Final Week of Virtual Arabic!

Hello to whoever is reading this. I hope your day has gone well thus far! This is my last official blog post. Today is Thursday, July 29th, 2021 and my last two days of class are tomorrow and this Sunday from 8 am-12 pm both days. A LOT has been going on this past week, I have had many make-up classes, assignments, and evaluations. On top of that, I am also currently working on packing to go back to school on the first of August.

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In terms of what I learned this week, I got to participate in a 50-minute lecture about agriculture and farming in Jordan. This lecture was completely in Arabic so a lot of the concepts were a bit too complex but it was still nice to practice my listening skills and work on trying to figure out the main idea in the message from the speaker. During this lecture I got to ask a few questions I had prepared beforehand about fruits and vegetables that are commonly farmed in Jordan, the cost of farming, and the landscape of the country. I learned that the COVID-19 virus has negatively impacted the rate of framing in the country as well as the quality of produce available. According to the lecturer, it is currently quite expensive to find high-quality fruits and vegetables and farming is also really expensive due to the specific types of machinery needed to produce vegetation.

Since I am unable to physically travel to Jordan this summer, it was cool to learn about the different kinds of landscapes in the region. I learned that there are lots of deserts but also many mountainous regions in the country.

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In terms of what I struggled with this week, I was/am super nervous about my language evaluation today as well as my final OPI interview with my program director on Sunday. I have gotten really comfortable with my primary teacher so it is a bit nerve-wracking having to speak spontaneously with other native speakers (but then again that is sort of the point of these evaluations in the first place, not only to test my ability but also to allow me to become accustomed to speaking with other Arabic speakers aside from my teacher).

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I felt like I was really awkward during the entire interview, it was quite apparent that I was nervous and I definitely stumbled over my words a few times. However, I am proud of myself for pulling through and completing it. Throughout this entire program, I have learned so much about the different learning styles that allow me to succeed in my coursework as well as how to deal with academic-related anxiety/stress. Although I was very nervous, in the end, it was helpful to lean that nervousness, acknowledge it, and move forward. It also helped to view that evaluation as a simple test with low-stakes, the instructor was only there to help me and that all I had to do was try my best and have fun! With that mindset, it’s been easy to accomplish even the most difficult tasks in this class.

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With my final week coming to an end I am beginning to reflect on the course up until this point! As such, I am excited to give a more in-depth final note in my “post-return” video.

As always, thank you for reading, it has been an interesting, joyful, and eventful summer, to say the least!