"My Letter to Jordan (رسالتي إلى الأردن)" by Destiny Magnett
Dear Jordan,
اهلاً وسهلاً يا الأردن! أسمي ديستني، وأنا أدرس في عمّان مع امديست في هذا الخريف! أنا سعيدة جداً لأنني أستطيع التعرف على الأردن والثقافة الأردنية طوال الفصل الدراسي. أنا من ولاية كنساس، وأنا طالبة في كلية جرينل في ولاية ايوا. في كلية جرينل، انا متخصص في الدراسة الدينية، الدراسة السلام، ولغة العربية. في عمّان، إن شاء الله، أتمنى أن أحسن لغتي العربية
Hello! My name is Destiny, and I am one of Amideast’s blog correspondents for the Fall semester. I am absolutely thrilled to be traveling to Amman, especially after a year of such tumult and uncertainty. A bit about me— I am in my final year of undergraduate study at Grinnell College, which is situated among the Iowan corn fields in a beautiful slice of Midwestern paradise. At Grinnell, I am a Religious Studies major, with concentrations in Peace & Conflict Studies and Studies in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. The banner photo shows me with my Arabic classmates at Grinnell, with our Fulbright language assistant Salma when we saw each other in person for the first time after over a year of virtual learning. Moving from left to right are me, Salma, Mary (an Amideast alum!), and Chris.
As I sit in the airport in Chicago amid a grueling 9-hour layover before boarding the plane to Amman, I am reflecting on all the things that I am looking forward to over the course of the next four months. In just over a day, we will finally meet. I am so excited for the opportunity to call you home for a few months. I am overjoyed when I think about how many new experiences you have in store for me.
I’ve learned a bit of your language, though I know I’ll learn so much more with you (and Amideast’s professors) as my teacher. I am both nervous and excited about immersive Arabic study, and I hope you’ll forgive me for any blunders I will undoubtedly make along the way. I know that probably I will learn as much from the lessons while exploring your streets, visiting your communities, and talking to the family you’ll lend me as I will in the classroom. Even so, the classes are also one of the things I am most looking forward to. There’s something about learning about a place while in that place that feels so warm.
On a lighter note, I have thought so much about how lucky I am to spend an entire semester in a place with such beautiful art, rich history, and incredible food. I have been told by more than one of your former visitors that Jordan has the best falafel and hummus of anywhere in the region—a vegetarian’s dream! So, I am also looking warmly towards savoring the time I will spend taking in all that your neighborhoods have to offer.
All this said, I also don’t expect that things will always be easy or perfect, I’m sure there will be numerous challenges to face between now and when I depart in late December. I hope I can take the challenges in stride, because to me, they are an important part of how I will grow over the next four months.
See you soon!
مع السلامة
Destiny
Destiny Magnett is a senior at Grinnell College studying on the Area and Arabic Studies program in Amman, Jordan this fall.
