American Stereotypes 101: The Study Abroad Student

And onto the next analysis of our wonderful American compatriots: The Study Abroad Student.

Amman hosts several different study abroad programs of varying capacities, but the students are all relatively the same kind of bright-eyed, terrified 18-22 year old for the first week or two of their time here. They travel in packs of six or more for the duration, even after they learn to be unafraid of Amman in all her dusty, hot, trash-littered glory.

Does this look scary to you?

Some come because they want to improve their Arabic after studying Al-Kitaab Book One for two semesters in the US. Some decide to come to Jordan after tasting hummus at one Middle East Students Association mixer at their univeristy. And some (particularly 'special' girls) hope to live out their wildest Sex and the City 2 fantasy (Thank you horse face, eerrr, I mean SJP).

Sorry, couldn't resist.

The initial days reveal how little Arabic they know, and their first brave linguistic steps into the world are almost immediately followed by a humbling experience. With their confidence shaken, these students almost immediately end up at a popular expat haunt on Rainbow Street called La Calle. Without fail. For a week each semester, La Calle (probably) quadruples its happy hour revenues thanks to our wonderful little future ambassadors paying exorbitant amounts to drink cold Amstels and eat hot wings amongst Amman's trendy expat and local crowd. (Editors Note: Those hot wings are f-ing delicious and they have real blue cheese).

Wish all you like, Colin Farrell will not be appearing at happy hour in Amman.

And then things start getting loud and obnoxious. Their fear fades, yet somehow they feel the need to stick to Lonely Planet's recommendations for every night out or weekend excursion. This lends to their frequenting the same six restaurants, cafes, & bars during their tenure here, to most other American's annoyance.

This is what we see.

Then things start to get crazy as their time here progresses. They REALLY TRULY want to make a difference in the short time they have in Jordan, so they make an effort to volunteer with refugees, in poverty areas, or with children...for about a day. The inefficient realities of the developing world are too much to bear for their sense of selflessness.

Ew, these people didn't even have pencils ready for their English lesson!

Then towards the end of their trip, all bets are off. They start venturing into more "Jordanian" areas like Souk Abdali and the Balad buy their spices and keffiyehs...as an adventure. At least one male attempts unsuccessfully to hit on Jordanian girls at a bar or club, sometimes with hilarious results.

Sorry Michael Vartan, but you shouldn't have asked her to dance in front of her cousin.

The most ridiculous things, however, generally happen when these students live with Jordanian families. At one end of the spectrum, there are the cautionary tales of girls dating their homestay siblings as a casual fling in the Middle East. Except that their host brother usually thinks this relationship is the first step towards marriage, and is heartbroken beyond reproach when their expiration dating is over.

This is not what a cultural ambassador is supposed to do!!!!

Analysis

Ridiculousness: 3/5
These kids are overly sensitive to American stereotypes, usually distancing themselves from the "typical" American stereotypes and are very quick to disguise their actual opinions. They are also frequently unwilling to judge Jordanian institutions and customs from "a colonial western perspective." However, they forget that "a colonial western perspective" is the only perspective they have. Durr.

Insecurity: 4.5/5
They are insecure by default, as they are mostly completely unsure why they are coming in the first place. And, after they get home, all anyone ever hears is "When I was living in Jordan..."

Intangibles: 3/5
These students are the seed for almost all the other stereotypes on this little jaunt of ours. REMEMBER THAT, PARENTS!

Total: 3.5/5 Picard Facepalms