talking in arabic

Ok, I'm going to take a little break from the Vblog Series for a quick review on essential vocabulary in the UAE.  Clearly you have to learn at least a couple of words to get along when you go to a new place and show respect for local culture.  So, here's our top 5 Arabic vocabulary items, along with a bonus item we used constantly:

1.  Al salam alaykum = hello.  Nice, all purpose, for some reason it wouldn't stick in my head.  I always tried to say the next one, which just made me look clueless.  I did manage to get it right when we did our final presentation to the client, but that's only because I copied 4 of my teammates who introduced themselves right before me and started with al salam alaykum.

2.  Wa alaykum asalam = response to #1. 

3.  Halas = done, finished.  Very important, it is used to indicate something is totally over.  Like so:

"I'm telling you it's not a shawl!  Halas!"

4.  Inshallah = God willing.  The great thing about this phrase is that you can add it to the end to basically add "good luck with that" or "when pigs fly."  Observe:

"Oh, you want me to write the final paper?  Of course, I'll get it done tomorrow, inshallah."

5.  Yala = let's go or we're outta here.  Very useful, especially when you combine it with halas, as in:

"Ohmygosh, I need a bucket of coffee.  Anybody want something from Gloria Jean's?"  (at this point, whoever's going takes about 6-8 orders:  Americano for Karen and Paul, latte for Faiz & Imane and possibly Tahir or coffee with cold skim milk for Tahir, soy latte for Mel, tea with milk for Ritesh)  "Ok, halas, yala."

6.  Schlak = Ok, this one isn't Arabic but I'd be crazy not to add it to the list.  It's actually a made-up word that someone Imane used to work with said.  It kinda means the same as crap, which I probably should not be writing in a blog that may be viewed by children or the IBM police.  Maybe they won't see it, inshallah.  After Imane told us the story of this word, it kinda caught on.  Its usage in a variety of grammatical contexts can be seen in the following exchange between me and Imane:

Imane:  Ok, I'll be at breakfast at 7am and we'll leave at 7:30.

Me:  Schlak.  There's no way you're gonna be down by then.  I'll give you until 8 to show up.

Imane:  No, I will be.  If I say it, I'll be there.

Me:  Um, schlak! 

Imane:  What?  I'm telling you I'll be there at 7.

Me:  Yeah, ok,  I hear ya.  Care to bet?  Loser buys lunch.

Imane (laughing, as we shake):  Oooohhh yeah, I'm gonna schlak you tomorrow.

Me:   Try I'm gonna schlak you, sistah.

As it turned out, I was the one schlaked since she showed up 10 minutes early.  That's ok, she got up early, so the schlak was on her.  I still got a yummy lunch.  #ibmcsc uae