Khartoum: the Language

Sudan is only the second country I've been to where English isn't the official or dominant language.  The first would be Mozambique, which speaks Portuguese.  Not only is Portuguese a lot closer to English than Arabic is, it is also very similar to Spanish, which I've studied.  So living in an Arabic-speaking country is definitely a completely new experience!

Even before I arrived, I tried to learn the alphabet a little.  After 6 days in Sudan, I can only read 8 different letters, and I don't even know all their forms (Arabic letters have slight changes for beginning a word, middle of a word, and ending a word).  I've had more success learning Arabic numerals, which are easy to practice reading because they are on all license plates with the English equivalent beneath.  So I can read all 10 numbers now.

My vocabulary is probably about 20 words; I can do simple greetings, a few question words, and several numbers.  However, quite a few people here do know some English, so at this point, I can get by with little Arabic.  But it's the best feeling to manage to communicate my needs to someone who speaks no English, by pointing and using random Arabic words I think might be related.  I've had to do this a few times when my amjad driver doesn't know my exact destination, and neither do I.

There is a surprising amount of English here, though.  Many products have an English translation on the back, like my three water bottles here (though I'm displaying the Arabic sides).

At some point, I'd like to start taking formal Arabic lessons, but I'll wait until I know my schedule better and hear different perspectives about different colleges.