StoriesBack to Stories

By Amaya Reyes-Colhour, YES Abroad 2023-2024 Jordan

One of the most beautiful things about cultural exchanges are the things we learn and take part in and simultaneously the things we are able to teach. I was able to share my holiday traditions of Christmas and then later on I was lucky enough to be in Jordan during the holy month of Ramadan. For Christmas, my host family did everything possible to make it special to me as they knew that Christmas would be a harder part of the year, being away from my family and my typical traditions. Holidays are known to be one of the hardest parts of an exchange year but my family made sure to make it special and were happy and more than willing to partake in the holiday with me.

We all got each other gifts and opened them at midnight of Christmas and it was an amazing experience. I chose each gift for them based on stuff I knew they liked and/or had previously mentioned. They were all so grateful for their gifts and it made me happy to see the joy reflected on their faces. That’s what Christmas is about to me, giving out joy in any form. I also received gifts from them and I absolutely loved them. My favorite was a little charm with an alif, the first letter of my name in Arabic ( ا ) Even though their faith is Islam, they still participated with me and I am so incredibly grateful for that and it made my exchange just that much more memorable.

Later on, Ramadan started in March. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and consists of fasting from sunrise to sunset. It is seen as a month to be closer to Allah and be grateful for what you have. This month was very special in my exchange. It allowed me to become much closer to my host family as I fasted with them, helped with cooking, cleaning, and drank tea together after Iftar (the meal in which the fast is broken) and ate special Ramadan sweets. Being so grateful for what they did for me during Christmas, I took part in as many Ramadan festivities as I could. I got to meet more of their family and see the joy that comes with sharing a meal after fasting all day. It is also typical to stay up late and sleep in during the day. Because of this, I often went with my host sister to cafes, sweets shops, etc late into the night and it was very fun. We would also sometimes go out for Suhoor which is the last meal before going back to fasting.

It was so incredible to see the city so filled with life even at 2am. Following Ramadan was Eid al-Fitr which was also an amazing few days. This Eid celebrates the end of Ramadan and is 3 days of celebration and visiting with family. It is traditional to buy three new outfits for each day and one of my favorite memories with my host mom and sister was going shopping with them for Eid clothes. We got multiple outfits and tried them on and it was just a really fun moment. I am incredibly grateful to have been able to share my holiday traditions with them and in return get to learn about their holiday traditions. My year in Jordan was made better by these shared experiences and I couldn't be happier.