I am a Fulbright fellow at the University of Jordan this academic year, teaching courses in beginning writing, intercultural communication, and technical writing. I have been teaching at the university level for five years and also work as a freelance translator, primarily from French and Spanish into English. One reason I chose to come to Jordan is because I began studying Arabic around the same time as I began my MFA program in 2010 and came to Amman for a language study program not long after. I had been looking for a reason to come back ever since.
In addition to teaching, I’m taking advantage of my time here to begin translating more from Arabic into English. There are far too few books by Arab authors that make it into English, especially in the US, and I think we can all agree that—now more than ever—intercultural communication between the Arabic- and English-speaking worlds is vital. The scholar David Damrosch calls books “windows on the world” that are opened when we read, and I have seen firsthand how dramatically they can change the course of a life: my introduction to this region was through the books I stumbled across as a child in the rural American South. I had never met an Arab or a Muslim, I had never left the country, but already I saw the things that united us rather than those that divided us. I want to be a part of bringing more literature—not simply about the region but from it—into English.
For the same reason, I think it’s amazing that the University of Jordan’s Faculty of Languages requires students to take a course on intercultural communication. I feel lucky to have been able to teach it this year; I think it’s one of the most valuable courses I have ever given. I’ve been blown away by my students’ intellectual curiosity and openness. In the fall semester, shortly after my arrival here, my course also occasionally felt like a culture shock support group; I think that—more than anyone—I have my students to thank for my quick adjustment to life in a new country.