Marhaba, Hello!
I'm taking Arabic classes twice a week with Wafa, one of our Arabic teachers. She's fabulous! She even wrote the book, "Communicate Wafa's Way; Lebanese Arabic", that we're using in class. My head must be made of concrete... everything seems to bounce off. Met with Dennis at Cafe Younes for another round of practice, bouncing through the verb conjugations and vocabulary, wondering if it's EVER going to stick.
Instead of learning to read Arabic, Wafa has transliterated the Arabic into the English alphabet. So, "Kiifik", How are you (to a female), vs. "Kiifak" (to a male). Maaba-arif = I don't know, to Isimii Carolyn, My name is Carolyn. Arabic only uses vowels a, u, and i. It's a giant challenge, but I get such a positive response when I try, that it is definitely a good fikra (idea)!
In class last week I got so exasperated with the noise that I yelled, "Hallaas Baa!" (Enough already!) The kids at first shocked, began laughing and gave me a standing ovation; not exactly the response I was looking for... but I did feel pretty good about it. Yesterday on the hike I met some kind people, Lebanese, who had helped me buy some food from the Arabic menu. As I got off the bus I thanked them: "Shokran! Tcharaafnaa!" Thank you, Nice to meet you! They broke out in smiles, clearly surprised. Hey, whether they are laughing at or with me, it doesn't matter. This stuff is proving good to know! Now, if I could just trade my almost 60 year old brain for a fresh sticky 20 yr old one...
I'm taking Arabic classes twice a week with Wafa, one of our Arabic teachers. She's fabulous! She even wrote the book, "Communicate Wafa's Way; Lebanese Arabic", that we're using in class. My head must be made of concrete... everything seems to bounce off. Met with Dennis at Cafe Younes for another round of practice, bouncing through the verb conjugations and vocabulary, wondering if it's EVER going to stick.
Instead of learning to read Arabic, Wafa has transliterated the Arabic into the English alphabet. So, "Kiifik", How are you (to a female), vs. "Kiifak" (to a male). Maaba-arif = I don't know, to Isimii Carolyn, My name is Carolyn. Arabic only uses vowels a, u, and i. It's a giant challenge, but I get such a positive response when I try, that it is definitely a good fikra (idea)!
In class last week I got so exasperated with the noise that I yelled, "Hallaas Baa!" (Enough already!) The kids at first shocked, began laughing and gave me a standing ovation; not exactly the response I was looking for... but I did feel pretty good about it. Yesterday on the hike I met some kind people, Lebanese, who had helped me buy some food from the Arabic menu. As I got off the bus I thanked them: "Shokran! Tcharaafnaa!" Thank you, Nice to meet you! They broke out in smiles, clearly surprised. Hey, whether they are laughing at or with me, it doesn't matter. This stuff is proving good to know! Now, if I could just trade my almost 60 year old brain for a fresh sticky 20 yr old one...
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