arkab

I remember when I brought my gaary to Morocco. What a disaster. As I flew down the street, I attracted a rash of heckles from a nearby shillah of men. I wondered maybe if they were warning me that my coat was going to get caught in the spokes and I'd catapult my way into a serious head injury. It later turned out that they thought it was weird that a girl tirkab gaary.

I wondered if it'd be the same in Kuwait. From the looks of things, it was fine to go the local stables and arkab 79aan, so what if arkab gaary? I asked around, wanting to know if there'd be a problem with me doing so. The question made one of my friends very mad indeed. "minuu gaal?" she snapped ('who said so?'). "Of course you can ride a bike if you're a girl."

Enthused, rikabt gaary-yii ('I got on my bike') and embarked on a five-mile sprint to the mall along pavements and on the road. Cars honked. I was almost run into the hard shoulder. I just about got to my destination with my limbs in tact. 

The next day I told the same friend what had happened. She clapped her hands to her cheeks in horror. "You rode a bike to the mall? Are you crazy?!"

Arabic	Pronounced?	English
اركب	arkab	I get on
تركب	tarkab	You (m) get / she gets on
تركبين	tarkabiin	You (f) get on
تركبون	tarkabuun	You (pl) get on
قاري	gaary	a bicycle
شلة	shillah	a group
اركب حصان	arkab 79aan	I ride a horse
اركب الحصان	arkab al-79aan	I ride the horse