Back to School - Learning Arabic!!

Since I have been jobless for sometime and sitting at home only makes me think more about the sadness of the past... I decided to do something about it... keep the mind fresh! :D

I love learning new languages... have tried my hand at French several times before but always ended in not being able to complete even the beginners level.. sigh

But now since I am here in the UAE I decided to try and see how Arabic is (helps making my job prospects better too) :D

So I have joined Eton Institute for the intensive Arabic starter level. So far so good.. have completed one week today and have 2 more weeks to go. Its quite interesting and not as tough as I thought it would be. I can barely read right now but hope to be able to speak decent amount before the end of this year.. :) so am planning to continue it even if I do get a job soon. (considering the fact that to be able to reach a decent level I need to complete 8 levels! :O)

Seeing strange letters making sense now gives me a sense of accomplishment which I am sure would only increase as the classes go by.. :) hope it will give me a confidence boost as well! :D

I know a lot of people say that now that the world has moved to online learning one should not waste time on physical classes. Rather take classes online to save time and also to be able to work as per ones own timetable, but I am a strong advocate of taking lessons from an actual person. There are certain nuances of a language you can only learn through human interaction. Like the difference in the pronunciations of haa & ha.. yep they are 2 different Arabic letters representing the sound the letter H has in English apart from the 6-8 different sounds that can be made from them. lol

But apart from everything else, I really feel it gives your classes a more serious feel. You interact with others in the class and learn with them creating a sort of synergy that otherwise if you do it alone you would not be able to....

Don't you agree? something to think about...

New City... Not so new woes...

So we moved to Dubai quite recently... even though it was a good decision from my husbands career point of view... I am jobless once again.

Sitting at home doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning, cooking..... etc etc doing everything like a good housewife yet feeling hollow inside... is this what I signed up for? agreed I love my husband very much and would not stay without him... but I had an amazing job back in Kenya... I got that job after sitting at home for about a year... I loved working... I loved the company the people the work... but now there is only this empty feeling.

I dont feel like doing anything the whole day.. just sit and look for jobs... and when one doesnt get a call from a single company in over 2 months its kind of depressing.

The same old fights have started again on whether or not I am looking for a job seriously.. what is it that I do the whole day? why am I not getting calls for interviews...??? so many questions that I dont know the answer to... and I hate it!

I am hoping to start an Arabic course soon... hopefully that would take away a lot of my time and help me develop my skills enough to get a job here. I always thought that somehow Dubai would be easier.... sigh...

life and second chances...

Have you ever wondered... what if you had the chance to start over.. what if life gave you a second chance... what would you change?

When we are little kids, our world is protected... we have very little to hide... the biggest scandal that happens in our lives is that we failed... or the biggest thing that governs our lives is that someone is not talking to us... or acting funny with us...when i was a kid... i was happy and content with the life that i had.. there was nothing i wanted to change... ya there were occasions...but then they as i said were occasions... when the world around me was a chaos... but looking back it seems like nothing...

You grow up and realize that life has such challenges in store that you could have never imagined...then you grow up some more and realize you were stronger than those too! :-)

Like that.. i am currently going through a phase in life where things seem really sad and depressing... I lost something really precious to me.. something that when was me I was not so sure on if I was happy or if life was going in the right direction, but when I lost it I realized what it meant to me... rather how much it meant to me... I feel sad and upset and read about stories online about women who have gone through something similar or are going through such a phase and try and find comfort in knowing that it shall pass too.... Till then I am thanking god for giving me such a supportive and loving husband and amazing parents and sibling who are there to care for me and help me heal... who show a smiling face where as they might be hurting inside...just so that I stay happy :-)

I really hope one day god will give me.. and my dear husband a second chance to finding that happiness again...

Restarting....

So here I am again... writing...

I have not been back to the blog for years now and not felt the need to come back till now... But as time goes and you go through the ups and downs of life you realize that the best thing to do is to pen down what you feel... it helps you in more ways than one...

So here I am again....

A lot has changed since I wrote here last in Oct 2009... I got married to a wonderful person... quit my job... moved my base from India to Kenya... got an amazing job here and now its time again for changes... some that are hard to deal with.. some that are not so bad and some that are beautiful...

After 2 years and some odd months in Kenya its time for us to move again.. now to Middle East. New opportunities to look forward to.. a New life to start... 

Diwali and all that... :)

So Diwali came and went... It is interesting how festivals brighten your mood.. there is a general feeling of happiness that is there all around.. people in office are smiling, outside vendors are at all time high, everyone is shopping.. its like what it might be in the US during christmas...only brighter and colorful! :)
there is rangoli which has so many shades of happiness and love and care and everything rolled into one! there are the colorful diyas that light our homes welcoming the goddess laxmi into our lives... that make our house look beautiful gleaming in the night! there are the lanterns and the lights that adorn the balcony and the windows, shining away in the night... all this spreads so much happiness that it is contagious!

So keeping the happiness alive and spreading joy... I wish u all a very happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year!! :) :)

The number 1....

There is something that draws the excitement in every human being when it comes to the "number 1". We all get drawn towards it like moths to a flame...
This is my first post here and the excitement in me is beyond my control... have gone through all the features of blogger to see how can i customize my blog, so that i looks.... well mine... :)
I have been contemplating for a long time to write... but always found some excuse or the other to either write and stop or not start at all... guess it was time i took a step.. :) I plan to write things that affect me, move me, hurt me or have any kind of emotions attached to it... I know my thoughts here seem to be disconnected... but right now all that matters is that I have taken a step and wish that I can continue with regular posts!...