24 Hours to Takeoff

As I prepare to leave for Amman tomorrow, I frantically go over once again my checklists of the various things that I need to do before departing. I've finished my schoolwork for my maymester course, sent off tons of paperwork for my scholarship, I bought a new pair of shoes and a couple other odds and ends, and said goodbye to as many people as I could get a hold of these last few weeks. But I realized that I also needed to get back on here and brush the dirt off of my old posts and get ready to start blogging again for my upcoming trip. So here goes...

I will be in Amman, Jordan from this Saturday until Christmas Eve. My schedule includes a language course during the month of June, an internship for July and August (still working out the details on that), and a study abroad course from September until early December. I'm hoping to do a little bit of travel outside of Jordan during this time: independently to Syria, with my study abroad team to Egypt, and with my parents to Israel/Palestine. Still a lot of stuff to get figured out exactly, but time is running out and I hit the ground running tomorrow!

I'm really excited for this opportunity to live for 7 months in a foreign country. Unlike my past travels, this will be the first time that I am actively working on my language skills while abroad. Right now my Arabic is sufficient to get around (I hope), but come Decmeber I am excited to see where I will be. Academically, I'm looking forward the opportunity to do some research (and also some volunteering) related to the refugees living in Jordan (a ton of Palestinians and over half a million Iraqis). And in general, I'm thrilled to be making a lot of new friends over there, through my programs, travels, and couchsurfing.org (amazing site, check it out!).

That's all I've got for now, I'll post more once I get there. You can keep in touch with me while I'm gone through facebook, email (aadaniel@email.unc.edu) or skype (daniel_acker).
سلام (Peace),
Daniel

PS - Here are a couple of pictures from my trip with my brother and friends to Mexico over spring break, enjoy. (video from the trip can be found here)