Fellows' Reflections: Hannah Rosenwinkel

My Journey from the Midwest to the Middle East

Whether I’m meeting new friends at a local coffee shop, chatting with coworkers, or even trying trying to resolve a credit card issue over the phone, a question I’m commonly asked is “how did you end up in Jordan?” Expats in Jordan all have a different answer to this question, but given my previous work experience and geographic upbringing (Minnesota), it always seems like people are even more curious to hear my answer.

In college I studied both Global Studies (focus on the Middle East) and Supply Chain & Operations Management at the University of Minnesota (U of M), Twin Cities. During my time in school, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Amman, Jordan for a semester, where I fell in love with the people, culture and the region, and promised myself that I would return again one day to work and live. After debating whether to return to Amman immediately post-graduation or experience what it’s like to work at a large corporation, I decided to take a job in supply chain transportation at a large agriculture cooperative in Minnesota. I loved my experience there and learned more than I ever thought I would about transportation, but I knew that I still wanted to return to Amman sooner than later.

As of today, it’s been about five months since I moved to Amman to work for Bayt.com, the largest job website in the Middle East. At Bayt, I work in B2B e-commerce marketing, which is extremely different from my previous work in supply chain transportation. The work that I do ranges from implementing user experience design improvements on our employer website and sending email marketing campaigns to documenting processes and coding HTML. Even though this job is extremely different from my previous position in supply chain, I’m thankful for the skills I’ve learned at Bayt and in the marketing department.

So, to answer the question of how I ended up in Jordan, my answer is a combination of professional and personal reasons. Professionally, I wanted an international work experience that would combine my passions for business and the Middle East. I knew I wanted to get this experience as soon as I could in my career. Personally, I wanted to move to a place where I knew I could find community. Since I spent time in Amman during college, I was naturally drawn to Jordan.

Five months in, Amman is feeling like home. I have made local friends along with many expats, brushed up on my Arabic, joined a gym and found a yoga studio I love. I have been fortunate to have taken a few trips outside of the Jordan the past few months. On the last day of my most recent trip to Dubai, where I met up with a Minnesotan friend on a work trip, she asked her co-workers and I if we were ready to go home yet. For her co-workers, their home was obviously Minnesota. For me, the home I was returning to was Amman. In that moment, the thought that “Amman is home” was a realization and affirmation that I made the right decision moving from the Midwest to the Middle East.

I’m still working on my answer to “how did you end up in Jordan,” but for now, I feel blessed that I ended up here in Amman and can call it my home.