Farsi is somehow considered important for graduate work in South Asian studies but you're more likely to use Arabic in Chicago than use Farsi to talk to a minority at the University of Chicago. Likewise, Urdu is something you'll encounter in a Chicago masjid rather than Farsi. It's becoming like Sanskrit where the reading aspect is more important than speaking it well, at least from what I have seen. During my first semester at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, I tried learning Farsi via CDs in the car but never committed. Might take it back up, thanks for posting this.
Farsi is somehow considered important for graduate work in South Asian studies but you're more likely to use Arabic in Chicago than use Farsi to talk to a minority at the University of Chicago. Likewise, Urdu is something you'll encounter in a Chicago masjid rather than Farsi. It's becoming like Sanskrit where the reading aspect is more important than speaking it well, at least from what I have seen. During my first semester at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, I tried learning Farsi via CDs in the car but never committed. Might take it back up, thanks for posting this.