In September 2009, I asked my-very-good-friend Ralph if I should apply for the Fulbright Hays Seminar in Senegal or the Gulf States, in this case, Kuwait, the UAE, and Qatar. He promptly said, "Gulf States. That seems safer." Now he says he should have said, "Neither: the garden needs you," but that is necessarily water under the garden bridge since I'm going to the Gulf States.
As of April 15th, the US Department of Education has not been very specific about very much like where we will be when, who we will see, what we will do, how much freedom we will have to do our own research. It is a rather predictable Hurry Up and Wait. Of course, they briskly wanted to know if we had enough insurance to "repatriate the remains" and if we were healthy enough not to spontaneously require such patriation, but aside from that, not much detail. The trip leader, Dr. Jill Crystal, has sent us some readings and links of a general orientation. Great. So, in this dearth of information what does an enthusiastic, action oriented kinda gal do? Sign up for Arabic Lessons! Get a handful of books! Spend some time on Youtube! Go shopping for baggy clothes!
I am taking Arabic lessons at the local technical high school in an interesting demographic mix. More than 1/2 of the class are young women in their 20s who are married to Palestinians. 1/4 are men who want to read the Quran, and my 1/4, which is women-of-a-certain-age who are doing it for reasons that amount, essentially, to entertainment. The teacher is a former student of mine from an ESL course. She is absolutely wonderful: energetic, interactive, patient, friendly, rigorous. Thank goodness the teacher is good because Arabic makes my head spin. I have had to repeat, "Wa alaykum a-salaam" to myself over and over just to be able to respond appropriately to "Salaam alaykum." Yesterday, to my great delight, I was chatting at a reception with a colleague about the impending trip, and when we parted he said, "Salaam Alaykum." I was successfully, and only after a short pause, able to cheerily respons, "Wa alaykum a-salaam." I was so proud of myself. I guess if I get one formulaic phrase a week, I'll be able to be nominally polite to the excellent English speakers who will be hosting us. I aspire to being able to read the signs on doors, you know, push/pull, open/closed. That's about as far as I got in Gaeilge.
As for history books, I got a cool collection of modern Arabic langauge fiction (in English) for my e-reader, but it is all, not surprisingly, from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria. I ordered an Emirati collection of short stories from the library, and I have roger Allen's Introduction to
Arabic Literature. Thick stuff!This brings me to Youtube: I found reference to Freej, a 2006 cartoon about four old ladies who deal with modernity. It looked really cool! I need to find the DVD with English subtitles, but I may have wait until I can go to the mall in Abu Dhabi.
But it is the shopping thing that has consumed as much time as the reading and research. Through Travel Smith, the Sierra Trading Post, Timbuktu, and Hydrochic, I have collected a sufficient wardrobe to need only one bag and be a reasonably modest professional. Still, the shoe issue haunts me.
So I wait for more information: who, how, when, how long?
