Our “wajib” has been insane. We are only supposed to be getting 3 to 4 hours of work a night - I feel as if I work for 6 or 7 hours. I usually get started right after class and end up staying at AALIM until 7 PM, when I walk home so I can eat with my family as they break fast. After that I end up doing work for several hours more until about 1 or 2 AM, when I either go to sleep for good or sleep until 6 or 7 AM and then wake up to do more work. This aspect of the program has been incredibly frustrating thus far because I feel as if all of the homework and preparation for class really takes away from my time to spend with my host family and fully take advantage of being abroad. However, we discussed this during a program-mandated weekly meeting with the director of AALIM and our program coordinator and they said that they will reduce it. I’m hopeful but we’ll see if it actually happens.
Overall, though, I do feel as if my Arabic has improved a lot in just a couple of weeks thanks to consistent practice. The teachers are very enthusiastic as well and go to great lengths to help us understand the material. Let’s hope I can maintain and continue to use my new vocabulary!
(Also, Happy 4th of July to everyone!!)