Kids, to truly unravel the story and paint a vivid picture of how everything unfolded, we need to go back to the Fall of 2023, when thirteen MIT students were chosen to teach in Jordan (GPT’s take on how Ted Mosby would start this). We had multiple training sessions, and the participants were from all Arab World programs, so I didn’t really get to know who was going to be in Jordan until I got to Jordan. The groups of students chosen to participate in MISTI Arab World were very diverse and from different class years, and I had only met a few people before. Throughout those meetings, my focus was mainly on preparing for the trip, and I only got to meet a few people, most of whom weren’t even doing GTL Jordan.

I usually travel with friends, so coming to Jordan without knowing the other instructors was a bit unnerving. I was also worried about how people would regard me in Jordan and if I’d feel isolated. With these thoughts in mind, I boarded a plane from Dubai to Amman and hoped for the best. I must confess, the flight was one of the more unpleasant ones for me. A middle-aged man who didn’t speak English ordered me, pointing his finger to move my seat so his family could get an aisle seat. While waiting for my baggage, I had to stand near women because the men kept pushing each other and me to retrieve bags from the carousel, which turned out not to be theirs. By the end of the night, I felt exhausted and lost, telling myself that I should just focus on teaching and try to explore the city as much as I could.

With this mindset, I spent the next few days trying to meet people and ventured out of the hotel to explore to the fullest. However, I didn’t put extra effort into my relationships with others, as I didn’t have any expectations of forming close bonds.

The natural question is, what changed my heart? I think the answer is the magic of the Boulevard. There were three days and three events in particular that changed my heart, and it all goes back to the Boulevard: this street with many shops and food options, only a 7-minute walk away from the hotel.

The first event was when some of the girls (and Kinan :DD) went to the Mall near the Boulevard to shop for clothes because we realized laundry was expensive, and we simply needed a reason to get new clothes. I think giving advice on what to buy while pampering each other was such a great way to bond!

The second time, I was feeling under the weather, so one of the staff members from Injaz offered to take me in his car. Till then, I hadn't interacted with the staff at all aside from introductions, but during the ride, I got to learn more about two of the staff members. Though I was pretty exhausted, their jokes and stories lifted my mood, and soon I felt energized. Once we arrived at the Boulevard, we joined the other instructors and students for lunch, where I got to meet even more people and started enjoying myself more and more.

The third time the Boulevard worked its magic was the next day when I joined some of the other instructors for lunch and later for an evening stroll and a small bite. On that day, I hung out with the instructors I had spent the least amount of time with previously, and by the end of the night, I had befriended all the other instructors, and the feelings of shyness and worries about being isolated all faded away. You can tell that something switched in life when you look at your photos and see the spike in group pictures and a wide and honest smile on everyone’s faces.

From then on, the fun was on! We went to lots of cafes, restaurants, lounges, and bars, played board games in each other’s rooms (cough, Sophie and Melissa’s room), and on the bus to and from our next adventure. We did karaoke, and we did it twice because we just love dueting and singing in a group. We made a separate group chat for memes and inside jokes and did our best to take awkward photos of each other (well, some of us did a great job of hiding from the camera). Together, we learned how to dance, and whoever shied away, we dared them to solo dance whenever they lost a bet. We also spent a lot of time arguing over who’s going to pay because Jordanians love treating their guests, and we love our Jordanian friends! We lived, loved, laughed, and I miss it all so much — the cafes, the jokes, the dances, and how we opened up our hearts.