CET Jordan

Living in Amman, Jordan for the semester was a truly remarkable and unforgettable experience. CET provided all of its students with excellent living amenities and the staff was always available and accessible if there were any problems. My daily schedule went a little something like this: wake up, make a simple breakfast using fresh ingredients from the local markets, attend Arabic class for a few hours, grab a falafel sandwich (for about 50 cents!), and go back to the university for my politics class (taught in Arabic as well). After class and on weekends my time was my own. Although yes, there was plenty of studying to be done, I found that the most effective way to study was to go into the streets and the markets and talk with Arabs. Throughout the week we stayed fairly local, but on weekends we would often take day trips to one of the incredible sites in and around Amman including Asalt, the old Ottoman capital of the Jordanian province, the roman amphitheater in downtown Amman, the famous “Rainbow Street” where we could haggle with vendors over homemade crafts and jewelry, and Donna, a spectacular nature reserve complete with cave dwellings dated back to the Nabatean Empire (over 2,000 years ago).
Jordan is truly an incredible country with equally incredible people. Jordanians always found a way to help us out, sometimes inviting us into their homes to drink tea and meet their families. Just as amazing were the students in the program with me. I made some wonderful relationships with these students who hailed from all over America- it’s truly astonishing how closely you grow to people when you all find yourself in a foreign land with only limited knowledge of the local language.
Finally, my Arabic skills increased so much throughout this experience in both written and spoken form. The language pledge that CET enforces, although occasionally leading to frustration, was well worth it in the end when I found myself speaking with a fluency I didn’t imagine possible for myself. I loved my experience abroad the perspective it gave me will continue to be invaluable for a long time.

I tried to keep my expectations limited when going into my summer experience in Jordan, and that definitely helped me to adjust to the new culture and expectations. The housing was beautiful and in a safe location, but wifi was unreliable. Luckily there was a café nearby with great wifi in case ours went out. Since I was in the internship program, the plan was that I would have class Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and would be at the internship Monday and Wednesday. Since the first month of the program took place during Ramadan, however, most of the internships didn't begin until after the holy month had ended. By the time I actually got to work, I only spent a total of 8 days at my internship. There was also not much work for us to do since NEF was in between projects, and they did not really know what to do with us, so I think there was a lack of communication between CET and the other organizations. When we did get to work, however, we had a great time. We learned a lot about what the organization does and became great friends with our coworkers. The other students in the program were very supportive and we developed a great bond during our time there. The placement in classes was a little iffy, one guy transferred from my class to a lower level because they had placed him too high, and I was right on the edge in the advanced class. I definitely learned a lot, though. As I said, flexibility is key. Schedules changed and requirements were adapted so I really had to be on my toes to know what I was supposed to be doing. My original language partner dropped the program two weeks in, but my second one was incredible. She invited me to a party celebrating the birth of her cousin. That's one thing I really loved about CET, they provide you with a lot of opportunities to develop connections with people in the community and gain these rare and often personal insights into life in Amman. The language pledge was very frustrating, however, because not only were beginner students not able to converse with us for a few weeks until they learned enough words, but they would tell us we were breaking the pledge even if we weren't because they would forget who was in which program. I was often afraid I would be expelled simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or for trying to define a word for a beginner student using my own limited knowledge. It added an unnecessary amount of stress. Also, there was an "internship class" we attended once a week, but it was really more about Jordanian and Middle Eastern politics, which was fine for me because that's my area of study, but others complained that it felt like kind of a waste of time, especially after a full day of classes. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and it has definitely expanded my comfort zone travel-wise. I am much more confident in myself, and I feel like this has opened the door to further travel either in the Middle East or elsewhere.

There are a lot of programs that enable you to learn Arabic in Amman, but none will match the language instruction with CET. When the professors say that they are there for you 24/7, they truly mean it - they will answer your questions any hour of the day. Since the program is embedded inside of the university, you have an incredible amount of resources available to you, which is great for language learning. Also, the program gives you a lot of free reign to explore the city, country, and region, which a lot of other programs have restricted, so that is good.

