When our Good Neighbor family first arrived, we had an Arrive staff person, Akram working with us as an Arabic translator at the first few meetings.
As we got to know each other, the Syrian family was teaching me how to say phrases like “thank you” (shukran) and “you’re welcome” (afwan) in Arabic.
the family would laugh so hard, and would say ‘No, no that’s the translator.’
One time Akram wasn’t there, and for “thank you” I would say it correctly as “shukran,” but for “you’re welcome” rather than saying “afwan” I kept saying “Akram,” and the family would laugh so hard, and they would say “No, no that’s the translator.” So now when we practice phrases in Arabic, we always say “shukran … afwan … NO Akram.”
Kate is a volunteer Good Neighbor Team Leader
