this is a book, in case you don't know

This is the second time that I am going through an extended period of residence in a country where language is a handicap for me. My earlier stay in Japan was easier, because I was enrolled in a language class where I learnt rudimentary expressions used in day-to-day life in Japan. Never mind that the only people who undersood my Japanese were other students from the same school. I tried my newly acquired skills on some Japanese and they apologetically informed me that they didn't speak Greek.

But here in Saudi Arabia there is no such arrangement for us to learn Arabic. I can only rely on what I had learnt at high school. We had two years of Arabic education. I think one of the books was called Alkitabul Jadid (the new book). I don't remember much of what I had learnt. There were sentences like 'attilmizu swalihun' which means something that I can't remember. There was also the sentence 'haza kitab' which means 'this is a book.'

Unfortunately, such knowledge of Arabic is not only inadequate, but also of no practical use. Try to imagine a situation where I might be required to inform someone that 'this is a book'. I can't think of any. If, in fact, I try this phrase on someone, the person spoken to would at best have pity on me, assuming that I have gone nuts; or, in the worst case, take it as an insult assuming that I think he is an imbecile who can't tell a book when he sees one.

I would rather keep my mouth shut than utter inane phrases in Arabic. Khalas.