6.27.2012

Back to School!


I feel as though I am back in elementary school.  I have not sat for so long with just one or two teachers  daily for a long time.  I have started taking MSA as well as colloquial ECA classes.  I am now in class from 9 am until 2:30 Monday through Thursday, and now I have class from 9 to noon on Sunday as well.  I really like it this way.  Intensive learning and then minimal homework.  Perfect.  I really enjoy my MSA class because it is predominately media Arabic so far.  We go right out of the newspaper instead of  the Al-Kitab book series I use in college.  I am not a fan of those.  Also, today in ECA we learned about a million verbs.  It's great.  Arabic is really amazing because the verbs are so descriptive.  You can describe exactly what is going on with one word.  For instance in MSA we learned three variations of a verb based on the initial meaning "to burn": one variation meant the subject of the sentence burns the object of the sentence generally consuming everything, the second variation meant the subject of the sentence burns the object specifically (my teacher gave the example of cutting out Mubarak's picture from the newspaper and burning only that), and the third variation had a passive meaning, as in the subject was burned.  In another example there are different verbs to describe fighting with the intention of killing, fighting with the intention of hurting to show dominance, and fighting mostly vocally with a minimal physical contact.  If I come back in another life I want to be an Arabic author; the tools they have to work with are so magnificent.
I also took a trip down to where I will be studying some fall.  Dokki is the neighborhood adjacent to Modenessin (where I live now).  The Amideast study abroad facilities are located in Dokki.  I really liked the area.  I really liked the facilities.  And I think I'm really going to like the classes.  I think I will be able to make THREE apply to my environmental studies major.  That's amazing.  I didn't think I was going to get any credit at all from this (knock on wood!).
Last month was enjoy-living-alone-get-used-to-living-abroad month.  It was lovely, I think it is time to kick things into gear.  One reason is because starting the 2nd, I won'y be living alone anymore.  I am getting a flatmate, A BOY!    My landlord and Kalimat set it up, so I assume it is socially acceptable.  I am more confident getting around, I know the area better, I've made new friends, and now I have my full schools days. SO this month is going to be work-hard-play-hard month.  I have already started going out more and exploring.  I like going to bed tired and having my days filled with classes.  I am excited.  I hope you are too!

No comments:

Post a Comment