About Me

“I see my multilingual, multicultural, and multidisciplinary background as a gift to serve and love others.”

ACCIDENTAL MULTILINGUIST

Jerusalem, a complex city with layered history, cultures and languages, is also the city of my birth. While the world debates Jerusalem’s religious and political implications, I knew it as home for my first 17 years of life.

One gift of growing up in Jerusalem was hearing many languages – Hebrew, Arabic, English, Greek, Russian, German, French, and Italian – spoken by natives and tourists.

Arabic and English were the first two languages that I learned. Arabic, my mother tongue, and English, my second language, played a tug of war since the beginning. To add to the complexity, I picked up Hebrew by listening to children’s educational TV shows like Bli Sodot. My mom and I would stop everything on Fridays to watch the fun educational songs and follow along by reading the subtitles. Later, I studied more Hebrew in high school and during the summer between college terms at an Ulpan, a Hebrew immersion program meant for Jewish immigrants.

But people are most surprised when they find out that I took German classes from 5th-9th grade – at the Old City Lutheran school – as well as two semesters in college. I also had that crazy idea to study French for one month.

With all of these language exposures, you might think that I was naturally gifted. Not at all. I was an average language student who unfortunately didn’t retain everything. However, being exposed to these languages, helped me in different areas of life including when I met my husband and realized that I had to pick up one more language – Spanish.

Exploring Multiculturalist

I grew up in a multicultural home – Lebanese & Jordanian – and a multicultural country – Israeli & Palestinian, and even saw more cultures through tourists that visited my city.

Seeing a variety of cultures even represented by believers from all over the world helped me understand the value of intercultural communication.

My dad, a local missionary, preached in several languages and adapted his illustrations from one culture to another.

But the biggest cultural learning happened when I left everything behind at 17 and came to Greenville, South Carolina. While still adjusting to the southern culture, I was introduced to my future husband’s Mexican American culture with his deep roots in Arizona.

Since then, I have come to love and understand Latino cultures as I have been part of Spanish-speaking churches in the US since 2001.

PURSUING MULTIDISCIPLINES

As far as I remember, I loved many subjects: art, music, literature, geography, math, and science.

But when it came to getting a college degree I chose communication that allowed me to explore as many subjects as possible: radio, television, photography, film, design, journalism, rhetoric, and organizational communication. I then pursued a minor in business and studied management, marketing, and accounting.

When it came time to get my MA degree, I decided to switch gears and pursued a counseling degree that allowed me to take psychology, counseling and bible classes.

All along I could see myself weaving in and out of different areas, sometimes not feeling at home in any place or an expert in anything.

That unsettling pushed me to pursue my Doctorate in Education with a focus in communication. I loved both qualitative and quantitative research and studied everything from social media to public relations theory.

Since then my pursuit of different areas hasn’t ended. I dived into intercultural competence and became IDI certified. I explored the field of training and development and gained the title of Master Trainer.

I don’t know what will come next, but I am excited to add it to my list.