"Lujain! Lujain!" The girls shouted, as they crowded around me, pens and papers and palms flying around my face. If “Lujain” was my Arabic name, then they wanted me to write down my full American name on their papers and palms so they could find me later on Facebook.
At that moment I felt slightly claustrophobic. Even after almost eight months studying abroad in Jordan I was finding myself in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by new people, and to top it off, placed at the center of attention, which I often tried to avoid. These are the everyday experiences of a study abroad student and to be quite honest (although we may not feel so at that time!), we love them, we cherish them, and we will never forget them.
My study abroad program, Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) collects a part of students' tuition to conduct a community service project. This semester's project took place at an all-girls government school on the outskirts of Amman. The school caters to more than one thousand students; Jordanians, Palestinians, and Syrian refugees, teaching all of them at the same time for the full school day. Many schools in Jordan have had to hold two school sessions everyday: one for Jordanians and Palestinians and another afternoon session for the recent Syrian refugee arrivals. There are too many students to teach them all at once. Schools here are often overcrowded and lack essential materials like white boards, desks and chairs. Facilities like bathrooms and playgrounds are often in need of repair and can be dangerous to use. This was the case with the school we visited. The students and teachers lacked essential learning materials and the playgrounds were badly damaged and vandalized by groups who used the school yard as meeting points during the night.
Part of our tuition went to buying new school supplies and the building of a new fenced-in playground. In addition, we spent two full days at the school working alongside the students, painting the school’s exterior to make it more bright and landscaping an area to prepare for a garden. At the same time we got to know the students and teachers, speaking in both Arabic and English. We asked them what dreams they had for the future, what kind of classes they took, and how learning English was. They asked us how many brothers and sisters we had, what our homes in America were like, and what kind of things we liked about Jordan. We visited the special needs class and talked to them about what things we could bring them to improve their classroom. We played a game of basketball and shared a traditional Jordanian mansaf lunch: chicken and rice with a flavorful yogurt sauce. Towards the end of the day, the girls shared sweets with us and placed bracelets on our wrists, making us promise to come back soon.
These are the chances when we get to see through the eyes of another culture, bringing ourselves back down from a cloud of Netflix marathons, late-night studying, Facebook statuses, and everything else that we’re even known and are comfortable with. We are able to explore, try new things, talk to new people, use and improve in an uncomfortable language, and help others with things we may often take for granted. This is what study abroad is about. If you try it, you’ll never be the same person ever again. You come out of study abroad more appreciative, understanding, humbled, and grateful for everything you’ve been given and the chances like these to live and learn from others around you.