Reprinted
by permission from the author
CHESTNUT
HILL LOCAL
Language
Camp Brings Middle Eastern Culture to Morris Arboretum
by JAMES
STURDIVANT
Fatima
Chebchoub raises her arm in a sweeping motion,
reading from a small book of Arab folktales. She speaks a cadence suggesting a
lilting dance, rising and falling, consonant-driven; qualities the Arabic
language shares with Hebrew, its Semitic cousin. The story speaks of a lion in
a beautiful garden full of shagura, za'a and mayia.
"Oh!
We remember this from last time, don't we?" Hasan
Ansari, a recent and well-degreed Penn graduate asks
a roomful of children. "Shagura, za'a, mayia. What are those
things? Someone take a guess."
"Trees!"
a small voice calls out.
"Flowers?"
another asks.
Amid
a sudden din of excited replies, the correct reply comes from an enthusiastic
eight-year-old, Benjamin Ryan-Yankowy, nearly hopping
out of his seat.
"Trees,
plants and water!" he says confidently.
"Exactly! So, he lives in a beautiful big garden with
trees, plants and water." The kids
break into loud chatter before being quieted by Chebchoub,
a professional storyteller from
The
Br’er Rabbit-like hero and her beastly nemesis are
acted out by junior thespians wearing paper ears, noses, etc., but they hardly
need any props to understand the story's natural setting. This is the Al-Bustan Arabic Language and Cultural Day Camp, being held
for the second year at the Morris Arboretum in Chestnut Hill. Fifteen kids aged
6 to 11 from around the Philadelphia area gather here daily for three weeks in
July to learn Arabic and enjoy culturally-themed art, music and games.
Holding
a cultural camp for children in the arboretum has more than just aesthetic
value, according to Hazami Sayed,
a native of
A
three-dimensional model of the varied landscapes of the
At
the same time, campers tend a life-sized
"It’s
a hands-on way to explore various parts of the arboretum and try to relate it
to the Arab region through use of the model," Sayed
said. "It helps them to understand the close connection of the region's
culture to its natural environment."
On
Tuesdays and Thursdays, the kids enjoy storytelling and drama. Monday,
Wednesday and Friday see music and dance under the trees led by Joseph Tayoun, a skilled percussionist certified in elementary
education, and Adeeb Samaan
Refela, an accomplished player of the oud, guitar and violin. Art classes are twice a week, and
on Fridays, the kids travel to Penn Charter for sports activities. Arabic
lessons and nature activities happen daily.
Though
the camp is designed to appeal to children of any cultural background and
assumes no prior knowledge of Arabic, Ansari believes
that it is an especially great resource for Arab-American children
"I
think it almost encourages a subliminal consciousness. It kind of calls on
them, and they start realizing that there's this other part of them that they
usually associate with their parents, but that's part of them too. We don’t
just teach the language here … it’s like an all-encompassing knowledge of
another part of the world."
Seeds of Culture is working with Penn researchers to
evaluate the ways in which Arab-Americans engage their cultural identity.
"We want to develop something that could be used to further educate
[teachers] and provide more enriching material for educators in various
settings," Sayed, a Columbia University-trained
architect and mother of two, said. This involves analyzing the experience of
Arab-American children in public and private schools and in special settings
such as Al-Bustan.
"We're
[also] looking at developing a documentary on Arab-American youth in
The
ways that these American camp kids engaged with Arabic cultural traditions was
clearly on display the day of the Local's
visit.
During an afternoon art class,
counselors Daniel Dalseth and Hamdi
Attia held up a large picture of Scheherazade, the
heroine of A Thousand and One Arabian
Nights.
"Raise
your hand if you know who she was."
"She
was a lady from a long time ago."
"What
story was she in? Who can add to that?" Dalseth
asked.
"Didn't
they make a movie about her?"
"Was
she a goddess or a prophet?"
"She
was a heroine. A female hero," Dalseth answered
the children.
"Like
Wonder Woman?"
Attia explained the plot of the story, where Scheherazade
avoids death at the hands of a king by telling him a new tale every night.
"That's
like a show on Cartoon Network with Bugs Bunny and the king!" came a nine-year-old's reply.
The
counselors led the campers through a drawing project based on the picture and
played music inspired by the stories.
Sitting
around a table during free-play time, Max Hartt,
Mohammed Ibrahim and Benjamin Ryan-Yankowy were making towers — and miniature skate parks —
with wooden blocks that could be used to build a mosque. All agreed that the
camp was great fun.
"There's
lot of trees and lots of air, and lots of activities," Hartt,
"almost 11," said. "There's a lot of variety in the language
lessons."
At
other tables, kids were matching Arabic words with pictures and racing to see
who could fill in the Arabic alphabet quickest on a wooden puzzle board.
Counselor Ansari moderated the contest and fielded
winners' demands for brownies left over from lunch.
"I
just hope they’re having fun and learning at the same time," he said,
sending a victor off to mosque-building.
"I
love kids, and I enjoy being around kids. It's a great opportunity to teach
kids about a culture that is almost dying out, because Arab-Americans after a few
generations tend to lose a sense of identity that is the Arabic part of
Arab-American. And this is a good way to revive it."
Al-Bustan campers are showcasing their artwork and holding a
musical and dramatic performance on July 23 at