Day Two

   It's my second day in Jordan and so far I haven't experienced any cultural shock.  My morning started like most, hitting the snooze early in the morning and sleeping in another hour.  I pried myself out of bed at around nine o'clock.  I quickly got dressed in a borrowed shirt and my previous days jeans, along with a pair of complimentary socks provided by Emirates Airline.  I still hadn't gone grocery shopping so I grabbed the last orange and called it breakfast.  With nothing else to do, but study, I sat in front of my notebook and went over vocabulary.  before I knew it, one of the instructors walked into the room and handed me my placement exam for classes.  Each section lasted an hour, starting with writing, then reading comprehension, and finishing with grammar.  The exam was extremely difficult and exhausting.  My Arabic was more than rusty and I struggled to come up with vocab I knew I had learned.  At the end I was handed worksheets that would be used on class starting Monday.  Famished, my roommate and I walked down the street to grab sandwiches.  The middle of the day was too hot to sit outside, so we rushed back to our air conditioned room.  I began skimming through the worksheets and tried to memorize some of the words.
  My studying was interrupted, but at least with some good news. My roommate announced that my luggage had arrived.  A wave of relief flooded my body and I rushed out of the room.  Not only did the delivery service bring my luggage to the building, they brought it straight to the room.  My excitement faded as soon as I saw that there was only one bag.  I asked where the other one was located, but the delivery man stared at me blankly.  The doors shut on the elevator and he was gone. I hurriedly called the baggage service company and after five failed attempts I gave up.  Shortly after, I received an email that the second bag was received in Amman, but still in processing and would arrive within the next few days.  I was confused why the bags were separated and one would take longer than the other to arrive, but just knowing I would soon be reunited with all my luggage made me happy enough not to question it.
  Around 5:30 all the students from the academic program collected themselves outside the building and we loaded up into buses.  The buses went through the more western parts of town, until we ended up at the Don Quichotte Restaurant.  The restaurant was beautiful and more up scale than what was offered near my apartment.  Most of the tables were outside, shaded by a roof, but there were no walls. Well decorated, with a good energy, I can understand why we were brought there.  The meal was decedent and filling.  Three courses were served including a dessert.  As good as the food was, the time offered an opportunity to get to know other students.  Soon it will become difficult to talk so easily, due to the language pledge. We returned to the apartments around eight, but many were still energized and wanted to return to the streets.  A group of us returned to the Hollywood Cafe.  This time I enjoyed some shisha and made a good friend, Blake.  We are planning on traveling to Lebanon for one of the breaks.  I feel like at this point I should be open to any opportunity, so why not.  Tomorrow is orientation and hopefully I will receive my last bag, but who knows.  If I do, I'll be sure to start going to the gym as soon as possible.  Its been too long and I think it will help get me back on a routine.

 My Street

 Don Quichotte Restaurant

Don Quichotte Restaurant