No matter where you travel in the world, you’ll find people that love playing riyaaDa (sports), and this is also especially true of Arabs. Whether it’s individual sports like ملاكمة mulaakamah (boxing) or team sports like كرة القدم الامريكية kurat alqadam al’amreekiyah (rugby), you’re sure to find an Arab audience for it. Without a doubt, however, the most popular sport in the Arab world is كرة القدم kurat alqadam In fact, it is the closest thing every country...
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One of the great advantages of living in the city is the variety of وسائل النقل العامة wasaa’il annaql al’aamah (public transportation) that can shuttle you around that city. In most Arabic speaking countries, the cheapest form of transportation is usually the حافلة haafilah (bus). If you’re taking the Haafila from city to city, one of the benefits besides saving money is that you get to take in all the beautiful...
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If you ever have the chance to visit one of the Arabic speaking countries, chances are you’re going to have to ask for directions to all the beautiful sights to see, or at the very least, know how to get to your hotel. Or perhaps you’ll be standing on a street in Amman, Jordan waiting for a taxi, when all of sudden, a car pulls...
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Have you ever awoke from a deep sleep and totally forgotten what month it was? It can happen to anybody, but not being exactly sure what month it is can happen in both your sleeping and waking life in the Arabic speaking countries of the Middle East. You see, depending on where you are exactly in the Middle East, you may be met with a variety of different calendars –...
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One interesting aspect related to saying “goodbye” in the Arab world is that saying goodbye can take a very long time! For example, I was on a phone call with an Iraqi student of mine one day and the end of the conversation went something like this:Me: “Okay, taalibee (my student), I will talk to you later.” Student: “Okay, ustaazee (my teacher). Hello. Hello. Goodbye....
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Not to sound too Forest Gump-ish, but my momma always said you can get more bees with honey than you can with vinegar. Of course she meant that people are more likely to help you if you are sweet and polite rather than bitter and rude. This brings us to the topic of this post: making polite requests in Arabic. Just as English has some...
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