My name is Olivia Chowdhury and I major in Political Sciences and minor in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the College of Charleston. I am currently a senior at The College; spending my final Fall semester in Amman, Jordan with The School for International Training. I chose SIT’s program focusing on geopolitics, international relations, and the future of the Middle East to have the opportunity to learn more about the Palestinian refugee crisis and how it effects Jordan, as well as, learn the Jordanian Arabic dialect. Some goals I had walking into the program were to secure an internship relating to refugee work and to speak as little English as possible. Prior to arriving in Jordan, I hadn’t done much research on the actual country. Jordan does not make the news as much as other Middle Eastern
countries and their politics are quite different. Upon arriving, I learned about their water crisis, interactions with refugees, and regional politics as being a buffer in the region.