Philadelphia

Well, my adventures haven't really started yet....unless you consider getting everything done on my to-do-list-before-I-leave-for-Amman adventurous. Visiting with friends before I leave is great; packing all of my belongings in a box or a suitcase on the other hand is not so fun.

In less than two weeks, I'll be heading to Amman, Jordan for a year to teach English to fourth grade girls, learn some Arabic and get more experience in the non-profit world volunteering for an organization called Questscope. I won't start teaching until August 15th so for the first 7 weeks I'll be studying Arabic at the University of Jordan's Language Center. Focusing for three and a half hours in class every day might be a challenge but hopefully some good sleep and coffee will help.

I've never written a blog before, and don't consider myself a stellar writer by any means so I'm hoping the content should be interesting enough to make it worth the read.

I'm sure some of you are wondering why the URL is adventures in philadelphia when I'll be in Amman, Jordan not Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Amman has been inhabited by several civilations; the Greeks, Persians, Romans and Assyrians to name a few. While Amman was under Greek rule, it was renamed Philadelphia by a guy with a big ego; Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the Hellenic ruler of Egypt. I wonder if it's possible to get a philly cheese steak in Amman?

Once I get to Jordan, I'll be posting photos and writing about cultural faux pas I will inevitably commit, cultural quirks, maybe a little history and politics, my job teaching, progress (hopefully) in Arabic and more. I hope it will be good and if you have any questions to ask or comments to make, feel free! It's an interesing part of the world....