your problem with the language is probably something everyone faces when learning arabic. the instinct is to believe that they are learning one language but the truth is there is classical arabic and there are all the dialects. some times, it can be just as difficult for us arabs to understand each other. in jordan, for instance, you have the “ammani” dialect (which is a made up word really, and in most cases people use it to mean someone from the city who is spoiled), and then you have your more traditional jordanian dialect, found outside the city (usually using a heavy sounding “guh”), and then there’s the bedoin, which can be even more difficult to understand. The guh makes a big difference. The masculine word for “said” turns from the ammani “aal” to the more jordanian “gal”; “little” goes from “aleel” to “galeel”, replacing all the hamzehs “ah”s with “guh”s.

and this gets more complicated when you look at the soft lebanese, smooth syrian, and quick-paced egyptian dialects. Levanters tend to understand one another more clearly even though their dialects are so far apart, mainly due to geography and culture (a lot of tv and music comes from egypt and lebanon). Gulf people have similar dialects and understand each other more clearly. And west arabs like morocco and tunisia and libya and algeria, have the strangest dialects of all, and most levanters cannot entirely understand them as they blend in local dialects with french at rapid speeds.

as for privacy, it’s not really an arab thing lol. especially with the bigger families. bedroom doors are never locked.

I’m totally impressed by your honesty and your perseverance.

It reminds me of when I went to live with a Peruvian family during a college summer. I had only 10 mornings of Spanish in the language lab before I went. They spoke only Spanish. I felt totally stupid. But, like your host family, my host family was very patient.

Each night I would relive the whole day in my dreams with everyone speaking in English what I had heard in Spanish.

These are experiences to treasure for a lifetime–especially the elements of adversity, that become like fine wine that ages well over time.

I look forward to reading more of your posts and seeing you in CA.

Blessings,

Don