I had a nightmare a few nights ago about Kurdistan. It was a bad one. When I was in Kurdistan, I felt harassed, pushed aside, scapegoated, threatened, and the subject of outright malice. The men were creeps; they often tried to touch me, to corner me, to make gross comments about my body, and at … Continue reading Nightmares
Category: Kurdish
I took the most WONDERFUL trip this weekend. Impulsive, unexpected, rewarding. I woke up on Friday morning determined to get out of Suli. It had been 2 weeks since I'd gone anywhere, and the longer I go without travelling, the more I get stuck in a complacent rut. So I went to the bus terminal, … Continue reading Halabja
My students have made a new song. It's really simple, ready to learn? It goes: "Miss Rachel aql e!" And repeat. "Aql" is an adjective that roughly translates to "well-behaved." It's what adults tell children when they're being good. Like saying, "good girl," or something. Anyway, I gave my kids a talking-to in Kurdish the … Continue reading Kindergarten Moment of the Day – Aql
I've been communicating with a few farms in Nicaragua this week, and today I got a really exciting email from one of them. I was in the staff room and I started doing a happy dance. A few teachers asked me what was up. Ms. Lata (my TA) was there and she gave me this … Continue reading MashAllah!
Pronunciation key: ê: "e" as in met e: "uh" as in hut y: "ee" as in meet a: "ah" as in park o: "oh" as in boat SAYM KIRDN - TO STUDY (literally, "to do effort." Saiy = effort, Kirdn = to do) PRESENT TENSE mn sayakam: I study to sayakayt: You study ew … Continue reading Another Verb
Pronunciation key: ê: "e" as in met e: "uh" as in hut y: "ee" as in meet a: "ah" as in park o: "oh" as in boat kh: an aspirated k KHWARDN: TO EAT PRESENT TENSE: mn akhom: I eat tô akhoyt: you eat ew akhoa: he/she/it eats ema akhoyn: we eat ewa akhon: … Continue reading A Verb
Some things I learned in my Kurdish lesson this evening. Pronunciation key: ê: "e" as in met e: "uh" as in hut y: "ee" as in meet a: "ah" as in park Sentence #1: Kurdish: Pêwystm pêt hêye. Literal translation: (the) need to me of you there is. Acceptable English: I need you. Sentence #2: Kurdish: Pêwystm be seyareyek heye … Continue reading Grammar & Syntax
Bought the cuuuutest book in the bazaar today. It's called "Cheeroki Paneerek" - A Story of Cheese. I also bought two dictionaries today, English-Kurdish and Kurdish-English. Let's get to translating! It's like being back in Ancient Greek class. Except now I get to use the words I learn in actual conversation.
Kurdish Funny #1: I got into a taxi last night and I wasn't in the mood to chat, so when the driver started speaking in broken English, I said, "Afw, kaka, Inglyzy nazanm." (Sorry, sir, I don't know English.) "Oh," he said, "Xalky kweyt?" (Where are you from?) "Espani," (Spain) I replied. There were 10 … Continue reading Kurdish Funnies
Since Raz is getting quite busy with marriage preparations, I've found a new tutor. A supplementary tutor, if you will, so if Raz cancels I still get my weekly Kurdish fix. His name is Sarmad, and we're meeting twice a week to have conversation classes. Strictly speaking, it's not proper for an unrelated or unmarried … Continue reading Kurdish: Studying & Dating
In Mutual Weirdness 