Where can my D study Arabic?

Parents Forum
41

<p>Mini, the issue with an American student in Cairo and an American student in Jerusalem isn't our "cultural" discomfort.... Americans traveling in Israel are comfortable because they're not told to hide clothing with slogans on them which mark them as American; they don't have to avoid speaking English in public so as not to mark themselves as American; they're not likely to get into an argument with a taxi driver over Bush's imperial attach on Iraq, or see slogans painted on public buildings saying "death to Americans".</p>

<p>This isn't our cultural bias... this is reality. I can't imagine being an American woman traveling alone in an Arab country without either already being fluent in the language, or being with an escort who knows the language.</p>

<p>There are thousands of American tourists arriving in Israel every week-- staying in hotels, eating in restaurants, buying fruit in a grocery store, etc. and they don't feel singled out or targeted or conspicuous for being American. That's reality... not culture.</p>

42

<p>Well, try working it from the other direction. Here's a young woman, unsure of her goals but seeking, natural to her age. She's identified a major in "International Relations with a concentration in Middle East Studies."
Which is why she wants to study Arabic, and good Mom is in there researching options for her.</p>

<p>Everyone's entitled to pursue their dreams. </p>

<p>So does anyone know a young woman in her late 20's who's DOING that kind of work? What are the personality traits that would equip someone to handle all of these risks and challenges? </p>

<p>Should she be tough?</p>

<p>I always watch journalist Christianne Amanpour with some degree of awe. I remember first seeing her reporting while Baghdad was being bombed under Papa Bush. She'd pop up, hair unkempt, looking like she hadn't slept for days, and do her report while behind her there were bombs falling and buildings burning. What is she MADE of to do this?</p>

<p>What does someone need to be (or become) to do the kind of work this D dreams of? Willing to learn Arabic, yes. I'd also add: a tough-minded head to learn the history of a region, from many sources, and not be swayed by any one government's version of events, since it's so complex in the Middle East.
Not to be naiive. Etc.</p>

<p>Just pondering. I'm amazed that women want to even go into this field. </p>

<p>Do they know what they're getting into?
Can they help solve problems over there?
Are there jobs in the U.S., in case they want to work the field but not live Middle East?
Wow.</p>

43

<p>I am in many ways still in shock about her chosen career path (journalism) to which she has steadfastly been inclined towards since a very young age. A part of me still expects - and I admit it is a little wrong, probably - that she will end up not doing all of the grand things she has in mind, and she will be happy to work at a small paper here. But as she grows up, I have seen that she is determined, intelligent, and a naturally talented writer. I have come to accept that this is what she wants and might be what she gets. </p>

<p>Yes, I agree that it is important to learn how to work with Israel, our closest ally in that region. I am torn between what will be best for her career and overall growth, and what I can responsibly endorse as a mother. I have many Jewish friends with family in Israel who do not take their children and wives to visit because of the violence there. In some ways I feel like it is the best choice to leave the more dangerous options to a time when she is older, more experienced, more established in her career, and perhaps has different priorities and a more grounded outlook on the world. I do not think putting oneself in the line of mortar fire is a necessary university experience.</p>

<p>There are many good compromises that will allow her to experience life in the Middle East and continue her studies in Arabic without being in imminent danger. I feel this is obviously the most responsible decision.</p>

44

<p>"Mini, the issue with an American student in Cairo and an American student in Jerusalem isn't our "cultural" discomfort.... Americans traveling in Israel are comfortable because they're not told to hide clothing with slogans on them which mark them as American"</p>

<p>There were 32 students targeting and killed in Virginia last month. I don't of ANY country where 32 American students were killed in an Arab country (or in Israel for that matter.)</p>

<p>So...now for something completely different. Tonight, my daughter went with us and many of her friends in my smallish town to accept the annual Youth Diversity Award of the County's Council on Cultural Diversity and Human Rights. She accepted the award, made a little speech....and then...and then a police officer came running in and announced the building was on lockdown, and that we should stay away from the windows. At the courthouse, shots rang out, and an individual went down and was being rushed to the hospital, and the shooter was running loose. When they finally ushered us out and to our cars two hours later, they still hadn't caught the shooter; sheriffs deputees were staked out every forty feet or so, with automatic weapons drawn. I guess we'll find out tomorrow whether the shooter was caught. </p>

