Today my friend Melissa had a little get together because she is leaving on Wednesday. NO bueno!

Melissa has been my Mercy Corps buddy that I have really loved getting to know for the last 7 months. I'll miss her but I'm excited for her to go back to the states and start her next chapter.

Things have been insanely busy lately, hence why I'm being so awful at updating these days. Sorry about that.

So, after about a week (about two weeks ago) of feeling like I really don;t know what my plan with all of their Arabic is or why I'm here or why I came. Basically a minor life break down. I realized that if I end up using Arabic in my future at all and continuing on with it, then really what I will be asked/needed to do is to speak and talk to people. So I decided that i really needed to change my focus and work on what has been the hardest concepts for me to grasp in this language...listening and speaking.

I started a new class at Qasid, where I take Arabic this week. I'm taking private classes/conversation classes that just focus on speaking and interacting in the language. I was having trouble keeping up with my class in terms of listening and speaking. The grammar and vocab was fine and is fine. I can keep up and I understand what is going one...but my listening and ability to speak was really starting to lack. I wasn't at the same level as the class.

So I had several meetings with the administration at Qasid and we worked out a schedule so that I could take one hour a day of private lessons which means just one-on-one with a professor teaching me the textbook at the same level as my class....and another hour a day of just per conversation with a different professor.

This has been a great change so far. I've only had 3 days and I already feel my listening and speaking improving. Basically I'm at the same level 3 as the class I was in, but now I'm learning it one-on-one and with a main focus on speaking. Its really good.

Exhausting cause its two intensive hours every day or just pure speaking and comprehension. No moments to zone out here and there or let another classmate take the lead to get a break for a few minutes. However, both of my new professors are so great and fun to work with...so I'm enjoying it, even though some days I leave class physically and mentally drained from class. Its like finishing a really hard workout. You're sore and in pain now, but its a good kinda soreness and pain cause in the end you'll benefit.