The East Gate

After spending most of the day speaking Arabic with my instructor, I headed to the university to meet a few friends. Feeling confident in my language skills and ready to relax, I flagged a taxi, jumped in, and let my mind relax...

I casually told the driver, "Sharuq Al Ausit," wanting to be delivered to the "East Gate" of the university. In the rearview mirror I saw the driver's eyebrows raise, so I repeated myself just to clarify. This time he turned around to face me, "Aslan!" meaning "already." Ahah! This was another taxi driver trying to trick the lonely American girl, but I was not going to allow it.

"Sharuq Al Ausit!" I exclaimed a third time loudly and directly. He repeated himself once more in exasperation, and all in one moment I understood what was happening. "Sharuq Al Ausit" does not mean "East Gate." It means "The Middle East."

My confused taxi driver was correct, we were already in the Middle East.