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But after five hours of class every day, plus an expected two or three hours of additional studying, she is starting to become more comfortable with it.
"It's a complicated language. It's counterintuitive," Hallett said. "But then somehow, it clicks."
Hallett, a Florida native and 27 year-old GW alumna, said she considers Washington her home. She will soon be uprooted and sent to Saudi Arabia, where she will represent the United States government as a Foreign Service officer.
For now, Hallett's full-time paid position is dedicated to learning the Arabic language and about Arabic culture in preparation for her departure to Saudi Arabia. At the end of her intensive Arabic language session in July, Hallett will leave for Saudi Arabia to work at the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah - a tall, blonde-haired woman in a Middle Eastern country.
Hallett's job will include issuing visas to Saudis who wish to come to the United States. Hallett said it was important for her to pay her dues as a consular officer in a place where she believes it really matters.
"Most of the 9/11 visas were issued in Jeddah," Hallett said, referring to the fact that 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia. "Will I give a visa to someone I probably shouldn't have? Maybe. It's a huge responsibility and I think about it a lot."
According to Saudi culture, it is not customary for women to show themselves to men other than their husbands. So, when women come to have interviews and photos taken for their visas and cannot be seen by male consular officers, this poses obvious problems. As an Arabic-speaking woman, Hallett will have the opportunity to spend time with Saudi women in the absence of other men.
Hallett acknowledges there is no doubt she will face hardships in Saudi Arabia. Aside from adjusting to very different standards of a society where women are not permitted to drive or show their faces in public, she will be confined to staying at home or work, and will be driven in an armored car.
