These past few weeks have been good.  I have been learning tons and there are even times when I feel like people can understand my Arabic!  It has been good to be back from vacation and get back into the rhythm of things after such a wonderful vacation.  Since I am a few weeks away from my half way point in the program (crazy how fast it has flown by!) it has been a good time for contemplating what I want to accomplish and what I want to know from the people here before I leave back to the good ol' USA.  I am finally breaking out of my shell and asking people about politics and religion and trying to really understand their points of view.
Living here in Jordan has been different than what I expected.  Not that I ever really knew what I was getting into, but it has been broadened my horizons and I am learning more than I expected about myself and the world around me.  I have learned that I'm really a chicken when it comes to talking about difficult subjects, but I've also learned that I'm pretty good at handling delicate subjects in various situations.  I've experienced waking up at 4:30 and listening to the surreal sound of the call to prayer.  I've realized that the Jordanian diet is not as healthy as my usual diet.  I've realized that I feel strange not being Muslim here.  Above all, I've realized that I do not and may never fully understand the culture here.  There have been times where I just want to go home, crawl into my bed, and hide until everything becomes clear to me.  I'm pretty sure most people call that "culture shock", but it feels more like a subtle presence that slowly creeps in until you realize that all you want is a good American hamburger, mountains to hike in, and a dog (the dog has nothing to do with what I have at home, I just still want one).
But things have been good.  I am happy, and life goes on!  Here's to more wonderful adventures ahead of us :)