Ana Amrikeya (I'm an American)

My roommate Evelyn and I standing on the balcony in the rain.

From here, we can see our neighboring buildings and our sheydah, or street.

I have now been studying Arabic for four weeks. Three of those weeks were intensive Arabic, with classes for three hours a day at the American University of Cairo. I can't claim to be an Arabic scholar by this point, but I am still proud of the progress that I have made. Almost exactly four weeks ago, I was being introduced to the alphabet. Now I can write and read full sentences. Here are some of my most commonly used phrases:

Ana adros al-Araby. (I am studying Arabic.)

I use this phrase all of the time on the metro. Other women on the ladies car will start speaking to me. If I want to engage in the conversation, I often begin by telling them I am a studying Arabic. This both lets them know I can communicate, but also asks for grace as someone who is trying to learn. Every person I have met has responded quite warmly and tried to meet me where I am at, even substituting other words from English and other languages to make things work.

Ana taliba fe al-gamyah amrikeya fe al-cah-hera. (I'm a student at the American University of Cairo.)

I use this phrase to explain why I am here or give other college age students that I meet context for why I am here in Cairo.

Izay ah ool bil-Araby...? (How do you say ... in Arabic?)

I am always running into things that I don't have words in my vocabulary for. To try and learn on the fly, I use this phrase and a lot of pointing. This phrase has really made the city my classroom.

My group and I on a scavenger hunt on our first full day in the city.

This is us on a metro car. Normally, these cars are packed with people.