By allisonray94
No matter where you're studying in the world, homework will always take up approximately 86% of your time. Classes have started and, as such, I've had so much less time to see Amman. At the same time I'm learning more Arabic than ever. That tends to happen when all of your classes are taught in Arabic. With Fusha (formal Arabic) and Aamiyya (Jordanian Dialect Arabic) classes, that's not so bad. We have vocabulary lists every week. On the other hand, try taking a college-level Literature class in Arabic. In our last class we collectively struggled to describe personification in Arabic. The Language Pledge is like a game of Taboo that never ends.
Guess who can sufficiently get by in Arabic, though? That's right. Me. I can chit chat with taxi drivers, order food successfully, and even hang with the local youths without ever stooping to English. And when you're forced to listen to and use Arabic on a daily basis, you find you get better really quickly. Not that there aren't moments when I can't understand a word someone's said and feel like I might as well not have taken Arabic for all the good it's done me. But that's all a normal, uncomfortable part of the process.
Stray Observations of the Week:
- Google Translate is not familiar with the Jordanian Dialect.
- Even though I've pledged to speak only Arabic, sometimes my brain forgets and English just spills out.
- Arabic Scrabble is the hardest game you'll ever play (yes, the words do have to go from right to left).
- Women and men are separated on the public buses. Women: don't look back at the men, it's not cool.
- Cats are to Amman what rats are to New York.
- Aid al-Adha is next week. Get ready for a week in Aqaba!
That's all for now. Happy holiday!