Epilogue
“Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.” -Rumi
My last few days in the office were an emotional and heartwarming whirlwind of doleful goodbyes, number’s exchanged, and social media’s acquainted. If I’m being completely honest, I was extremely sad on the inside, for saying goodbye is never an easy business, but it is, unfortunately, an eventually necessary one. Though it’s been almost 3 weeks since I’ve returned, I’ve been feeling the mawkish aches and pains all too common with separations rather strongly as of late. Recalling my summer routine which I had taken entirely taken too naturally to (like a fish to water to be honest), I've been catching myself missing Amman like crazy, namely the people I met and the project I had the privilege of being a part of.
I want to take this time to say thank you to everyone who made my summer not just one that’s been gratifying and enjoyable, but one that’s been a truly transformative experience for me and my professional and personal growth.
Thank you Hala for opening up your home to me and being the best team lead one could ask for, with your wealth of advice, anecdotes, and knowledge. Your guidance throughout the summer was invaluable to me, and I will keep those lessons with me for the rest of my life.
Thank you Sawsan for being such a supportive and helpful team lead, as well as being one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. Your constant encouragement and support meant the world to me, and I will miss our daily chats dearly.
Thank you Ruby for your warmhearted smile every morning, along with your words of wisdom, and all your care. Your constant reassurance got me through even my most harrowing moments of self-doubt, and I cannot thank you enough for that, and for your dedication to what you do.
Thank you Nebras and Riyad for not just being my coworkers, but being my brothers and mentors through these past near three months. I will remember all of our amusing adventures, meaningful conversations, and banter fondly, and I can’t wait to see you both again when fate allows. You guys were my best friends in the office and both of your guys’ passion and dedication to the future of Jordan was extremely inspiring to me.
Thank you Mohammad Aljazi for taking me on so many exciting excursions and being one of the most gracious hosts I’ve ever met. You made me feel at home in Amman and I am so indebted to all I learned from you in the field, not just about municipal politics in Jordan, but about Jordanian culture and customs. You gave me truly immersive experience and for that, I thank you abundantly.
Thank you Ola and Fadi for being remarkable pillars of support and always there for a good laugh. Ola, I cannot thank you enough for being a never-ending source of support, lessons, light-heartedness, and gaiety. You’re a living example that past all the pessimism and negativity that can accompany the legal field, there always lies the goodness that has all the power to change the world, and I hope to be as awesome as a lawyer as you one day :)
Thank you to Fahima, our Deputy Chief of Party for Operations & Compliance, for being my island of stability in a sea shifting expectations and oft-recurring uncertainty, and being a slice of Northern Virginian, Afghan-American home, halfway across the world. I will miss our daily walks home, chatting in Urdu, Farsi, and English—in the same sentence—and our illuminating talks that always left me feeling better about the world and my place in it. You’re amazing at what you do and your work product, and team, are striking testaments of that.
Lastly, thank to all the lovely people—Mark, the Nidals, Salam, Ghaida, Mostafa, Qaryouti, Lara, Salman, Hamzeh, Mahmoud, Ala’a, Yasmin, David, Imran, Rand, Khalil, Asma’a, Lamar, the Ahmads, Ibrahim, Eyad Mango, Anas, Hani, Bandar, Yazan, Hisham, Amal, Ahlam, Mohammad Mahroq, Fadi, George, Wissam, Faris, Muhammad, Mustafa, Al Amoush, Salima, Dima, Linda, Qamar, Myasser, and especially Hatem—whose smiling faces and witty raillery I came to love and adore. I will miss you all dearly and knowing what a committed, reliable, down-to-earth, and loving group of people you are, I know not just the future of the project, but that of Jordan, are beyond bright.
I simply wish to say that I am so appreciative for the many blessings that life has wrought upon me. From seeing places my forebears could only dream of seeing, to meeting the sweetest, most kindhearted people one could imagine, there is nothing I take for granted. This summer was a reminder of all the good I have to be thankful for and I am so happy it happened. It’s funny how the places you go and people you meet take root and grow in your heart despite all the miles, seas, and mountains of separation.
In light of the past few summers I've spent abroad, I keep telling myself that maybe it’s a curse of mine to make such intense and intimate relationships with said peoples and places, only to dissipate as a memory in the summer’s afternoon haze. But that’s simply not true. Life isn’t about casually just moving on, and forgetting. It’s about honoring what’s happened. You get to know a place, and meet people who ignite something in you that you yourself didn’t even know existed. The work, at that point, when it all ends, is to be grateful. Grateful everyday that they crossed your path and left that mark on you, which will never dissipate and never leave, as you step, now reassured, into the great unknown frontier we call the future.
As I sit and write this in my suburban home in Northern Virginia, thousands of miles and several seas away from Amman, I know that I too will carry all the lessons I’ve learnt this summer in my heart, and let them guide me into the future.
So thank you Jordan, for yet another summer of growth and sunshine. Your beautiful landscapes and people are forever carved into my soul.
And to my dearest Amman, ya hamamat bayda, all I can say is: until we meet again.
Until we meet again.