The Arabic semester is officially over... until September incha' allah! We had a beautiful "graduation" morning, which took place in a fully redecorated classroom with carpets on the floor, nice cushions everywhere, and of course, coffee pots and dates! Our teachers made us a small presentation on Saudi Arabia, showing us pictures of the different regions in the country as well as their local dishes (which we would then have the privilege to taste!). Then we were all called one by one to receive our certificate and a small gift from the school, while the rest of the students applauded and congratulated. Our arabic teacher was also there, and she gave every one of her students an Arabic book to keep learning over the summer, accompanied with a very nice note of encouragement.
This is yet another demonstration of how hospitable and generous Saudis are; they're always happy to see you are interested in their country and culture. One Saudi friend once told me: "You'd be surprised at how much we know about the Western culture here; it's a shame you can't say the same about us..."
And I'd like to thank my Malaysian student friends for their generosity and congeniality. As the semester passed by, I discovered very nice persons, great cooks (!), crazy photographers, open-minded and curious, great companions!
They also know far more about us than we do about them: they know some words in French and Spanish, (watch Latin-American telenovelas back home and love Rosalinda!), some have travelled to Europe... Of course we can't travel everywhere either, but still it feels a bit embarrassing to be that ignorant about some countries.
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| Graduation gifts and a nice batik dress given to me by a fellow student from Malaysia |
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| Our Arabic learning group |
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