
If you've ever studied a foreign language, you know what happens when you first truly and clearly communicate with another person. As Zora O'Neill recalls, you feel like a magician. They say that Arabic takes seven years to learn and a lifetime to master. Steeped in grammar tomes and outdated textbooks, O'Neill faced an increasing certainty that she was not only failing to master Arabic, but also driving herself crazy. She took a decade-long hiatus, but couldn't shake her fascination with the language or the cultures it had opened up to her. So she decided to jump back in--this time with a new approach. Join O'Neill for a grand tour through the Middle East. You will laugh with her in Egypt, delight in the stories she passes on from the United Arab Emirates, and find yourself transformed by her experiences in Lebanon and Morocco. She's packed her dictionaries, her unsinkable sense of humor, and her talent for making fast friends of strangers. From quiet streets to crowded medinas, from families' homes to local hotspots, she brings a part of the world that is thousands of miles away right to your door, reminding us that learning another tongue leaves you rich with so much more than words.-
Publisher:
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016
ISBN:
9780547853185
0547853181
0547853181
Branch Call Number:
915.6 O58a
Characteristics:
xvi, 318 pages ; 24 cm


Opinion
From Library Staff
List - VPL- Books Just for You - Adventure, Biography and Inspirational
vpl_booksjustforyou
Jul 04, 2017

O'Neill sets off on a grammatical and culture adventure, giving the reader great insight into the history and politics of a diverse people.
List - VPL - Books Just for You - Classic, General and Serial Fiction with a pinch of politcs.
vpl_booksjustforyou
Mar 08, 2017

The author revisited Egypt after the Arab Spring intent on immersing herself in the Arabic language. O'Neill sets off on a grammatical and culture adventure, giving the reader an insight into the culture, history and politics of a diverse people.
List - VPL – Books Just for You – Laughing Around the World: Funny Travel Writing
vpl_booksjustforyou
Jan 13, 2017

Zora O'Neill sets off with determination and grit on a grand tour of the Middle East in an effort to unlock the mysteries of the the Arabic language and culture.
Zora O'Neill sets off with determination and grit on a grand tour of the Middle East in an effort to unlock the mysteries of the the Arabic language and culture.
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Add a CommentToo much information for the level of interest I had.