Yesterday was a long day, I got up early to get to school by 10 so that I could talk on Skype with Jackie. We talked about things we want to do when she meets me in Europe in December and about her wedding plans. It was nice being able to talk to her for once in a loooong time (or so it seems). I don’t have anyone to really TALK to here because I can’t really communicate extremely well with my “family” and the people I meet at school are just acquaintances so far. We don’t have time to talk much because we’re constantly in class or trying to get home for dinner. It’s not bad, but I loved actually being able to talk normally to something other than my blog :)
In class we learned a LOT of new vocab and by the end of it I think we were all rather fried. I didn’t absorb much of it unfortunately. I’m trying to focus on the stuff that will be on our big test on Thursday so the new stuff is taking the back seat for now. I can catch up on that when I move up to Beginner 2 (IF I move to Beginner 2 hahah…). We did some more calligraphy too, which was fun. It let my more artistic and copy-cat side out and was a nice break from talking and thinking so much. We wrote a phrase in Arabic that means "No sweet without sweat"... It works well even when translated. I like it!
A cousin of a friend recently contacted me via facebook and wants to travel with me sometime because she is staying in Europe right now. I really hope this works out because I met her a few times and she’s very fun from what I remember. It would be great to see a familiar face AND have a travel buddy for a weekend. Fingers are crossed… I'm also planning on meeting up with Carley, Jordan and George on Thursday to check in at home-base and say goodbye to Carley before she leaves for home.
Today was decent even though we had to be in class at 9:30 and I had been studying until 1:30… but that’s nothing compared to how little I sleep during exam week at home :D We had a morning class because Sarah (our teacher) had an election at her school that she wanted to attend and all of us didn’t mind coming early so we would have the rest of the day free. It was nice to have this change because on our break we got to chat with some people that we don't get to see due to our class schedules being opposite. Some of the guys are planning on going out on Friday and invited me to come. It's not far from the house so I may tag along if I don't peace out for the weekend :D
After class I talked to Sarah about possibly tutoring me for a half hour each day or whenever she gets a chance once I move to Beginner 2. They have a sign up sheet every day that you can put your name down for a free half hour of tutoring and any teacher who is available will meet with you. I just want Sarah though because she knows what level I’m at and what I struggle with and is REALLY good at getting me to talk and remember things. She said she would definitely do it and not to write my name down, it will just be between the two of us so no other teacher tutors me :) She also encouraged me a lot by telling me how happy she is with my progress and she didn’t expect me to catch on so fast. I have been really worried that when I get back to school I won’t be at the right level to take the next class and my time here would have been wasted (or my time in the class I took this summer). But now I’m thinking that I will have a much better base knowledge from being here and if I keep up my review on my own, I’ll be fine when I get back.
I’m off to the house now… and maybe meeting a friend at the Madina in a little bit...
Man, what an absolutely huge challenge you've taken on; I truly am impressed by the fact that you're smart enough to have worked at the right things to meet that challenge, and by all the focus and energy you poured into it.
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