Jordan is Going to Jordan!

Tomorrow I finally fly out, it's officially happening. Despite the fact that I have known about this trip for almost two years I can't help but freak out a little bit since it is finally happening, for real.

Anyway, the real purpose for this blog is to document my adventures so be on the look out for my next posts which will come from Jordan in Jordan!

"OPI" really stands for "What was that word, again?"

So part of BYU's Jordan Study Abroad program includes the use of an "OPI"-- Oral Proficiency Interview. This test basically evaluates how proficient you are in a particular language. We take one before and after the study abroad in order to see how much we improve. I had my pre-departure Arabic OPI this morning and I just thought I would share a few shining moments:

Native Speaker: Tell me about something that happened to you this Summer, like a story, etc...
Me: Well, I was in a car accident with some of my friends.
NS: Really? Tell me more.
Me: Well we were driving... on the road (no. way.) ... (coming back from camping?? shoot, i don't know the word for camping)... and we... hit something on the road (lie. Our tire blew. But I don't know the word for tire, just the verb "to explode"... and for some reason I thought an exploding car would have been a little too dramatic).
NS: Wow! What did you guys hit?
Me: (Let's see I can remember the word for person, dog, water buffalo...) I am not sure what it is called in Arabic but we hit a part of another car that was in the middle of the road (lame lie.)
NS: Were there any injuries?
Me: Nope! Thank goodness (Good story, idiot).

NS: Tell me about your hobbies,
Me: I like swimming, hanging out with friends, running... (bla, bla, bla)
NS: What is your favorite hobby?
Me: My favorite hobby is swimming (WHAT?! Since when?)
NS: Tell me more about swimming, who you do it with, etc...
Me: Well I was born in California so I learned how to swim when I was very young and to this day I love being outside, especially during the summer since I love the sun.
NS: Did you ever compete?
Me: Yes, when I was younger in California.
NS: Tell me about a competition or something.
Me: Oh well I didn't like competing when I was younger so I didn't race very much.
NS: ... Okay well we can talk about something else.
Me: (Encore, Jordan, encore. That was brilliant).

As one of my fellow study abroad buddies so eloquently put it: "Welp, I guess the lower I score the more dramatic my improvement looks!" Amen sister, amen.

Gorgeous skies, cute kids-- must be Minnesota!

It is good to be home. Sadly enough I never appreciated "home" until after I moved out. In fact, for the longest time the last place I ever wanted to be associated with was North Branch, Minnesota. But this past week I have realized just how much I really love this place. Not only because my family is here, but because it truly is one of the greatest places on earth. Gorgeous skies, farms, lakes, endless fields of corn, abandoned barns, Podunk towns, The Current on 89.3-- it really doesn't get much better than this. Life is so simple and good out here and I love it. 

So as much as I love traveling to exotic places and seeing new things, Minnesota and all of the people associated with it will always have a special place in my heart.

                                           [Bestefar's Farm 2011]

Let's try this again...

For those of you who weren't aware, this is probably the third or fourth blog I have attempted to create (sad, I know). I always liked the idea of creating a blog, but I have never liked the idea of just writing about myself. In fact, the only successful blog I have ever made is about my little brother (check out abstanley.blogspot.com).
Why blog about myself now? Well in less than a week I will be moving to Amman, Jordan for a semester abroad in order to study Arabic. Yes, Jordan is going to Jordan and she is going to start blogging about it too. So check back for some crazy stories, because I tend to attract plenty of adventure whenever I travel.
I always joke about my life being like a bad comedy movie, so why not blog about it, right?