Dr. Al-Shalchi is the director of the Arabic program at the University of Texas, as well as one of my favorite professors.  Raised speaking Iraqi Arabic in her home, her accent sounds much different from Shami at first. We talked about the uniqueness between the two dialects, helping me to better understand Iraqi.    Intro music: "Shesh Pesh" by JR Tundra  

My first interview is with my friend and classmate, Leen. Leen's family is Syrian, but she was born and raised in Saudi Arabia. She talks with me about her trips back to her family home in Syria before the war, and she explains how to make tabbouleh. Leen has a beautiful Syrian accent, and I'm sure you'll love listening to our conversation!   Intro music: "Shesh Pesh" by JR Tundra

Just a little bit of insight on the meaning of the name

My name is Olivia and I am an Arabic major at the University of Texas at Austin. I started a podcast to help you learn "real life" Arabic-the kind you pick up while sitting with your neighbors drinking coffee on a front porch in Lebanon. This introduction episode will tell you what the show is about and share my reasoning behind the creation of it.