<p>I have traveled throughout the world. I lived in Iran. I have never - anywhere - been afraid to speak English. I have American friends who teach in Cairo, and have never ever been attacked, never heard a slur against them, and never covered up the fact that they are American. I have friends - all women, none of whom speak fluent Arabic - who teach at the Ramallah Friends School on the West Bank, and have done so for years, and the story is the same (though they have been held at gun point for 8 to 10 hours at a time by Israelis, and been denied entry to their own homes.) </p>

<p>Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Egypt ever year. (But of course we aren't talking about tourists; we are talking about students.) Thousands of American students have studied there. I can't remember an attack against American students (I'm sure there has been at least one, but I can't remember it.) Certainly nothing like what American students have experienced in Virginia.</p>

<p>It's a big world out there, and there are crazy people. I will continue to try to convince my Indian friends that it is safe to come here. I won't tell them what happened in my town - to me - this evening. With 36 years of living, working, and traveling abroad under my belt, in no country in the world have I previously experienced what happened to us in my hometown tonight.</p>

45

<p>Mini, I am glad you and family are safe. That is a harrowing experience.</p>

<p>I, too, am ready to be brave but in my home town, I expect (and work for) sanctuary and peace. It's a total shock when one's own home is disturbed. I'm sorry this happened on your daughter's night, too.</p>

<p>I would like to be a braver person in my next 50 years on this earth. I am convinced that there is no safe place, and am constantly re-setting my measurement of what I'd call "safe." Otherwise, I wouldn't go anywhere. And I want to go!! Just like these daughters of ours.</p>

<p>But of all the places you and she have been, who'd expect to have to "duck" in Olympia, Washington?!</p>

46

<p>Here's a way-out-left-field idea. One of the best places to learn foreign languages in the US is at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. Of course, the only easy way to go to school there is to join the military.</p>

47

<p>Thanks for your good wishes, as of this morning, they still haven't caught the shooter, who seems to have sped off toward Tacoma. The shooting victim is expected to live. </p>

<p>One of my d.'s best adult friends was in the bathroom when the police gave the warning, and he opened the door and was immediately made to hit the ground and was taken into custody by police, where he was grilled for the next two hours. </p>

<p>Such a life!</p>

48

<p>OFFTOPIC: "...sped off toward Tacoma." One of the collection of Things We Learned when we moved to Washington is that all murders reported on television seem to involve either Federal Way or Tacoma. No explanation, just a random observation.</p>

49

<p>WashDad, that could be true because of the notorious incompetence and corruption of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, at least when I was a lad in the 1970s. And as South King County residents who must travel to downtown Seattle for county services (permits, etc.) often 'complain,' Federal Way is a lot closer to downtown Tacoma than it is to the King County Courthouse.</p>

50

<p>Blossom has this right.</p>

<p>The stress of living in the location I have called home is only partly what can be appreciated by knowing statistics about bombs or deaths. The stress that wears you down is the day in, day out experience of being treated with misassumptions, hostility or suspicion because of the presumption of your citizenship and what this implies. In Moslem countries, as a woman, there are other issues as well. </p>

<p>There is much more to this than language and much more to this than reported safety statistics. I would suggest that anyone considering this sort of a cross cultural jump temporize and make an initial step to something that bridges the experience before they decide.</p>

<p>There is a reason why the Foreign Service repeately has zillions of people vetting for placements in London and Canada.....and very, very few for some of the truly foreign assignments.</p>

51

<p>Many years ago I returned from an extended trip through Asia, and was dismayed to re enter the sense of fear that was ingrained in me as a female in the USA. At least at that time, I could walk alone at night in Hong Kong, Seoul and Kyoto. Not San Francisco, not Phoenix, my American home cities. Returning, I mourned the freedom lost. </p>

<p>Here in my lovely midwestern town, I've been hit by a car as a pedestrian, knocked unconscious. I still walk, still cross the street, still drive, probably the most dangerous thing in my life. My travels, following my adventurous kids these days, have taken me to S. America, Europe and Thailand. People are surprised, "Aren't you scared?" I refuse to be scared, though am plenty cautious, whether at home or abroad. You never know what will hit you, or where. </p>

