Tunis, Tunisia 2011; Tunis, Tunisia 2010; Cairo, Egypt 2009

Hampshire College - Senior Year - Majoring in Arabic and International Philosophy

Global Education Office (GEO) posted an announcement about a scholarship offered by the State Department to teach students the Critical Languages in summers abroad which pointed me toward a meeting led by Julia Sylla.

To speak to as many people as possible, to understand American media stories, and to read those same stories in Arabic, and to read many of the foundational texts for my studies in Philosophy and Science in their original languages.

I hope to work as a Foreign Service Officer after I graduate - potentially after a Masters Degree. I also hope to spend about two years in Peace Corps. For both of these positions I hope to be somewhere where Arabic is spoken, or at the very least, where my learning of the language helps me communicate better all around.
Educationally I will be applying for the Flagship in Arabic through either Maryland or Texas, and regardless of the outcome I hope to continue my formal study of this incredibly beautiful language.

I teach, tutor, and am currently working on a beginner Arabic textbook. I also use the language every day in my own development as I watch and read news in Arabic by other sources and also work to understand music and other forms of communication such as advertisements. My plan is to continue to open up other cultures to myself and others through studying and teaching.

I plan to use Arabic every day in my future, both professionally and personally. I want to work in a location where Arabic is useful and also want to maintain and make relationships all over the Arab World. I also hope to continue teaching.

Absolutely. I knew I wanted to be fluent in Arabic. I never dreamed I would want to learn as much about every language possible. I also want to teach everyone who is willing to learn. I am also working on an Arabic textbook for beginners in an intensive self-study program. If you tried to convince me five years ago that I would be involved in that kind of an undertaking I would have laughed.

Egypt: Seems obvious but Egypt breathes History. I love that every minute I was learning.
Tunisia (the first time): The people, everyone inside and outside the program were willing to help teach.
Tunisia (the second time): comparing this experience in post-revolutionary Tunisia with my first experience.

Egypt: I knew a lot about Egypt but it was absurd, I only knew pharaonic and 1956 to present, pretty much nothing pre-Nasser.
Tunisia (1): Everything - sadly, my pre-Tunisia self knew literally only information about Hannibal and Bourguiba.
Tunisia (2): Coming back to a post-revolutionary Tunisia, everything I thought I knew changed quite drastically. I guess the most important thing I learned this time has been the power of the Tunisian youth. After meeting with El General and hearing his words I have no doubt in my mind that Tunisia is headed toward a beautiful tomorrow.

We arrived to a farm in the middle of July (July 17th to be precise) for a charming lunch beneath huge umbrellas meant to block us from the blinding sun. After about 20 minutes of hanging out with ostriches (who are less than friendly for future reference) - we were attacked by the craziest storm most of us had ever seen. Immediate complete darkness, floods from the sky, wind that picked up glasses and the umbrellas, and even a bunch of hail. Bottom line - when it ended we had a 'snowball fight' in the middle of the day in July in Tunisia. The Tunisians were even more shocked than we were.

I grew up in Long Island, New York with my parents, sister, and cat. I love reading and swimming. I have formally studied Arabic, Spanish, Turkish, Farsi and Greek though my technical 'concentration' at Hampshire is Middle Eastern Philosophy/Arabic. I hope to gain fluency in more than just these languages.

Perhaps most importantly I have and hopefully always will completely believe in myself to do the otherwise deemed “impossible.”

CLS has changed me for the better ways no other program could. It showed me what it was like to have someone truly believe in me. It has consistently shown me that no matter how 'different' people are, we all want basically the same things, health, happiness, and knowledge.
My Arabic has improved, and just as importantly - I have grown up and changed immensely because of this program.