A Love of Language...

...Three months of hard work and some mental exhaustion may have just gone for naught.

I began studying the Russian language while on Annual Training with the Army Reserve in July.  So, the duration of my study has been, approximately, three to four months.

Today, however, I encountered a very simple advertisement, one whose image I have embedded below:

Seeing this simple Arabic script quickly reminded me how much I enjoyed studying the language while a freshman at the University of South Florida.

I have enjoyed my experience attempting to master Russian.  However, there is something about Arabic-speaking culture that appeals to me.

The fact that I spent two years while in the Army in Arabic-speaking countries may contribute to this particular fascination.  However, I also spent significant time in South Korea, and I feel no similar passion about learning more about Southeast Asian cultures.

In fact, of my list of international locations I wish to visit, none surpasses my desire to experience Dubai. 

The Middle East appeals to me. 

While in college, a friend and I used to frequently visit a hookah bar whose other customers, at the time, were all Arabic speaking and of Middle Eastern descent.  My friend and I had strong rapport with the shop’s Arab owner.  It was a source of great personal pride, and conversation, that I could read, although not understand, the different Arabic script posted on the bar’s walls.

I feel overwhelmed currently by a motivation to recommit myself to the study of Arabic and Middle Eastern culture. 

I think I will do so, and supplement my Arabic study, occasionally, with Russian lessons.

If nothing else, I believe that better understanding of any foreign language exercises the aptitudes required to pick up additional languages. 

Considered that way, my effort toward acquiring Russian proficiency has not been totally an exercise in wasting time.