Archive for the category of: “arabic language”

I’m due for a blog update (I know)

4 months since my last post – wow – I am such a bad blogger.  I could tell you how I was busy with work, friends, family, etc but the truth is…that…I…just…didn’t…feel…like…writing.  Could this be writer’s block?  No, because writer’s block is where I sit in front of a laptop with a blinking cursor staring back at me but I didn’t even go as far as to open up my Wordpress admin site to even see a cursor.

So, there you have it.  Confessions of a non-blogaholic.

But if I WERE to have blogged, I would have blogged the following.  And excuse the lack of photos b/c photo editing and uploading would mean that this post would never get out:

  1. Feb - DB’s company had its first round of layoffs (or “redundancies” as it’s called here) and luckily for us, DB’s name was not on “THE LIST.”  We did lose about 100 colleagues in the process although the exact number was not released by the company.
  2. early March - DB’s company had its second round of layoffs, er redundancies (still trying to get used to that word) which affected my business unit (yes, we work for the same company) and luckily I was also not on “THE LIST” but sadly another 100 or so colleagues were let go.
  3. mid March - I celebrated my 32nd birthday and blew more money at Atlantis (all alcohol!) than I make in 2 months.  But it was so worth it :)
  4. late March - had a lovely long-weekend trip to Muscat where we met up with some old friends.  Pictures (hopefully) to come soon.
  5. Apr - I started Level 3 of Arabic class which went well.  Level 1 was all oral and beginner’s stuff and Level 2 was learning how to read and write the alphabet.  And now for Level 3, we focused on learning how to read and write all the oral stuff that we learned in Level 1.
  6. mid Apr - I peed on a stick.  The stick conjured up a symbol.  The symbol made me feel numb.  Through my numbness I managed to call DB over to examine the symbol.  The symbol’s message was clear – we would be expecting a new arrival come December.  DB was overcome with joy and excitement.  I still hate babies.  It was definitely Clear. Blue. Easy.
  7. early May - DB and I visited the OB.  I was prepared to pee in a cup or have my blood collected for b-a-b-y verification but instead she sticks me on the exam table and aims an ultrasound thing at me.  We then saw our little blueberry (actual size) on the screen with its beating heart – it was the cutest thing ever.  Still brings happy tears to my eyes just thinking of it.  Maybe there’s hope for me.  Maybe I won’t hate my own baby.
  8. mid May - DB and I finally bought own very own car after renting for the last 1.5 years.  We have had a whole rainbow of Yarises – green, red, silver, powder blue, black.   Goodbye Yaris, hello Landrover.  I have to admit, the news of the b-a-b-y did spur us in this direction.  I was prepared to wait until December but DB was anxious to ditch the rental and finally get the car he’d been dreaming of for years.
  9. June - I had my last day at work due to my 1-year contract being completed.  I will not be pursuing further employment (at this time) as the b-a-b-y is due in December and I will be going home to NYC for July and August.  Very much looking forward to being home for the first time in almost 2 years.  Sadly sans husband as DB has to stay and work (hey, someone has to pay the bills).

So here we are – almost July, unemployed, and p-r-e-g-n-a-n-t (I hate that word).  I can’t promise that this won’t turn into some kind of baby blog b/c there seems to be some kind of weird phenomenon that happens where pregnant people/moms tend to talk about their experience and their child all the time.

Khalas!  And here lyeth my blog updated.

Ahlan wa Sahlan!

It feels like only yesterday when I was struggling to get myself registered for Arabic language classes but that was more than 5 months ago already. Since then, I’ve finished Arabic level one and just this past week I’ve finished level two.

Level 1 was all speaking and in Level 2 we learned how to read and write in Arabic. And I am proud to say that I received a grade of 100% on my written test – woohoo! I am looking forward to Level III which is where we will learn more grammar and hopefully do more speaking.

In Dubai, no Arabic is needed to get by since English is spoken everywhere and signs are in both English and Arabic. In fact, knowing Tagalog or Hindi will probably get you farther in everyday situations than Arabic.

But I love learning languages and think that wherever I am, it would be a shame not to learn the local language in order to better understand the culture.

All my Arabic friends have been very helpful in helping me learn their language. Especially the UAE nationals at work. They do laugh at me sometimes (in good fun) at how I pronounce things and sometimes I think they get a bit tired of all my questions but everyone has been more than helpful and seem to be delighted when I started speaking simple sentences and when I started being able to write their names in Arabic.

I still struggle a bit with the pronunciations and reading because in class we use the short vowels (fatha, damma, and kasra, etc) but in print, these symbols are not used. All in good time I guess.