what's my name?

I don't normally write a blogpost past my bedtime but this is an exception. 

But when you think about it again, the previous post on this blog was written waaaay past my bedtime.

I told myself that I would write about my 3rd and final module for the Nottingham Advantage Award only after I have completed it and passed with flying colours. But I just have to write about it now cause I want to remember this day.

So after Maghrib, I went to my class at Trent Building (this is a classical style building that is a maze on its own) and waited for the tutor to come. Then, along came Thomas (my classmate) sat next to me and greeted me by my name, "Hey Wafi, you're alright?" And I was so touched that he remembered my name. We've only met for 2 times and never talked before this, huhu.

Oh yeah, one thing to note. Adlan Wafi doesn't really feel proud most of the times. He does have this feeling but he's trying to get rid of the feeling as best as his can. Usually, he will feel touched. In Malay, saya memang mudah terharu daripada rasa bangga. It's probably because I have this strong memory on sentimental events. Thus, my feelings are more channelled towards being touched rather than feeling boastful. And I always try to remind my brothers about the danger of vanity. It's not good being vain and all. It's just not cool.

And my friends would usually think that I'm proud that people remember my name but no, I'm touched. Sometimes, the feeling almost made me want to cry. And I tweeted this when Thomas greeted me this evening. But alhamdulillah, I remember his name. So yeah, I'm grateful that he's being friendly to me.

Ok, this is the revelation. I present to you my 3rd and final module for NAA:

Modern Standard Arabic

Level 1 Part 1

Okay, there are various reasons of why I didn't want to write about it on my blog. Some of the reasons include it's quite late for me to learn Arabic isn't it? I feel so inferior compared to others. And now, I'm just plain embarrassed that everyone who reads my blog knows that I'm just beginning to learn Arabic. Secondly, my friends who read my blog would now begin speaking Arabic to me where in actual fact, I have only learned a few words. So don't mock me, please. The reason why I go for this module is because I think it's about time that I start mastering this language. 

And today, our tutor, Ahmed decided to ask us to write our names in Arabic. When it was my turn, he exclaimed, "Wafi, a couple of Arabic names. Which one did you go for?"

I was impressed at his capability to identify that my name was indeed Arabic. I mean, I have met several Muslim brothers and some of them even asked, "Is that an Islamic name?"

Lol!

So yeah, I was glad that he knew that my name was Arabic. I said, "I chose Wafi".

"Go ahead then"

"Wau alif fa ya"

"Do you know what it means?"

"I think I do. Is it loyal?"

"Yes, it is. It does have some shades of meaning"

Bila dengar perkataan "shades" ni, teringat "shades of grey", hehe.

And I decided to guess what the other meaning is cause I've been hearing this quite a lot from my friends.

"Does it also mean healer?"

"I have not heard about that one before"

Thanks lah Sudin and Izdihar Zuhdi!

Haha, sebab diorang selalu teka Wafi maksudnya "penyembuh".

"The other shade of meaning is sincere. So, it's loyal/sincere"

And I'm like okay, that could be my new blog name after denial/redemption :P

Sincere? How wonderful does that sound. I never knew that. I have always associate myself to the meaning that I have always known - loyal. MasyaAllah, it's an evening to remember ;)

So yeah, there's a lady by the name of Dina in my lab whom one day asked me about Eid Ul-Adha. I wasn't sure how she knew that I'm a Muslim but I guess she might know it from my name.

And so, that's when I learned about another meaning of my name in a class that starts in the evening on this rainy day.

On another note, I received a parcel today with my name written as "Adlan Wafi Shin". And I'm like O_o when did I become a Shin? Heh.

Back to my final module, the progress is quite slow. Well of course, the class is designed for beginners and I on the other hand am only capable in reading but lack the knowledge in semantics which is imperative in order to become proficient in a desired language.

Nevertheless, I'm going to persevere. It's late I know. But at least, it's a step. Plus, I learned about my name along the way...