Greetings, Travel Notes readers!  (I’d say something clever in Arabic at this point, but I’m trying to keep my foreign language use to a minimum right now so as not to embarrass myself.)

My name is Kelly Capehart, and I’m writing to you from the stunning city of Nicosia, Cyprus.  I’m not actually studying abroad here: my ultimate destination is Amman, Jordan, with the School for International Training’s (SIT) Modernization and Social Change program.  Hopefully, I’ll improve my Arabic—God knows it can’t possibly get any worse—enjoy some cultural sites, and eat plenty of falafel while I’m there.  I just visited Jordan and Egypt in December, so I’m comforted by the fact that I know generally what to expect—hummus, sand and Al-Jazeera, amongst other things.

But until I depart for Jordan, I’ll be biding my time here on my Cypriot detour.  I have a friend who lives here, and one of my SIT compatriots is here with us as well.  In the past week, I’ve seen more beaches than I’ve seen in the rest of my lifetime collectively, and I’ve got the sand in my bed to prove it.  Impressively, my fellow SIT-er and I have managed to cover every available inch of floor space with our cumbersome but well-stocked bags—if by “well-stocked” I mean “packed to capacity with things I can’t possibly need”—leaving only barely enough room to navigate around the standing fan.  I never thought I’d be so grateful for fans. Things are very, very toasty here.  Staying hydrated is a part-time job, which means that, at least for me, visiting every bathroom in the city is also an enveloping pastime.  The facilities are all lovely, by the way.

I’m already used to the Euro, just in time to switch to the…um…Jordanian money-thingy.  I’ve also learned to appreciate driving—or riding, in my case—on the left side of the road, a la the English, and I’ve come to truly love the 24-hour bakery, which is like a much-improved 7-11.  I’ve also been inadvertently picking up quite a bit of the Greek alphabet, which is lovely except that I’m sure it’s crowding out the room for Arabic in my brain.

So while I haven’t quite managed to depart for Jordan yet, it’s definitely on my mind.  But I’m well over halfway there, and in my spare time as I wait to depart Cyprus, I can do some critical research (i.e., what sort of money they use in Jordan.  Like I said, my brain space is limited).  Ma’assalama—as I think our Arab friends would say—for now!

—Kelly Capehart is a junior studying abroad this semester in Jordan. She served last year as the Sports Editor for The Miscellany News.

• Tags: Detours, New Customs

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