yallabina!

As I was finishing my Masters at U of T this Spring, and preparing to move to Cairo, I declared 2009-2010 as my "working holiday," meaning that I would work and get paid, but relax a bit more, do some traveling, read for fun and rest. I loved my studies at U of T, but it was tiring.

Of course I'm completely incompetent at saying no, and at knowing my limits, so I am now signed up for 2 nights of Arabic lessons a week. (On top of my other work and committee involvement).

Some of you know that I bought a self-teaching program before I left. I'm the worst self-teacher I know. (The ironies of this are great, I understand, since I am a TEACHER). But, I learn better when I have accountability and when someone is explaining stuff to me.

Arabic is no longer an interest, it is a necessity. Consider the following situation:

Electricity man arrives at the door to collect for October. He collected last month for August and September, and I paid him. Tonight he said in very broken English "you pay 3 months." I say the one Arabic word I know off by heart "La'a" [NO]. He pulls out electricity bills from June and July, and insists that I pay them. We're both pantomiming a ton at this point. Waving your hands and shaking your head is universal. I say "I no live here June July. I no pay." (Honestly, people understand pidgeon versions of their foreign language better, it's been proven.) The landlord was eventually called, and he eventually agreed to pay for June and July. I'm embarrassed to admit that we probably quibbled over about $10, but it was the principle of the matter!

Anyways, I wish I could have been a better guest to his country by at least greeting him and knowing my numbers in Arabic. Hopefully 4 hrs a week of small group tutoring will help some.

Someone suggested I post a question here, to get you to respond. So here it is:

If you were learning Arabic as a foreign language, what would your first priority be? What words and phrases would you want to learn???

Yallabina! Let's go!