymore.) Curiosity stuck with me, but I was able to ask around and learn a little bit more about these prayer calls. These calls come from mosques which are locations where Muslims pray.  At first after a couple days in Jordan, I thought these prayer calls were recordings, but it turns out that a muezzin, (a chosen man that leads the call to prayer) sing this melodious call/chat.  I posted a picture of a mosque in downtown Amman in my previous post.  The building can be distinguished by the green lights. 

Just a little side note if you didn’t already know...the working days here in Jordan is different compared to the United States.  In Jordan, Sunday-Thursday is equivalent to the United States Monday-Friday.  So for me, classes start on Sunday and end on Thursday.  This week, I have been able to participate a bit more in class, which is helping me with my confidence.  The thought of being wrong scares me, but I’m starting to realize that discussing my thoughts and being wrong is ok, especially when it is helping me with my critical thinking skills.  

This week, I had two quizzes, so of course I did a ton of studying.  It made the time go by faster, but this intense course is taking a toll on me.  These two courses are pushing me to the limit but for the better.  I am learning so much, not only about global health and epidemiology, but also about my own personal studying habits and time management skills.  I’m doing my best to keep up, and am continuing to push myself because I know I can do this!

Thursday was an eventful day for me.  Our class site visits were to an herbal clinic, and the UNRWA headquarters.  The UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and is the main provider of basic services such as health, education, relief and social services to registered Palestine refugees in the Middle East.  The clinic that I have been going to on Mondays and Wednesdays, Al Baqa’a, is through the UNRWA.  Being able to visit the UNRWA headquarters is going to stick with me for a very very long time.  The UNRWA is doing so much and such incredibly amazing things that are changing the lives of so many refugees, it is unbelievably heart touching.  I know this is very hard for the readers of my blog to understand but for me, being able to see everything first hand is very emotional.  Just being in Jordan, visiting the clinics, seeing how hard the doctors and staff are working, in such conditions, is just mind blowing.  If you would like to know more about UNRWA, you can visit a website called  American friends of UNRWA at www.friendsUNRWA.org. 

On Thursday evening, I rode a jamal (camel)!

On Friday, our group moved hotels.  Yes, very shocking to me too but the issue with the internet not working or working intermittently needed to be fixed.  So as a group we moved from the Arena Hotel to Gardenia Hotel.  The Gardenia Hotel is closer to downtown Amman, and I honestly hope the internet issue will be fixed once we are settled.  Internet access will be especially important for us these upcoming weeks for class as we will be doing a lot of research.  I have my fingers crossed!   Plus, with internet access, hopefully I’ll be able to blog more too!

Oh, and by the request of some of the blog readers, here are some pictures of the foods I’ve been eating!   

Can't wait to share more experiences and pictures soon! :)