<p>My kids are learning this as well, after having their days interrupted by 5 to 6 bomb theats this year in their HS. </p>

<p>Regarding some earlier postings, my foreign service friends have lived in Israel, Morocco, and a variety of difficult countries. Though some are easier than others, they have loved their life, and have not talked about living with great fear. Aside from the dangers of bombs on public transport in Tel Aviv, they felt it was a great place to raise kids and safer in certain ways than some American cities.</p>

52

<p>"OFFTOPIC: "...sped off toward Tacoma." One of the collection of Things We Learned when we moved to Washington is that all murders reported on television seem to involve either Federal Way or Tacoma. No explanation, just a random observation."</p>

<p>That is a very fair observation. In this particular case, they know the identity of the shooter, and where he comes from. (They still haven't caught him.)</p>

53

<p>I didn't wade through all the responses, so I don't know if someone mentioned it already, but Carleton College has Arabic as one of its language classes, but not a major in it.</p>

<p>These colleges have a Arabic major:
* Dartmouth College
* Georgetown University
* Ohio State University--Columbus
* SUNY--Binghamton
* University of California--Los Angeles
* University of Notre Dame
* University of Texas--Austin
* Washington University in St. Louis</p>

54

<p>unless things have changed, Washington University in St. Louis does not offer a major in Arabic. The major is Jewish, Islamic & Near Eastern Studies. Only two semester of Arabic are required.</p>

55

<p>I got the information off of college board. It's supposed to be correct. LOL</p>

<p>Anyway, I read the initial post quickly, remembered about Carleton and posted. Turns out the OP didn't even ask about colleges with Arabic. Whoops. :)</p>

56

<p>limepopsicle, having endured and finished off the APs, I'm writing a slightly longer post about Muscat and the SQU (although S mentioned some of what I planned to say); I do hope it'll be useful to you/your D if she's still planning on studying in Oman; if not, well I suppose it'll help any future prospective study abroad-ers in Muscat... :)</p>

<p>Muscat the city</p>

<p>Muscat's actually laid out linearly, along one major arterial highway that starts in northern Oman and winds its way through practically the whole country. Since various parts of Muscat have their own feel, I'll write a bit about each part; and hopefully that'll give you some idea of the feel of Muscat as a whole.</p>

<p>If you start from the airport (which also lies on the major highway), there are two parts of Muscat; I'll write about the part on the right at the end of this post (that's where the SQU is), and focus on the part on the left.</p>

<p>As you go along the highway from the airport, you come across various, well for lack of a better word, districts, of Muscat. Each has its own, well, feel to it. These various parts all lead upto the major part of the city, Muscat proper.</p>

<p>There's Al Ghubra, a moderately quiet neighborhood, with a major hospital, the area where most embassies and consulates can be found, quite a few schools, parks, that sort of thing.</p>

<p>From there you move on into Al Khuwair, which is where you could say the city begins to some extent; Al Khuwair's something of a niceish place; it's generally buzzing with activity, filled with excellent restaurants, quite a few apartment complexes, and shopping malls, that sort of thing. A majority of expatriates tend to live in either Al Khuwair, or the two areas that come up after this.</p>

<p>Qurum and Darsait, follow this area, (essentially you're moving into the more congested, city parts of Muscat now); Darsait and Qurum are, well, your sort of typical city areas; they're filled with something or the other going on; the older mosques and churches are in this area, as are the temples.</p>

<p>The last major part of the city you'll come across is Ruwi; it's the real city, and is moderately large, quite sprawling, filled with shops, restaurants, apartments; most of what happens in Muscat happens there. The really old parts of Muscat are also here, several bazaars, souks, the parts of Muscat that existed before the discovery of oil; and therefore, the more, well traditional parts. It's also quite beautiful really, there's a lovely corniche, and, especially at night the view from the mountains of Ruwi's amazing (or maybe it's just that I'm a bit of a city person :))</p>

<p>So that's the end of what turned out to be something of a Loney Planetesque description of the city parts of Muscat. I'll post something about the SQU tomorrow; (it's getting a little late over here).</p>

