okay, so i was very nervous for my first day of school yesterday. i hadn't been in a college classroom for over 3 years (where does the time go?). so on my way to my Arabic class i was very apprehensive. but it turned out pretty well.
As we waited for the TA to come in i noticed that the breakdown of the students taking Arabic at OSU was not significantly different from the students taking Arabic at Purdue. There are the ROTC men, the Arab-American women in Hijab, the Southeast Asians and then a few others who don't fit other categories. i was starting to feel more comfortable. Although most students are young(er than me), i'm not even the oldest student in the class. (and i wouldn't talk about my kids, even if i were and had kids.)
i was made to feel even more comfortable when the instructor walked in to the classroom. His accent was Moroccan. Woot! Someone who will understand me. It turns out i'm a lot farther in Al-Kitab than the rest of the class. I already had my homework done, in fact. but the first question i was asked was what did i study. i had to say i don't study, which confused the instructor. but then i went on to say i work at the Middle East Studies Center. that got me off the hook.
all-in-all, i think it went well. certainly better than i was expecting. after class, i went to Hillel and had a celebratory bagel and lox. yum.
As we waited for the TA to come in i noticed that the breakdown of the students taking Arabic at OSU was not significantly different from the students taking Arabic at Purdue. There are the ROTC men, the Arab-American women in Hijab, the Southeast Asians and then a few others who don't fit other categories. i was starting to feel more comfortable. Although most students are young(er than me), i'm not even the oldest student in the class. (and i wouldn't talk about my kids, even if i were and had kids.)
i was made to feel even more comfortable when the instructor walked in to the classroom. His accent was Moroccan. Woot! Someone who will understand me. It turns out i'm a lot farther in Al-Kitab than the rest of the class. I already had my homework done, in fact. but the first question i was asked was what did i study. i had to say i don't study, which confused the instructor. but then i went on to say i work at the Middle East Studies Center. that got me off the hook.
all-in-all, i think it went well. certainly better than i was expecting. after class, i went to Hillel and had a celebratory bagel and lox. yum.
10 comments:
did you get a first day of school picture?
wow. sounds like a wonderful kind of day. thanks for sharing your day from inside your mind. it is almost like we were sitting there with you. and woot indeed for him being Moroccan. What could be better.
Happy Learning!! because I know you are always happy learning.
I am proud of you.
yeah, I know... me again. but I was just clicking on the links and recognized djembes being played on Israel palooza 2006 banner at top. how cool is that. you should take yours back with you on one trip. and play again.
Glad school went will sir. What is the next trip and when?
"I don't study." You could have said why you were in the class from the beginning, I suppose.
Hillel. Will you be hanging out at the Kingdom Hall again too?
No, "I don't study" fits Cory pretty well. I like it!
I wish you better luck with your Arabic classes than mine. We spend 3 months (literally) learning the alphabet.
Bon courage!
what, then, is your definition of "study"?
;)
I hope your Dept. of Arabic does not run into the sort of problems detailed here:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/pvqu3
Good luck!
This is great info to know.
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