"Amman on My Mind" by Cullen Allard

After my midterms I went to Cyprus with some friends for spring break. We spent 3 days in Paphos on the south coast and it was beautiful. The best part of it all wasn’t the scenery but the time I got to spend with my new friends. So, I suggest that you take a little trip during your spring break if you’re able to find a cheap Ryanair flight. It can really be a fun experience, especially if you share it with other people.

But I found myself missing Jordan. 

What I missed most was the people I met and the hope they give me.

I missed my host mama and her amazing laugh.

Even after some tough midterms I still missed my sweet, kind, and hilarious Arabic teachers. They work so hard and I really feel they’re helping me greatly improve my Arabic. I missed the friends I’ve made in Amman who show me cool places and whose company gives me a full heart. Everything tastes better when I’m with them and my surroundings are even more beautiful.

It’s not so much that Amman is this magical place that’ll make you feel at ease or fulfilled. No place like that exists. However the people I have met and developed relationships with are special to me. Cities are hollow on their own. These places don’t exist, until we collectively will them into existence. Amman isn’t Amman without the people who dream, eat, play, and cry in it.

My relationship with Amman can’t be divorced from my own experiences with the people I’ve met.

You may have that feeling too when you come here.

Although, you could have that feeling anywhere you choose to go.

I don’t know where I’ll end up in my life, but I can say that after this program I’ll be returning to Amman.