Help me get an Iraqi penpal
September 21, 2010 9:09 AM Subscribe
How can I find an Iraqi penpal? I'm an American and I only speak English.
So, I'm an American and I live in America. Iraq is talked about a lot over here, and yet I somehow feel that I am not getting a very accurate picture of life over there. Is it really all burned-out cars, rubble-filled streets, people crying, and American soldiers looming? These are the only images I see of Iraq, either from mainstream news or from "alternative" news. Those two types of news sources have different slants, but they both end up doing quite a bit of "othering".
I bet that a more complete picture of life in Iraq would be a lot more interesting. I bet that there are people who have jobs and go to school and fall in love.
I want to correspond with an Iraqi person and have some good ol' fashioned cultural exchange. But I don't know any Iraqi people, so I don't know how to introduce myself to one. Also, I only speak English. That might be a problem.
Here's what I've tried so far:
* I live in Ann Arbor, MI, so I wrote to the University of Michigan's center for middle-eastern studies. Nobody got back to me. I suppose I could write to individual faculty instead of the main dept email...
* I used the contact form on Baghdad U's English dept webpage.
* I posted on baghdad.craigslist.org (which I think is only American soldiers)
* I posted a facebook status. A friend of mine said he knows an Iraqi person who might be able to help me out, but I haven't heard back.
Are there any other resources? Programs specifically set up for cultural-exchange penpals? Websites? Or should I continue with my program of going through Universities, but be a little more targeted about it?
So, I'm an American and I live in America. Iraq is talked about a lot over here, and yet I somehow feel that I am not getting a very accurate picture of life over there. Is it really all burned-out cars, rubble-filled streets, people crying, and American soldiers looming? These are the only images I see of Iraq, either from mainstream news or from "alternative" news. Those two types of news sources have different slants, but they both end up doing quite a bit of "othering".
I bet that a more complete picture of life in Iraq would be a lot more interesting. I bet that there are people who have jobs and go to school and fall in love.
I want to correspond with an Iraqi person and have some good ol' fashioned cultural exchange. But I don't know any Iraqi people, so I don't know how to introduce myself to one. Also, I only speak English. That might be a problem.
Here's what I've tried so far:
* I live in Ann Arbor, MI, so I wrote to the University of Michigan's center for middle-eastern studies. Nobody got back to me. I suppose I could write to individual faculty instead of the main dept email...
* I used the contact form on Baghdad U's English dept webpage.
* I posted on baghdad.craigslist.org (which I think is only American soldiers)
* I posted a facebook status. A friend of mine said he knows an Iraqi person who might be able to help me out, but I haven't heard back.
Are there any other resources? Programs specifically set up for cultural-exchange penpals? Websites? Or should I continue with my program of going through Universities, but be a little more targeted about it?
This episode of This American Life has a story about a man who began regular phone correspondence with a couple of Iraqi brothers. Perhaps you could imitate what he did. I also suspect that the phone correspondence worked so well because it allowed the I raqi men to practice conversational English.
posted by Sara Anne at 9:15 AM on September 21, 2010
posted by Sara Anne at 9:15 AM on September 21, 2010
Best answer: Seconding Livemocha. The actual lessons offered on the site are fairly low-quality. But there are thousands of members from all over the world. You can do an advanced search to find an English-language learner from Iraq (I found 6 pages of them, over a hundred, possibly more). It's like a social-networking site for language learners.
posted by infodiva at 9:31 AM on September 21, 2010
posted by infodiva at 9:31 AM on September 21, 2010
According to their website:
Ishtar Cultural Center is home to many local organizations, and is used as a conference center for many non-profit organizations including CASA (Chaldean American Student Association) Iraqi Human Rights Society, CASC (Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council) and many more.
What you want is to be put in contact with a church or other group serving the community here. They would best be able to help you find someone to do this. It might not be possible, who knows.
posted by vincele at 9:35 AM on September 21, 2010
Ishtar Cultural Center is home to many local organizations, and is used as a conference center for many non-profit organizations including CASA (Chaldean American Student Association) Iraqi Human Rights Society, CASC (Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council) and many more.
What you want is to be put in contact with a church or other group serving the community here. They would best be able to help you find someone to do this. It might not be possible, who knows.
posted by vincele at 9:35 AM on September 21, 2010
Response by poster: Great! That livemocha looks like exactly what I'm looking for. I did an advanced search and even found a couple people that are online and available to chat with right now.
Thanks!
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 9:59 AM on September 21, 2010
Thanks!
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 9:59 AM on September 21, 2010
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posted by emilyd22222 at 9:12 AM on September 21, 2010 [2 favorites]