SOCOTRA

I made up my mind to travel at 8PM and by 10PM, I was exchanging 34,000 Yemeni rial (169 USD) with a travel agent who had agreed to meet me near my home in Sana'a at Mosque Abubaker.  Cash is King in Yemen and credit cards are rarely used as a means of payment.  I had purchased my ticket to the island of Socotra and was scheduled to depart the next morning at 6AM.  I had made no other prior arrangements for transportation or accommodation on the Island and despite the lack of encouragement from friends who advised it was monsoon season, there was no other place I wanted to be.

And so my adventure began.  The flight made a stop over in Mukalla, where we picked up the Socotra football team.  This only became evident when the team started chanting following our successful landing on the Island after a turbulent flight caused by the strong winds.

I am probably the first Venezuelan woman on the island.  Visitors to the island prior to 2000 were few and in fact no records have been kept.  In 2000 there were only 140 foreign visitors, 1000 visitors by 2005 and 2,500 visitors by 2007.  This hunch was confirmed by Ismael Mohammed, my guide who had spent 10 years working for the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) on a project to develop ecotourism.  He assured me  there had been no other Venezuela women on the island :) :)  Ismael trained all of the Socotri guides and was involved in the development of the first Eco hotel.     He speaks fluent Socotri, Arabic and English and he has utilized his education to fight for the two things which he is most passionate about. One, ensuring that the financial benefits generated by tourism in Socotra benefit the local Socotri community with minimal environmental impact to the island and two, to ensure that the Socotri Language is not lost.

Socotri is a spoken language and it is estimated that only 80,000 people mostly in the Socotra archipelago, mainland Yemen, Oman and a small immigrant community in UAE still speak the language.  The Foundation for Endangered Languages which supports the documentation, protection and promotion of endangered languages has listed Socotri as an endangered language.    On the island of Socotra,  Arabic and English are the languages taught in school and the young generations rarely have exposure to socotri. 

The Socotri people are poetic by nature.  They often communicate among each other through spoken poetry and during gatherings and celebrations the village poets gather for extended sessions of improvisational poetic song which can last for days.  In an attempt to save this important part of the Socotri culture, Ismael spends his free time documenting these now rare sessions of poetic song steered by the elder members of the village.         Ismael’s main concerned is  that Socotri poetry will be buried along with the death of the village elders.

Socotri is the language of the native population of the island of the Socotra archipelago. It is one of the Modern South Arabian languages (MSAL) and is usually classified as a South Semitic language.

Socotra is 3,500 sq km with an altitude of 1,519 m.  The island is only 240 KM off the horn of Africa but high winds and seas isolate it for five months of the year making it  one of the most inaccessible places on earth.  The island was under British protection from 1886 until it became part of South Yemen in 1967.  

July 2008, Socotra was identified as a world heritage site by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

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A Student Essay

One of the most rewarding privileges of being  a teacher is having the opportunity to read student essays.  The laborious task of in class written assignments and homework gives the students an opportunity to contemplate a variety of ideas and experiences.  The end result gives the teacher a glimpse into the students’ dreams, aspirations, fears and life stories.   

The following essay was selected among over 60 written assignments I reviewed during my English teaching stint at Mali Institute in Sanaa, Yemen.    I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I have always dreamed of visiting my village because my parents and relatives have always told me that it is charming, beautiful and worth-seeing.  They told me that It would exceed my expectations. So, I decided to visit the village. I  finally visited it last month with my dad and family.

When we arrived, I was surprised because it was much better than I had expected.  It really is a unique place with its river, springs, green mountains and hills.  I quickly realized that the village is worthy of being the most famous of all.  I was really excited when I saw the houses on the top of the mountains among the clouds.

The people are very generous and kindhearted. While we were chewing Qat, they were telling me folk stories and jokes.  They are also open-hearted, modest and distinguished by their simplicity and informality.  Because of their sweet demeanor I have felt that there were no boundaries between us.  Of course there were no amenities such as; supermarkets, gyms, clubs etc..., but there were many things which are not available in Sana’a such as tranquility and quietness.

Although I was saddened by the poverty and illiteracy in the village, I have enjoyed my time there.  It was a unique experience in my life and through my journey I found out that living in the countryside is better than living in a city.  

This essay was written by Salah Towfeek Altwaiti, one of my Level 6B English students.  He was among three Air Traffic Controllers from Sana’a International Airport which were registered in my class.  He is married with children and he dreams of one day traveling the world to learn about other cultures.   In his essay he describes his visit to the Ibb Province.  

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Teaching English in Yemen

 

 

 Teaching English in Yemen was more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. I knew teaching would give me a chance to better understand Yemeni culture but I underestimated to the extent that the students would contribute to my overall experience in Yemen or the impact that we could have on each other. 

A teacher can open doors in a student's minds that perhaps they never knew existed. I taught the language within a context and the content of the context, well that's where teaching got interesting.  

On many occasions we had healthy debates regarding the dividing and controversial topic of Qat.  Qat is a leafy narcotic that when chewed produces feelings of euphoria. Some students were strongly against it and voiced their opinions regarding the adverse health effects, the impact on Yemen's agricultural resources and the time and money, which they felt was wasted on such a habit.  Other students in the class strongly disagreed. They valued Qat chewing sessions as part of their culture and as a means of socializing and bringing people together.  For them chewing Qat was productive as it is during these Qat chewing sessions that most business deals are arranged.  Some students in the class disagreed with its daily use but valued the tradition of chewing Qat on occasions such as weddings and funerals.