<p>If there are any specific questions your D or you have about Muscat, I'll be glad to answer (not having all that much to do these days, with my APs being over, and my school having finished in March). :)</p>

57

<p>So, an update. After spending three days in DC at the Dulles-Hilton, with visits at the State Department and dinners at the Egyptian Embassy, D. flew off to Cairo with 24 other U.S. students from around the country to study intensive Arabic.</p>

<p>Her classes take place at the Kalimat Center in Mohandessin:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.kalimategypt.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.kalimategypt.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Two hours a day of Modern Standard Arabic, and two plus hours of Egyptian Colloquial.</p>

<p>Her current host family, upper middle class, runs an upscale travel agency that does boats down the Nile, etc. Her "brother", 16, and who is coming to the U.S. for a year beginning in August, teaches karate and coaches basketball; her sister 13 also takes karate. The parents are very involved in the family, love music (they have a piano, which pleased my d.), and (being travel people), take her to all the sites that only insiders would know. They are Muslim. They are all helping her with her Arabic, which she says is very hard, but coming along. </p>

<p>At their invitation, D. has worked out with the Egyptian National Gymnastics Team at their Olympic Training Center, which is very modern (similar to the better centers here). The team, while obviously lacking the star gymnasts on the world stage, stacks up well against higher level gymnasts in the U.S., and, she says, the training is more intense than in her home gym (their coach is a former world champion from Bulgaria). They are currently training for the African National Championships, and a world meet in Germany. She gets there 2-3 times a week.</p>

<p>She's visited the usual - Pyramids, Sphinx, etc., taken a boat trip on the Nile, visited the bazaars and Old Islamic Cairo, and adapted to the heat (thougn her house and the school is air-conditioned.) One thing that is clearly different is that, in adjusting to the heat, families stay up very late at night - 1 or 2 is not uncommon, and kind of laze in the later afternoon. They also had a reception at the U.S. Embassy (and had to run around to find appropriate clothing for it.)</p>

<p>They are planning a service project for next week. Some of the students use the excellent underground transportation system. In her case, the travel agency is only several blocks from the school, so the parents drive her, and the son in. The daughter is going to London for two weeks to a camp. </p>

<p>She likes the food (that, for us, is somewhat of a surprise), though she hasn't told us what it is. She told us today that, the parents being financial managers, they helped her set up a spreadsheet for expenses, translating dollars into Egyptian pounds. They also live in an area that has a major "fair trade" coop (organized by garbage workers) that she hopes to visit.</p>

<p>Ah, to be 16 again.</p>

58

<p>Middlebury! </p>

<p><a href="http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/ump/majors/arabic/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/ump/majors/arabic/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>In addition to offering Arabic as a major for undergrads, the renown summer language school offers advanced immersion study during the summer months. Next year, Middlebury will open its first school abroad in the Middle East in Alexandria.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/sa/middleeast/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/sa/middleeast/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

59

<p>Anyone looking for language training in Arabic, Farsi, etc, should look to programs that are part of the "Strategic Language Initiative" or "National Security Language Initiative", because there are some sweet deals out there. Check this link and look at some of the programs outlined, including the summer abroad opportunities. <a href="http://exchanges.state.gov/NSLI/fact_sheet.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://exchanges.state.gov/NSLI/fact_sheet.htm&lt;/a> My DD is taking part in a FREE language program, which provides a generous food stipend (that covers more than the costs of her food, since she eats cheap), room in furnished apartments, six weeks of language instruction - (the equivalent of one full year of college language -10 credit hours of transferable credit), cultural opportunities such as concerts, restuarant visits, and all-expense-paid study abroad the following summer for another full-year equivalent of language study. There are no government or service requirements for participating - just a willingness to work hard and really immerse oneself in the program. :) Other languages targeted by the NSLI are Kurdish, Korean, Chinese, Dari, Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Farsi, - no French, Spanish or Italian obviously.
True to my name, I'm a little anxious about her studyabroad location for next summer - they are still examining the options, but none of them sound as safe as I'd like!!!!!</p>

60

<p>anxiousmom -- what were the requirements to do the scholarship? did she have to have previously studied the language?, be a certain level in college? or have a certain major?</p>

<p>also -- did it seem to be pretty competitive?</p>

<p>thanks!</p>