So, Amman isn't really the desert, but it is hot and you have to dress conservatively, so expect to be sweating a lot (or staying inside during the day). This program really did teach me Arabic, from the language partners to the local roommates to the teachers, everybody is so genuinely welcoming and helpful that it's impossible not to pick up on the language! Manal, the program director, is the absolute best. She is so sweet, helpful, funny, and nice, and the days when she came in to teach my class were days where I learned the most. Likewise, CET does a good job planning the short and the long trips -- they are planned so carefully as to even include time for a shower when they know we'll be sweaty after walking around in the sun at Petra, and I believe that I saw more of the country than I would've had I been left to take those trips on my own. The apartment style living is a great way to always be with your fellow students, as well as to have the freedom to explore the city/country as much as possible. If you're looking to stay with a host family, there are other programs out there, but if you're like me and opted for freedom vs. immersion, the apartments with the local roommate are a perfect balance. There is a little bit of miscommunication between the staff and the students, but that is almost to be expected with any abroad trip (and in this country especially..."Arab time" is most definitely a thing). Overall, if you're looking to learn arabic, this is a great program!

CET has found a fantastic academic director in Manal Youssef. She is a strong leader, intelligent, and beyond amazing in the classroom. She and the administrative director make sure you see the tourist-y parts of Jordan, and get an amazing experience in Wadi Rum, but also push you just hard enough so that you come out of the program stunned at how far you've come.
This program was well worth every penny, the only issues I faced were the comments from people on the street, and how chilly it is indoors during the winter! So bring layers if you'll be there close to winter, otherwise, just be ready to learn and learn and learn, more than you ever thought you could. I learned more from this program than it appears from friends did in year-long stays with other programs.

From what I've heard, CET is the one of the best Arabic intensive language program. The curriculum is laid out well, the teachers and directors love the students and work tirelessly to help them learn. That being said, I felt that there were unreasonable expectations placed on the students that led to a lot of burn out, frustration and discouragement. For me, having only finished one year of Arabic, there's a lot of grammar that I thought I would learn this summer, but the focus on grammar was minimal. The idea is that we will learn grammar from context as we read the lessons, but we went through the readings so quickly, often times barely understanding what they were about, before moving on to the next one that the opportunity to look at grammatical structures in sentences was often missed. There were days when I was deeply concerned that I would leave Jordan hating Arabic. That did not end up being the case, and in spite of a lot of challenges this summer, I learned a lot-- the language pledge forced me to speak in Arabic a lot more than I would have otherwise. (I definitely spoke in English with the two Americans I lived with in order to maintain my emotional and mental sanity, but I did my best to maintain the pledge as much as possible.) My vocabulary expanded exponentially and my comfort in speaking, reading, and writing grew considerably. For students considering CET, yes, you will learn a lot, have a great time on the trips that CET coordinates for the program and you will interact a lot with Jordanians through homework assignments, hanging out with your roommate, and meeting with your language partner three times a week (by far my favorite part of the summer!). But also be aware that you will be pushed beyond what seems actually possible. I have two pieces of advice: if your school uses Al-kitaab and doesn't finish the first book at the end of the first year (my university only finished chapter 10), finish it yourself (and learn the vocabulary) before you arrive in Jordan. It lays groundwork for key grammatical concepts that would've been extremely helpful to know. Second, do not be afraid to talk to the program directors and teachers if you're struggling. They want you to succeed, it's just a matter of figuring out how to achieve that!

There are a lot of programs in Amman that teach Arabic to American college students, and I met a lot of other American students out and about in the city and had the chance to compare programs - the consensus was pretty much that CET was the best. Between the language pledge, the 100% Arabic usage in the classroom, the long hours of class and the content-based courses (of course 100% in Arabic), I learned more Arabic, and got more comfortable using the Jordanian/Shaami dialect, than I would have anywhere else. We did all get the chance to see all the sites in Jordan and do plenty of independent travel to Istanbul/Beirut/Dubai etc, as well as explore Amman nightlife, museums and cultural events. But studies were really the first priority. CET is also the best program if you're looking to meet locals. The language partner program was fantastic (a little awkward at first) but as I got to know my language partner I really enjoyed our visits and the experience really helped my conversational and vocab skills. Our roommate was also a great resource to us, she was incredibly friendly and helpful. CET is good at putting together a lot of social events for American students to mingle with and get to know local Jordanians in similar age groups.

The amount of Arabic I learned studying abroad with CET was worth every dollar (or dinar) and every second I spent there. I grew at a speed I once thought was unimaginable, I feel it would take me years in an American setting to make the gains that did. On top of it I made new best friends, and was immersed in a culture that is strikingly beautiful and sincere. CET rules (and so does the academic director Manal, and my wonderful proffesor Noor!)