Hello!
In twenty four hours, my journey to the Middle East will begin. It still doesn't seem quite real to me.
This summer nine other students and I will be studying abroad for seven weeks in Muscat, Oman through the NSLI-Y Program sponsored by the United States Department of State. I am incredibly honored to be able to have this opportunity to pursue my international interests and be able to study Arabic.
I leave tomorrow and fly from Madison to Chicago and then to Washington D.C. for pre-departure orientation. PDO lasts two days, and on Friday evening we fly to Frankfurt, Germany and have a five hour layover before flying to Muscat, Oman. While in Oman, we have five hours of Arabic classes every day as well as other cultural and language activities.
Yesterday I received my host family information. Originally, we were only going to stay with host families for the week of Eid (the holy week marking the end of Ramadan), but now we will be staying with them for the entire seven weeks. I am sharing a room with another NSLI-Y student, and our host family consists of a mom and dad, 2 younger brothers, 1 younger sister, and 1 older sister. I am nervous about living with a host family the entire time, but I think it will turn out to be a great part of the experience.
This summer will be challenging and exciting, and it will all become real very soon.
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