Today we had an orientation, which consisted mostly of how to function in Jordan without dying. Things like how to get a new gas tank (there's a truck that drives around, it isn't just pumped into your house like back in the States), how to deal with taxis (they generally don't know addresses, you have to point them toward specific landmarks), and some other odds and ends. After the basics were covered the Qasid (our institution) staff spoke a bit about their expectations for us as students, how classes would be structured, and some of the extra opportunities we'd be offered such as supplemental classes if students are interested in that kind of thing.
Then, after a lunch break, we had placement testing over the next two hours or so. The writing section was pretty tough; a ton of vocab was thrown around that I'd never even seen before but it was ultimately somewhat manageable. After the writing there was an “interview” which lasted about 5-10 minutes. Basically this consisted of a one on one conversation with one of the teachers, all in Arabic, where they ask you a series of questions and are trying to get a general idea of where you're at in terms of your ability to speak and converse. These two tests collectively determine what “level” you're placed in for the duration of the summer semester, although there is some flexibility to move up or down if it's either too easy or too difficult.
The weirdest part of the day though was taking a cab back with two other guys on my floor. They'd been talking about finding a place to workout over their stay here, and we'd kept hearing about this place close to campus called “Sports City”. When they say city, they mean it. This place is an enormous complex that would probably have its own zip code in the U.S. However, our cab driver interpreted our rough Arabic translation of “weight-lifting” very literally, driving us to a building that ended up being the headquarters for the Jordanian national team. We didn't really figure this out until a few minutes after talking to the coach, but we quickly explained that we were just looking for a place to workout – not actually compete. Regardless, we ended up getting back to our apartments and just chilled the rest of the day.
Then, after a lunch break, we had placement testing over the next two hours or so. The writing section was pretty tough; a ton of vocab was thrown around that I'd never even seen before but it was ultimately somewhat manageable. After the writing there was an “interview” which lasted about 5-10 minutes. Basically this consisted of a one on one conversation with one of the teachers, all in Arabic, where they ask you a series of questions and are trying to get a general idea of where you're at in terms of your ability to speak and converse. These two tests collectively determine what “level” you're placed in for the duration of the summer semester, although there is some flexibility to move up or down if it's either too easy or too difficult.
The weirdest part of the day though was taking a cab back with two other guys on my floor. They'd been talking about finding a place to workout over their stay here, and we'd kept hearing about this place close to campus called “Sports City”. When they say city, they mean it. This place is an enormous complex that would probably have its own zip code in the U.S. However, our cab driver interpreted our rough Arabic translation of “weight-lifting” very literally, driving us to a building that ended up being the headquarters for the Jordanian national team. We didn't really figure this out until a few minutes after talking to the coach, but we quickly explained that we were just looking for a place to workout – not actually compete. Regardless, we ended up getting back to our apartments and just chilled the rest of the day.
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