#ArabicWithAlex: The End of an Era… for Now?
Wow, I don’t even know where to begin. I’m officially done with my language requirement at Hofstra.
The End of the Semester & the Final Exam
The Friday before our exam, the other two girls from Arabic and I went out to eat at a Lebanese restaurant near campus. I ordered chicken shawarma and it was so good. I’ve been wanting to try it for a while, and it did not disappoint. We said that we were going to study, but we just ended up talking about Middle Eastern and American politics, our families, and other interests we had. It was a really nice time, and I was nearly in a food coma by the time I got back to campus.
I am fairly proud of myself for how early I started studying for my Arabic exam. When it comes to midterms and exams, I rewrite my messy class notes into a nicer notebook (or type up my messy class notes, it depends on the class), where things can be color coded and categorized. It took me several hours, but once I looked at all my newly written notes, it didn’t look like a lot.
After I rewrote my notes, I took a few days off from studying Arabic because I had other exams to study for and other projects to complete. But by the time Tuesday rolled around (my exam was on Thursday), I was not motivated to do anything. I should’ve studied on Tuesday but I didn’t. I did on Wednesday, but I was also busy doing some last minute chores and packing for Ohio. Thursday morning, however, I studied for about three or four hours before my exam.
My professor was very gracious to us and gave us two sections of the exam outside of the exam time slot. This meant 40 points were up for grabs where we could use our notes, our textbook, etc. One section was on Arabic roots, and the other was a paragraph we had to write. I feel very confident that I got full points on those sections. And my professor also sent us the reading paragraph that was going to be on the exam, where she would ask us reading comprehension questions and asking us to pick out various grammar concepts.
On Thursday, when my professor handed me the exam, I was shocked by how short it was. All the Arabic quizzes I took this semester took me longer to finish than my final exam did. I was done in 70 minutes, and we were given 2 hours for our exam.
As of right now, I don’t know my grade for my exam or the course for the semester. I think I got a B+ on the final. The only section that tripped me up was the vocab section, because I didn’t study the vocab enough. Overall, I think I either got a B+ or an A- for the semester. I really hope I got an A-, because I worked really hard and I always was on time and I always turned in my homework and I was respectful and I tried.
The End of an Era
As of right now, I do not plan on taking any more Arabic classes at Hofstra. I have met my language requirement of three semesters of one language, and I do not wish to continue for now. While I have enjoyed my language learning journey, it’s been so stressful, and I have discovered that learning Arabic is not a passion of mine. I have loved studying under my professor for three semesters. She has been a wonderful professor, and I have learned a lot.
Now, maybe in the future I’ll come back to it. I have no clue what the future holds. But for now, this chapter of my life is closing, and I’m excited to dive deep into other areas of study that excite me more.
If you ever want to learn a new language, I highly encourage you to do so. Even if you never become fluent, or even use it regularly, learning a different language is an amazing gateway into learning about a different culture.
Thank you for riding along with me on my Arabic learning journey! It wouldn’t have been the same without your support.
Ma-salama!
Arabic Word of the Week
dream / hulm / حلم