“Speak a new language so that the world will be a new world.”
Rumi
I so much enjoyed maintaining a blog while I was in Jordan, that I thought I would try to make one again while I was at Middlebury. While there will most likely not be pictures of me riding a camel or of me sipping tea with a random Bedouin man, the events that occur at Middlebury are life changing. This blog is more about me discussing a program that is near and dear to my heart. It is a personal reflection.
To begin, what is the Middlebury Summer Arabic Program? It is a fantastic opportunity for students to come to a university setting and study Arabic in total immersion. In short, you only speak Arabic for the eight weeks.
Arriving at Mills was somewhat of a challenge. After getting little sleep and waking up early to catch a flight, I found myself without food or water from 9am-4pm. Needless to say I was starving and quite a bitch to deal with. After finally arriving in Oakland, I found out that my suitcase with all my clothes had been lost. This suitcase literally had all my clothes, so I had no underwear and such. This fed the bitchiness and I became overwhelmed when the linens I had ordered to be shipped to the college were also no where to be seen (they eventually showed up). How could all this be happening to me?! I prepared for everything to go somewhat smoothly!
After calming down, I met my neighbors, Sara and another girl, whom's name I forget. They are lovely young women pursuing various masters degree programs. I am happy to have such company. Later at dinner, I met a young man who is getting his Ph.D and is studying Medieval Islamic History. I proudly told him that I used to be a teaching assistant for Islamic History at Gettysburg College and we are now good friends.
Finally things were starting to go right. One of the women on my floor drove a group to Target. I tagged along because I was in need to clothes and underwear. The airline told me that it might take weeks to find my bag. Upon checking out, my credit card was declined. Great. Peachy. Why is my life a comedy of errors? I used my debit card and moved on. Now I would have to go back to my room and study for a placement test, which I am not picking up good vibes on. Grrreat.
However, as I was walking back to my dorm building, I heard a man calling out my name. IT WAS TAMER! Tamer is a professor at Middlebury with whom I was great friends with last year. He ran up and gave me a hug and called me my old nickname "Jafar" because I cannot say that word correctly. At that moment, I knew everything was going to be okay. Tamer always looked out for me last year, especially when he noticed that some of the girls liked to be a little mean towards me. It made me good to see such a good old friend in the presence of the lovely young women that I had just met. At that moment, I knew that it was going to be a fantastic summer.
Middlebury is home. The staff is like family and the friendships you form here are lasting and strong. I am blessed to be back and will soak up this experience like a sponge.
Now about that placement test. I'm going to go study some more. Ain't no test going to hold me back. Placement test, I am coming for you tomorrow at 8am.
Love,
Natalie
