Posts from — March 2008

So I had my first Arabic class this week at the Pacific Arabic Institute in San Francisco. I found out about this place from a google search- I don’t know anyone who has taken a class from them. Even though it seemed like a respectable institution based off of the website, I half-expected an empty plot of land where the building was supposed to be with a note that said “Haha fooled you! And now we have your money!” [Please note: This note would have had to be read in a sing-song voice for it to have the proper impact.]

Anyways, turns out this place does exist and there actually was a class. The instructor seems cool and the fact that the Kimchi Ninja is taking the class with me makes it all the more fun.

The cool (hmm… I already used cool. Neat?) part about this particular class was that because PAR does not have any kind of political or religious affiliation, it was filled with a diverse group of people who wanted to learn Arabic for all sorts of reasons.

I’m really looking forward to future sessions. From the taste of Arabic I got from the first class, I can’t wait to learn more.

I was at a lecture series all day yesterday in which noted Islamic Scholar Shaykh Hamza Yusuf gave a talk. He mentioned something that happened to him when he was in Saudi Arabia last year:

He gets in a cab-
Cabbie: I know you. You are the American. Hamza.
Shaykh Hamza: Yes, I am.
Cabbie: Can I ask you something? Why do the Americans hate Saudis?

Hahaha.