Arabic Relates To

I don't know where my Arabic studies went or are supposed to lead me. I haven't actively studied the language in while, but a couple of years ago it was my life force!  I didn't want to do anything else at times, but just continue learning and be immersed in it, as well as the culture and food. Now it feels like it's part of me, like my skin. Layers and stories deep. There are always ebbs and flows with language learning and feeling connected and inspired with it. 

What got me thinking about Arabic was looking at my nieces' school magazine. It was fun and interesting seeing all the various events and written articles. One of the pages highlighted study abroad programs some students participated in. One girl was studying Arabic and went to the Jordan for a few weeks. How cool! And it's not very often you hear about someone studying yet alone traveling to a middle eastern country. It's a unique passion. 

This also made me think of a book I attempted to read last year but never finished. It's not because I forgot to, but rather chose to. I couldn't continue on reading it due to my own opinions and thoughts regarding the author's lifestyle choices. It's called No Ordinary Assignment by Jane Ferguson. 

However, what I did read of it was interesting and insightful. Not to mention she's someone I would occasionally see on the news (she's a news reporter), and reports on events and crisis in parts of the world mainly in the Middle East. Shes also fluent in Arabic which I always found inspiring. Her life as a news reporter and even just getting into that field and landing a job was very challenging and competitive. She has so much determination and grit, and a lot of it comes from her difficult and traumatic childhood.  

I wish it wasn't a book I had to stop reading- I just couldn't get past the poor choices she was making that she admittedly recognized as a bad cycle and ultimately, it became too hard for me to read. Her career is and seems very demanding, exhausting, stressful and dangerous and I think she likes it that way. Just from the cover of her book, you can tell she is on a wild ride of an adventure, though not without its share of undercover discoveries and hidings to make a full report and an added in wanderlust cultural experience. 

What I read, she was a great and interesting writer, telling her story in a raw and authentic way. Though I have a different picture of her now from after reading a chunk of her book, I still find it inspiring and cool of her achievement, dedication and interest in the Middle Eastern world and the language of Arabic.