Jul 6

Jul 6 Introducing Summer Blogger Nora Grace Stoltzfus

Hello and أهْلاً!

This is myself at the Roman Amphitheater in Amman. Photo credit: Stoltzfus, 2023.

My name is Nora Grace Stoltzfus, and I am a junior at Temple University. I’m majoring in Secondary English Education, with an intent to get a Masters in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) or TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). I’ve lived in Pennsylvania since my freshman year of high school, and before that I lived in Minnesota. I attended high school in Belleville. It’s a pretty rural area, about 40 minutes southeast of State College and about three hours northwest of Philadelphia.

This is a picture of the valley where I attended high school, which I took on a hike with a friend. Photo credit: Stoltzfus, 2020.

Although this is my first time traveling as a solo adult, when I was younger my family travelled extensively, and Jordan is my tenth country outside of the US so far. I will be here for two months, and I am so excited! I took a few Arabic courses back in the states, but studying here has already given me many more opportunities to talk, as the classes are much smaller than I am used to.

This was taken on our first full day, where we took a tour of the city. Here, we’re checking out a new restaurant just off Rainbow Street. Rainbow Street is known in Amman for its shops, restaurants, and beauty. Photo credit: Stadel, 2023.

After I graduate, I plan on working in the Philadelphia school district as an ELA (English Language Teacher) to gain some experience and pursue my masters. Following that, I would like to move somewhere in the Middle East to teach English there. I have always loved to travel. Teaching abroad not only gives me the change to do so, but also the chance to explore the world as it is rather then what is cherry picked on social media and the news.

I was walking to a shop with a classmate after studying with a few others, and we walked by this beautiful view. Photo credit: Stoltzfus, 2023.

In my free time, I mostly just like to read. I’ve read and enjoyed books from almost all genres, although I tend towards high fantasy or history. Currently, I’m working through “Cities of Salt” by Abdul Rahman Munif and translated by Peter Theroux. It’s a Lebanese novel set in an unnamed Arab country that follows the lives of a group of villagers as oil is discovered under their village, and how their lives change for better and for worse.

Here, you can see the downtown area of Amman in the background, while in the foreground is occupied by ruins of a Umayyad bath house built around 700 AD. Both of these are in the same city, only about 6 miles apart! Photo credit: Stoltzfus, 2023.

During the school year, you can find me at Chipotle, where I work, or at the library studying. While Chipotle doesn’t have to do directly with teaching or Arabic studies, I maintain that the patience and willingness to communicate needed there are applicable everywhere. Both of these will be essential in the coming two months as I attend class, adjust to the culture, and meet new people. I can’t wait to see how I grow, and to share my adventures here!

Goodbye and مع السلامة!

Nora Grace Stoltzfus is a student at Temple University, and is studying abroad on the Amideast Intensive Arabic Program in Jordan this Summer, 2023.