We discussed the role of the government and the students' expectations from their leaders.  Almost unanimously they all felt that the government could do more to improve waste management, enforce laws, reduce traffic congestion, improve and increase the number of education facilities and provide assistance to the handicapped and underprivileged.   

We discussed euthanasia and animal rights and the religious guidance on such topics. We watched the movie  "The Inconvenient Truth” by Al gore and had in-depth discussions about global warming and the effects it is having on the world's climate.  I shared with them pictures of art by Van Gogh, Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol and we discussed famous quotes by Maya Angelou, Albert Einstein, Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther King and Gandhi.

But most of all I challenged them.  I challenged them to see the world from a different perspective, not as a place where they had to accept the conditions they were given but as a place they could change for the better.

I taught a class of 13 students (Level 6B) at Mali Institute, Sana'a, Yemen.  This was my first teaching gig after obtaining the Cambridge University Certificate in English Teaching to Adults.  Coincidently, I also discovered a greater appreciation for teachers! The amount of time and effort that goes into planning lessons, grading exams, reading student essays, nursing paper cuts (:)) and actually delivering the lesson exceeds the monetary reward by far. However making a difference in someone's life was priceless. 

 JAM Language Ltd. English Flash Cards: Fruit & Vegetables available @ AMAZON

My Arabic Teacher

Arabic is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.  Arabic is spoken with numerous colloquial variants across 22 countries spanning the middle East from North Africa to South-West Asia.  Over 280M people speak Arabic and it is estimated that another 250M are learning Arabic as  a 2nd language.  My main motivation for coming to  Sana'a, Yemen  was to further my Arabic studies.   I had previous lessons in the past such as an intensive introduction to Arabic at SOAS, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies and private tutors while I lived in London and Dubai.   The best teacher I have ever had though was Jamila Hiba here in Sana'a, Yemen at Mali Institute.    She is extremely punctual and disciplined and our two daily sessions of two hours each  go by quickly.  I am impressed by her work ethic and natural teaching skills.  Jamila graduated from Sana'a University with  a Bachelors in Arabic Studies.  She ranked 8th among her class of 250 students.  What she enjoys the most about teaching is meeting people from around the world and learning about their countries and cultures.  She has taught students from Japan, France, Italy, Austria, Australia, United Kingdom, United States of America and Venezuela (I'm her 2nd student from Venezuela :)).  Jamila comes from a large family with six brothers and a younger sister.  I have had the honor of meeting some of her family as she has hosted me in her lovely home on several occasions for traditional Yemeni meals.   During her spare time, Jamila enjoys reading about Islam and Sharia Law.

Jamila has been teaching Arabic privately and at Mali Institute for 5 years and she hopes to complete a Masters in Linguistics in the near future.  She is  a JAM fan and can be contacted via facebook.  

Jam English Flash Cards Coming Soon!

Kate Kelley

Kate Kelley is well ... full of surprises. Our paths crossed only for  a brief moment but the encounter was memorable.  As I was arriving in Yemen she was enjoying her last week in Sana'a.  Despite this, she still managed to teach me the survival essentials.  She patiently taught me how to tie my scarf, how to get travel permits from the tourist police and the necessary arabic phrases needed to direct a taxi driver home.  She introduced me to her eclectic circle of yemeni and expat friends, the hidden gem Coffee Trader Cafe serving up real cheesecake alongside 100% yemeni coffee and Yayha's bed and breakfast in Kawkaban.  

On one occasion she even brought home  a complete stranger.   By chance he happened to be Danilo Perotti Machado, a Brazilian athlete who was cycling around the world (Homen Livre Project)!  Danilo had just arrived in Sana'a and was on his way to Aden but the tourist police insisted that he stay in Sana'a for the evening and continue his travels in the morning.  Lucky for Danilo, Kate spotted him.   Kate was actually going through the checkpoint on her way back from Zafar where some of the villagers were hosting a farewell gathering in her honor.  

While Kate originally came to Yemen to teach English at MALI Institute in Sana'a, upon her arrival, she was also recruited as an archeologist in the Ibb province.  She joined a team from Heidelberg University  led by archeologist Dr. Paul Yule and about 40 participants from the village to discover the remnants of the once powerful Himyarite Empire.  

This Year's excavation revealed numerous stone reliefs of mythological creatures.  However since 1998, when the project was initiated, over 1000 inscriptions and reliefs have been discovered and are being catalogued.  The inscriptions are in the Himyarite Language which was a South Semetic tongue spoken in the South Western Arabian Peninsula.   Inscriptions judged to be Himyarite have been found dating from before 700 BC.

Kate Kelly is an American from Everett, Washington who moved to Yemen in 2007 upon graduating with honors in Near Eastern Studies from Edinburgh University.  She is currently considering an opportunity teaching English in Iraq.   Kate is pictured above second from left.   Kate's dear friend and former academic coordinator at MALI Institute, Julie Manning is pictured second from the right. 

jam English flash cards Coming Soon!