A week of diverse surprises..

I signed up for Arabic classes at Glycines, Centre des Recherches Diocesaine….and there I met for the first time an Algerian Christian. Daniel is Kabylie and Christian and works there, and I think he also said he is a member of an order of priests. Fascinating and truly unexpected this was.

For the remainder of this month I signed up for a Classical Arabic course. This beginner course actually began in October, but I just jumped in. On my best day I would rate myself at lower intermediate in Arabic, but more often I perform at a high beginner level. For this course which is going over letters still, I am at a higher level, but I don’t really have any other options when it comes to a classroom setting such as this. I signed up to refresh my reading skills- I’m kind of lazy when it comes to pronouncing all of the “harikat” or short vowels and grammatical things like taa marbutas, fathatains etc. Much of the class, unfortunately, is conducted/explained in French. I guess it’s good for me to review my French, but I’d rather everything be stated in Arabic honestly. Well, I’ll take what I can get and anyways, it’s kind of nice to socialize with fellow students. I was a little tired of the one-on-one lessons.

Later on last week, I had the chance to speak at the University with an Algerian teacher. Friendly and willing to share her frank viewpoint with me, I found some of her comments very interesting. I mentioned that I was surprised to meet an Algerian Christian and she said that there are actually a lot, especially in the Kabylie region. She happens to be Kabylie and Muslim. She explained that ½ of her family is Christian and the other ½ Muslim. The one thing that is common and agreed upon by all of the family, she pointed out was the exclusive use of the Berber language at home and family get-togethers.

She added that some Algerian Christians hide their faith, because of potential political and discriminatory fears. This hidden population was very unexpected, and it blows my mind. Shocked and surprised, but also intrigued and fascinated by another strand of diversity in Algeria.

Speaking of diversity, the few foreign students I have come from some interesting places. I have an Iranian woman, several Turks (guys), and a brand new Russian guy. All of these particular foreigners do not speak Arabic or French. They are learning English, so it’s a unique challenge they face. I also have an Egyptian who already knows French and English rather well, so she is not in the same boat as them. The other interesting thing about her, is she is an Evangelical Christian. Now, what are the chances of meeting and Evangelica Egyptian . I would have predicted Coptic before that. This Evangelical Christian attends an Evangelical Church and said that quite a few that participate are Kabylie Algerians. Anyways, I welcome the diversity they all represent which no doubt enhances our sociocultural panorama at Bouzareah.

Another place I enjoy the diversity is when I get to attend church services here. There are several options run be the Diocese of Algiers and one mass occasionally has a Congolese choir that sounds wonderful. Those that attend are from all over, for example Lebanese, French, etc. There are also several orders of nuns and priests here. Some from the order of Mother Theresa and others that wear special garb particular to their group. Then there are other religious laypeople, like my Lebanese Arabic teacher that dress in everyday wear. The services I've attended have been conducted in French, but I hear there is an Arabic one done once a month. I'm looking forward to attending that sometime and practicing al-arabiyya fil kanisa. (kanisa=church)