So I've mentioned a couple times (or maybe just one) that my friend Jay and I have begun discussing religion in depth and that I want to do a post about that. And, I will, but I wanted to do this one first to just discuss a couple things that have been on my mind. To me, it is important to separate the two because they are so different. Jay and I had a 2-hour-long discussion about religion on Skype about a week ago that was started by my telling him I'd officially become Baha'i and then we met again on Monday. We shared a LOT of thoughts and I thought it was very productive. But I've just been processing it so much in my mind that I don't think I could've written a coherent post before now; I'm not even sure I can at this point. We will see. Anyway, off we are to the more mundane:
Remember how yesterday I said I woke up 25 minutes before my alarm? Yeah, not today. I set my alarm to the time I woke up yesterday in hopes of being up early again. Well it didn't work and I just vaguely remember turning it off. My sister woke me up about 5 minutes after my normal waking-up time, so it was no big deal. Except for that then I didn't get out of bed for 20 more minutes. I probably should have gone to bed on time last night, but instead I was too busy doing Arabic and Facebooking. I am paying for it now because I feel like my entire body is still asleep and I'm not entirely sure my mind is functioning at its normal capacity.
I usually don't spend a lot of time on Facebook talking to people. I mean, I have it up a lot in my browser but it's not uncommon to go a 2-3 days (or even longer) without something new being posted on my wall or me posting on someone else's wall. This is perfectly okay with me as I'm not one of those people super concerned about their Facebook image or whatever. But anyway, last night the floodwaters just opened up and I was talking to both of my sisters and 3 friends from high school and it was a lot. Caroline, my older sister, was particularly talkative. I really should have been paying more attention to my Arabic but I was so excited to talk to my friends since I hadn't for a while. Oh well, it happens.
Up until now I have been exclusively using Rosetta Stone (RS) to study Arabic which has been great. It is really a wonderful program. However, the way it is set up, the program does not actually explain things to you; instead you figure it out through trial and error. This is good because it makes you make the connections in your head and remember the rules better, but it is bad because sometimes it drives me absolutely crazy because I have a hard time figuring something out. Of course, it feels great when I work through the frustration and finally figure it out, but I thought it might be more useful if I added another component to my study which I could reference to actually learn the rules as well as the letters. I'm really struggling with recognizing the letters. RS has been very helpful in helping me learn with hearing and saying words, but writing and reading them not so much.
So, when Jay and I were at Barnes and Noble on Monday, I decided to look at the "Arabic for Dummies" book. I flipped through it and after I saw the table with the letters in Arabic, their English equivalent, pronunciation, and an example of them in a word, I was sold! It also goes into depth with grammar rules and things which I will get into later. But mostly I was concerned with the letters. Last night I was studying vowels. They just don't make any sense to me. First of all, they're not really letters; they're more like accents. Second of all, you have to have one on every single consonant? Third of all, there are three "main" vowels but each has like other 3 different forms plus you can combine them? What?? This blows my mind and it was really frustrating me last night because it's so different. I know this is something I'm going to have to work through, but last night I was just having a really hard time accepting it and moving on. Maybe I shouldn't study Arabic when I'm in that kind of mood. Not that I was in a bad mood, I just was lacking the ability to accept things and was more in the mood to question things I have no control over. Clearly not a good place to be in when learning a language, especially when it has an entirely different alphabet. The one thing I don't like about Arabic for Dummies is that all of the words are written with the Latin alphabet. This sort of makes sense because it is more practical for me to use that and I can read it better, but it also is useless because I want to learn with that alphabet. We will see how it goes. I also think I'm going to make flashcards this weekend for the words in the book, vowels, consonants, and maybe grammar rules if I get to a couple. This way I can quiz myself on the go whenever I have a few extra minutes.
While I was Facebooking last night, my older sister was saying she is off this Thursday through Tuesday and asked if we could have sister time. Of course I said yes and told her that I'd get back to her with a time. Then I asked if she wanted to see Monte Carlo with me -- you know, the new Selena Gomez movie coming out Friday. Her response was, "Oh my. Caitlin." She also said that she needs to get the Disney out of me. I completely disagree. I still love Disney; in fact, I think I love Disney more now than I did as a child. Aladdin has always been and will always be one of my favorite movies. With my love for the Middle East now, I think it's funny that it has always been my favorite. It's clearly a sign that I've had that love all along. Plus, I like how Jasmine is actually a strong person unlike some of the other Disney Princesses. (Though I still love them all.) I want my very own Aladdin. Anyway, back to what Caroline was saying, I don't think the Disney ever needs to be "taken out" of anyone. Disney survives based on magic and beauty and hope; it's an escape from reality and sometimes, that's just what the world needs when things get hard. The beauty of Disney is that it teaches children to never give up hope and that they can become their own heroes. To me, that is more magical than any fairy godmother.
Some of the best Walt Disney quotes:
"I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained."
"Or heritage and ideals, our code and standards - the things we live by and teach our children - are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings."
"The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique."
"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."
"You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."
"You're dead if you only aim for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway."
"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality."
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