Dear Jassar,
I remember when we first met, you told me you were surprised to receive a language partner that did not have any native exposure to Arabic. As a Korean-American, I imagine I was far from your expectations of a language partner. From our first meeting, I discovered that we live in a very small world. I thought we could not be more different in our backgrounds, and yet, you once lived near my hometown in Virginia. We frequented the same restaurants. We may have even passed by each other in the mall one day and not even known it.
I can’t tell you my exact reasoning for choosing to learn Arabic other than the fact that I found it interesting. Arabic culture and the language were both incredibly foreign to me, and I was excited to learn about what your culture meant to you. With my lack of Arabic language and culture, I wanted to build connections between our cultures, to find something familiar. I look back on these early meetings, and I wish I had listened more deeply, rather than searching for minute details I could relate to. I hope I wasn’t so eager to draw connections between us that I made you feel less like yourself.
This semester was too short for me to fully know you the way I have known my friends for years, and I wish that I could. But from this semester, I also know for a fact that you are an amazing teacher and friend. Thank you for being so patient and sharing everything you could with me. Thank you for surfing Google Earth with me. Thank you for sitting down and talking to me every week. Most of all, congratulations on graduating; I’m rooting for you!
I’m not fluent in Arabic. I’m not even close. But from our first marhaba to our last ma salama, I have learned more than I ever could have imagined. Come by Virginia often; you will always have a friend here.
mae ‘ajmal al’amniati,
Ashley
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