Here’s an awesome NYT article about the increase in American students studying abroad in the Middle East.
I’m hoping to study abroad in Jordan during the second semester of my junior year. Yeah, I do think it would be awesome to live in a country that shares my name and pay with Jordanian dinar (like Denari!) bills, but there are obviously more reasons to study abroad there. Jordan is located between Palestine and Iraq, two places that will continue to require a lot of media coverage in the next several years. Jordanian colloquial Arabic is very similar to both Palestinian and Iraqi Arabic, so learning that dialect will allow me to better communicate with many Arabic-speakers in my work as a journalist. In Amman I can also live with a host family, which would be a great way to truly immerse in the culture.
JORDAN DENARI DUFFNER 
That’s a fantastic idea, and well-thought-out, too! I’d forgotten about the Jordanian dinars. 🙂 Cute.