Worldly Holiness

Tomorrow night I take the plunge. I’m going to start Arabic classes. When I share this with people here in Barcelona, most seem impressed. I’m not really and I don’t know how far I will get in understanding this beautiful language. I have begun to hear it spoken here on the streets in Barcelona and in a Moroccan restaurant where I found a great “plato del dia” that fits nicely into my budget. With the language learning, my family wonders how I will wrap my tongue around a new set of sounds, let alone understand the incredible caligraphy. Since arriving here, I have provided more grins than I really wanted for them, with the funny combination of sounds coming out of my mouth. And that is without even trying to get the local language, Catalan, down. Castilian, different than the Spanish we learned in Mexico, has been challenging enough. Don't worry. I'm not suffering too much. This is a joy to take on a new challenge and to get to know some new people.

Anyway, I know that working on a language provides doors of understanding into a culture as well as opportunities to build bridges. That is probably my primary goal. I also want to be able to read the Q'uran in Arabic at some level. It would be nice to have some competency too. On that one we just have to wait and see. I'm taking the class at a Muslim cultural center downtown and my teacher is from Syria. The class will be taught in Spanish too. Should be fun. I guess people learn new languages everyday. My monolengual upbringing has given me a handicap but I'm willing to work with my disadvantage. 

By the way, did you know that Arabic significantly influenced the Spanish language during the time of the Moors in Spain? The little flyer for this class claims there are thousands of Spanish words that have an Arabic origin. I knew this to some degree but did not know how much. For instance, the words in Spanish that begin with the letter “z” or “al” probably come directly from Arabic. How about the expression used commonly in Spanish, “Ojala!” What does that sound like to you? Try “O, Allah!” Well, after this beginning class, I will be able to tell you more.

Do pray for me, that my brain work well and I am able to keep it fun. Pray also for relationships that I build and for new friendships of trust to be built. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity. I know my family also will have more material to laugh at as I try to produce some new sounds. Oh well. Comments? Anybody else feel tongue tied occassionally?

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