It’s June 29th, 2018. To some, it’s just another day. To me, June 29th is incredibly special. On this day, exactly a year ago, I landed in the Queen Alia Airport in Amman, Jordan, marking the first day of a life-changing stay in Jordan. On June 29th I gained my first glimpses of a new culture, became immersed in a new language, and began a new personal journey. Today, a year later, I want to relive that day in my memory and share a recently published article wherein I reflect on such a formative summer spent in Jordan with NSLI-Y.

A few months ago, I received an exciting email from NSLI-Y’s Alumni Coordinator. The Imagine Magazine by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth was looking for a NSLI-Y Arabic alum to write an article discussing Arabic immersion on a NSLI-Y summer program. When I was offered the opportunity, I was elated– I had never written for an official print publication before!

Just yesterday, I received a hefty envelope in the mail. The five, beautiful magazine copies enclosed in the manila packaging were truly a sight to behold. The cover, design, and visuals look wonderful, and it’s still hard to believe that my very own writing has been featured! I am so honored to have received this opportunity and I truly hope that my reflection will encourage interested students to look into NSLI-Y and related exchange programs.

While the article is published in print, they do have PDF versions online, which I have linked below. The theme for this edition is Language and Linguistics, so I would definitely recommend all language enthusiasts to look at the other amazing articles that have been featured; they are truly insightful and inspiring!

My article: https://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/docs/NSLI-Y-2018.pdf

Other articles in this edition: https://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/about/current.html