School Time!

I have some very exciting news! Yesterday all of the YES abroad scholars going to Oman got our school assignments! Suddenly, it all seems so real. And I love it!

I am going to a school called Al-Ibdaa, located, rather obviously, in the city of Muscat. Another of the YES abroad scholars, Mae, will be attending school with me and I'm very excited that things have worked out this way!

I have been told by YES graduates that Al-Ibdaa is one of the more Omani schools, and I have read on their website that the school is very focused on knowledge of Arabic. It sounds like a great school for me!

Speaking of Arabic, I am slowly but surely working on learning the language. I know most of the characters and have a miniscule vocabulary, but hey, I'm progressing! I can say such necessary words as hello (ahlan), thank you (shukran), book (kitaab) and tea (shaay). The last one is inspired by a friend of mine who is off to Turkey next year, since her first word in Turkish was tea!

I also have a very exciting Arabic related story for you! I was in California a week ago visiting family when I spotted a little whole in the wall felafel shop that I obviously had to check out. My family and I ordered some food to go, and while we were waiting one of the chefs got a phone call, which he answered in Arabic! I picked up a few words, I believe, one of them being hello, and the other being table (I could be wrong about the second one!). Then, I gathered my courage and when the food came out I thanked the man in Arabic! He was very surprised and promptly asked where I was from. When I said I was American he was even more surprised! He wanted to know why I was learning Arabic, so I told him about the YES program and my impending exchange in Oman. He seemed very excited about everything and offered to help me with Arabic whenever I wanted. Sadly, the felafel shop is in California and I live in Oregon, so it seems a bit far for me to pop in for tutoring. Still, I am very excited that he was able to understand me! I am hoping to find a place in Portland where I can practice my Arabic on a regular basis.  

I will leave you with a picture of me (I'm sure you all know who I am) holding a sign that may, or may not, be my name in Arabic. Remember to read from right to left! By the way, Arabic doesn't seem to have a V sound, so I'm substituting TH until I find out if that is right!