Me along Ruston Way during Reading Period this past spring semester before leaving to go abroad.

Hello, my name is Amanda Klein, and I am a rising senior at UPS. I am double majoring in Politics & Government (tracking in International Relations) and International Political Economy, specializing in studies of Middle Eastern Political Economics and Arabic. I will be blogging for What We Do while I am abroad in Jordan this summer.

Last fall I studied abroad through SIT (School for International Training) in Rabat, Morocco. I loved North Africa and Arabic so much that I decided I wanted to keep traveling around and studying the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region. This spring I was admitted to Qasid Institute’s Summer Intensive Arabic Program, located in Amman, Jordan. I was thrilled to have the chance to continue my Arabic studies.

In addition to living in Amman for ten weeks, I have had the chance to do quite a lot of traveling since the beginning of the summer. I plan to post a few entries on my travels prior to the beginning of the program to get everyone reading this caught up, in addition to entries on what I do and where I go while I am in Jordan.

A few random facts about myself…

1) I play the clarinet in Concert Band at UPS. I started playing clarinet in fifth grade. I am rather abhorrent and possess little natural talent for the instrument, but love playing it in an ensemble.

2) My favorite foods are hummus, chocolate, coffee, and mint lemonade. Thankfully, all four of these foods can be found in delicious abundance in the Middle East.

3) I have visited thirteen countries outside the United States. If I haven’t been there, it’s probably on my list.

Countries I have visited are highlighted in blue.