Kaitlin Bottock, a graduate of the GMHS Class of 2004, stopped by Madame Johnsen’s classroom Thursday afternoon to discuss her experiences learning Arabic and her travels in the Middle East with several interested students.  Bottock, now a junior at the University of Virginia, has been studying Arabic for just a year and a half, but has already had the opportunity to travel to Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Syria. The Critical Languages Study Committee recently conducted a survey that indicated considerable student interest in studying two critical languages, Arabic and Chinese, and these new course offerings will be in the curriculum booklet which will be out sometime in February. Bottock’s presentation offered students an opportunity to find out what it would be like to learn a vastly different language.  Bottock’s opinion was that it is certainly not easy (Arabic is ranked by the State Department as one of the most difficult languages for native English-speakers to learn), but certainly not impossible, and undoubtedly rewarding in the long run.  (Photo by Margaret Lipman)