Marhaba! We’re saying goodbye to another year of ups and downs, good and bad memoires (ذكريات), times of joy (سعادة) and sadness (حزن), and moments that pushed us to our limits and others that we never wanted to end. Again and again, I cannot emphasize the importance of learning to live in the present, forgetting the ills (الآلام) of the past (الماضي), and cutting back on our worries regarding the unpredictable future.
Image by Joyce Meyer | Flickr
As you can realize from posts later in 2014, I shared my firm belief in the joy of giving love and thanks. Two items on my New Year Resolution that will always be at the very top are:
1) Give love and thanks abundantly (بسِعة) and unconditionally (دون قيد أو شرط).
2) Be someone’s miracle (معجزة).
Coming back to our common passion and love for the Arabic language, I enthusiastically think that together, we’ve had a really good year. We’ve shared excellent Middle Eastern recipes, interesting facts about important events in Arabic, and important songs by top notch Arab artists. We’ve discussed important grammar and vocabulary lessons for your learning and writing. We’ve solved Arabic crossword puzzles and learned new interesting words. We’ve learned about important and interesting individuals (شخصيات) in the Arab World. We’ve engaged more and more Arabic lovers on our Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as our website. The number of Arabic lovers on our social media outlets and website has increased superbly and tremendously, and for that to you all we are eternally grateful (ممتنّين). The Arabic language team at Transparent Language is here to serve you, help you learn about the beautiful Arabic language, immerse you in a rich Arabic environment (بيئة), introduce you to important and notable figures in the Arab World, and always keep you fully informed about the old and new in the Arab World. I cannot possibly find a way to really express the joy I get from sharing different news pieces, crossword puzzles, interesting facts, grammar lessons and all other things in my mother tongue: ARABIC.
Support Arabic Language | Flickr
I wholeheartedly believe that we had an excellent year. In contrast to my New Year Resolution posts from 2012 and 2013, this year I want to do something different. Bearing in mind the need for positive change and our desire to always improve, I want YOU, our dedicated Arabic lover and learner, to reflect on our posts and activities in 2014 and tell us two things.
A) What two posts and/or two activities did you enjoy most?
1.
2.
B) What two posts and/or two activities did you enjoy least?
1.
2.
I await your feedback either in the comments on the webpage or on Facebook and/or Twitter. Please take the time to reflect, because we definitely want to hear from you to better serve you!! I end my note hours before the year ends by sharing my favorite New Year’s song by Fairouz. I have shared this before and I am sharing it again, because I simply love it and love the message it embodies in every possible way.
I wish you all a Happy New Year (عام سعيد)! I hope in 2015 you will be part of good memories rather than sad ones, perfect health, prosperity and ample success. Like every year, I wholeheartedly hope people in different Arab states and around the globe will have a better year marked by reconciliation, peace, stability, and prosperity.As always, my friends and passionate Arabic lovers and learners, please stay tuned for more interesting posts that will make you cherish the Arabic language even more.
See you all in 2015!
Happy New Year!!! كل عام وانتم بخير
Salam everyone! Born as an American to two originally Arab parents, I have been raised and have spent most of my life in Beirut, Lebanon. I have lived my good times and my bad times in Beirut. I was but a young child when I had to learn to share my toys and food with others as we hid from bombs and fighting during the Lebanese Civil War. I feel my connection to Arabic as both a language and culture is severing and so it is with you, my readers and fellow Arabic lovers, and through you that I wish to reestablish this connection by creating one for you.
Comments:
bibi:
hi,
sorry if i haven’t answered to your questions sooner, i thing you are all doing a wonderful job with the arabic language blog (i’m not a constant facebooker) and i wanted to let you know that the best activity ever for me is the listening comprehension exercises, with the questions first and the answers some days afterwards, i think it is a wonderful opportunity you give us all. the activity i like least is the word games, i found them interesting only for learning some extra vocabulary but i personally think that words are better learnt in a context so i normally tend to skip them.
finally i feel i should also mention all your posts about arabic culture (songs, writers, recipes, etc etc), i find them extremely interesting and even if i don’t learn a lot of arabic “language” from them, i sure learn a lot about arabic ways of thinking.
once again, thank you very much for the good job, all of you!
Comments:
bibi:
hi,
sorry if i haven’t answered to your questions sooner, i thing you are all doing a wonderful job with the arabic language blog (i’m not a constant facebooker) and i wanted to let you know that the best activity ever for me is the listening comprehension exercises, with the questions first and the answers some days afterwards, i think it is a wonderful opportunity you give us all. the activity i like least is the word games, i found them interesting only for learning some extra vocabulary but i personally think that words are better learnt in a context so i normally tend to skip them.
finally i feel i should also mention all your posts about arabic culture (songs, writers, recipes, etc etc), i find them extremely interesting and even if i don’t learn a lot of arabic “language” from them, i sure learn a lot about arabic ways of thinking.
once again, thank you very much for the good job, all of you!