We paid a visit to the  Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies.  They had a great exhibit there called "Ahlan wa Sahlan"  Welcome to Our Home.  The Exhibit celebrated over 100 years of Arab-American History here in Philadelphia.    There were lots of pictures and items from Arab-Amerian families that highlight the diversity and history of Arabs in Philadelphia...Muslim and Christian....families that came to America over 100 years ago, and families that came here only 5 years ago.

As of January 2002, The Balch has merged into The Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP). The mission and collections of The Balch have been fully integrated into the HSP at 1300 Locust Street. Materials stemming from the Balch and Balch collections, or relevant to the ethnic and immigrant experience, can be found throughout this site. Please visit the Research & Collections section of our website at http://www.hsp.org for assistance in locating this material.

Here are some important vocabulary words that were used in the exhibit and during our program.  Look them up in your dictionary or ask your teacher what they mean.

Ethnic
Migrate
Immigrate to
Immigrant
Emigrate from
Chain migration
Peddler
Refugee
Sanctions
Ablutions

Our host at the exhibit was Ustaatha Kate Wilson, Director of Education and Outreach at the Balch Institute.   Special guests joining us on the program were Ustaath Marwan Kreidie, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Arab-American Community Development Corporation, and Ustaatha Mary Martin, Assistant Director and Outreach Coordinator at the Middle East Center of the University of Pennsylvania.  Ustaath Marwan and Ustaatha Mary served as advisors to the Exhibit.

Shukran Jaziilan to all of you!