This past summer, I traveled to Jordan for the first time since I was a child. I was brimming with excitement in the months leading up to the trip, wrapping up my second semester of college while daydreaming about seeing family for the first time in over a decade and walking the streets I only remembered through faded memories and old photos. But what was supposed to be a trip about roots and reconnection became a reminder of the fragility of peace.

Ramsey is a sophomore from Waco studying economics and international studies in Arabic. Ramsey went to Amman, Jordan, with Qasid, an Arabic Institute Program running from June through August. But she didn’t suspect the challenges and conflicts that would occur in the coming days.

Students and faculty attended the first-ever Global Cultural Fest Thursday at the Hankamer School of Business. The event was dedicated to educating and celebrating the diversity of businesses around the world.

Dozens of Jordanian fighter jets bombed Islamic State training centers and weapons storage sites Thursday, intensifying attacks after the militants burned to death a captured Jordanian pilot.

Monday the Baylor and Waco communities will have the opportunity to listen to a performance of traditional Kurdish music by two Iraqi musicians as part of the program “American Voices: Art in Difficult Places.”