Traveling all the way from China, two Chinese girls in their early 20s, who chose “Dima” and “Rasha” as their Arabic names, lived in Kuwait for nearly a year to pursue their Arabic language studies at Kuwait University. Thousands of kilometers away from their homeland, this country helped them break the language barrier and brought them closer to a culture they previously knew very little about. “All I knew were stereotypes about Arabs, such as that they are just rich people,” Dima said.
Although easily recognized as foreigners, the two girls never felt like strangers in Kuwait. “I felt embraced, and nobody ever gave me strange looks here,” Dima shared. On weekends, they enjoyed exploring the streets of Kuwait as regular citizens, with their preferred spots being The Avenues mall and Souq Mubarakiya.
” Dima especially loved ordering machboos diyay, her favorite dish. Deeply immersed in Kuwaiti heritage, she shared her fascination with the bedouins and desert lifestyle in Kuwait. “What I loved most about Kuwait is how much pride its people hold in their ancient culture, such as preserving their tribal communities and their camels until this day.
” Regarding her interest in the Arabic language, Dima added: “I loved how the same word in Arabic can hold many different meanings.” Unlike the Chinese script, which uses characters to represent words, she liked that Arabic uses an alphabet to do so. Beyond theoretical knowledge and books, they had the opportuni.
