Arabic

Andrew is now flying regularly out of Kenya and into South Sudan as part of his MAF pilot role. When he goes to South Sudan, he often borrows my old phone and pops in a South Sudan sim card to make and receive calls whilst he is there.
When he gives my phone back to me on his return to Nairobi, I find myself receiving text messages like the one below:

Hmmmm- it is not very easy to decipher what this Arabic text message means!

However, help is at hand! Each Tuesday morning for a few weeks, I am joining a class with another MAF lady to learn some basic Juba Arabic! Pencil at the ready, I brace myself for a couple of hours of learning a few words and sounds in this language which is so very different to anything I have ever learnt before. Our helpful South Sudanese teacher is ready to instruct us in her native language:

It is fun to engage my brain in activities more mentally stretching than my usual Mum tasks (making packed lunches, packing school bags, doing toilet training, cleaning up sick, helping with homework, washing up, doing laundry... etc etc!!). However, when I say that I am learning some basic Arabic, I really do mean "basic"!
This is for several reasons:

-partly because Arabic is made up of an alphabet and sounds that are completely alien to my language experiences so far. In fact, yesterday, when I tried to practise some Arabic words and phrases that I have learnt, Andrew looked at me and exclaimed, "You sound like an alien!" !!!!! It is a very difficult language to tackle!!

-my brain is so distracted thinking about my daily Mum tasks in looking after 3 kids and also in planning logistics of our move to Juba in July/ August ( we still have not found a way to get our goods from Tanzania up into Kenya). I have barely any space in my mind to absorb new ideas, concepts and a whole new phonics system!

- Joel has to come along to classes with me. Not surprisingly, he gets fed up and needs attention at regular intervals, so I am easily distracted from the lesson!

-my head is still full of Swahili verbs and vocabulary from our 4 years in Tanzania. Regretfully, I don't get to use my Swahili much in Nairobi, so I feel it becoming rusty already, but I keep subconsciously throwing the odd Swahili word into my Arabic phrases. Out teacher gets a bit annoyed: "This in NOT Swahili!" she cries. In my defense, many Swahili words come from an Arabic root, so there are often similarities in certain words which I can't help but see and then accidentally express!

- finally, it is hard for me to feel seriously motivated to learn a new language when I know that most people in Juba will speak good English! Far, far better than any Arabic I can learn in just a few short sessions! In addition, some in Juba have Swahili, as I found out on my visit there last September. I even met some French speakers in my few days there, so if I can get by in English, French or Swahili, it seems a bit unnecessary to add a new language into the mix and create confusion in my tired brain!

I also know from experience that language learning can take serious, long-term commitment, especially a difficult language like Arabic. It is not something I will just pick up and remember without serious immersion into the culture and language. This is not going to be my calling or mission in South Sudan. I will be there predominantly in a supportive role for Andrew's pilot work and as a Mum, working to keep my family settled and also as a part of a Christian community under MAF, doing what little we can within the local community as we see who or where we can help out .
So for now, I will simply enjoy these Arabic lessons! I will continue to enjoy the experience of stretching my brain a little, the interaction with our teacher and the novelty of trying to express new words, even if they do make me sound as if I have something nasty lodged in my throat! (Maybe that dreadful hacking sound will ease off if I make a bit of progress!!). For the next few weeks, my expectations are gentle ones. My Tuesday mornings will be fun times to look forward to as a time of insight into a new culture, new sounds, new alphabet and new letter shapes.