Simply Arab...: accomplishments

Showing posts with label accomplishments. Show all posts

Belated Petra Post

12:06 AM by Halawa

"Last Thursday I experienced one of the most amazing adventures in my life entitled PETRA. I've been there before (3 years ago in 9th grade on my oh-so fun school feild trip -keywords: 9th Grade & School-) but this time, it was just out of this World. We (as in big bro, two cousins and me) gathered our gear the night before and started our road trip first thing in the morning. We barely noticed the 4 hours in the bus pass by (provide yourself with a brother annoyed by the smelly feet of the tourist sitting next to him and I assure you, time WILL pass by). "

Hit the brakes! *screech*... That was a month back, I've been too busy or rather not in the best position to post. So much has happened during this month. Before I get into my Adventurous August and its happenings, I'll share some snippets from our smelly-yet-incredibly-fun-infused trip =)

There she is.. The Treasury.

Yes, it looks weird, big bro is quite photogenic

Lunch & resting. This is where tours usually ends, but we decided to get our game together and keep going.

El Deir, the main reason we climed an hour and a half of stairs.. to see the shooting area of Transformers 2, I can assure you, we found no Matrix.. We did find a creepy Norweign couple who thought they could talk to donkeys though.

We found monkey boy too.

More pics:

It was an exhausting trip, yet I'd gladly go for it again. If you haven't visited Petra before, take my word for it; it is a MUST.

Will blog about my Adventurous August tomorrow Inshallah, this post is just too colorful to be part pooped by it.

Peace!

I said that....

6:26 PM by Halawa

I'd Be Back...

And here I am *throws papers on the desk and lifts feet*

We're back in business.

Farewells...

6:53 PM by Halawa

Shouldn't there be a policy that punishes bloggers who stop posting all of a sudden? *clears throat, looks down and points at the nearest person*. If there was Internet Social Services, I would be charged with First Degree Neglectence and my blog would be taken away from me... I could beat myself up all day on how idle I've become over here.

Time has flown by... Only one more week and school ends, I've survived this year Al Hamdulilah, with the help of God, family, friends & the Internet. It's been a long journey, 14 years of studying suddenly end and a whole new stage starts; University. Looking back at all those years, I realize that I never missed out on anything, I've always been an honorary student (and no, that doesn't mean I'm a nerd), never stayed in one school for more than 3 years which means I've come across different people from many paths of life, made friends I won't ever forget no matter how many miles lie in between, gained enough knowledge to know what I'm talking about and speak it out loud, and most importantly I'd change absolutely NOTHING about all these years that've passed. I've had my ups and downs, I've made my mistakes, but I've learned my lessons. I know more about people and how they think, interacting with different attitudes does that to you.

All of a sudden, it's over...

Yes, I still have two weeks of Finals to endure in mid-May, but I'll live through it Inshallah...

So this is just a temporary farewell post, until I'm done with finals that is. Once I'm done, I will nourish my blog regularly...

For now...
Peace out! Hala.

Discrimination?

7:06 AM by Halawa

Wake up on the tunes of Clair De Lune by Debussy.
Hits Snooze.
Alarm goes off again.
Sighs.
Gets out of bed.
Wash up.
Pray Al Fajer. Check.
Put on ugly navy skirt and striped blue and white blouse. HUH?

So my school decided that Saturday is no longer a weekend for student's with averages above 90%. Why? Because we are sheep. Not any kind of sheep though, sheep that contribute in a very high yearly income to the cheapskate private school we attend, not only do we do that, we also provide quite a sharp reputation by getting the highest marks in the Emirate. Only difference is, they don't get to slaughter us (at least not the traditional way, they have more creative methods you see).

Baaaaaa'aaaaa...

Yes so back to the discrimination part... Students +90% averages have to show up on Saturdays for extra sessions. So do students under 75% (the ones who need things to be explained to them more than twice at school). And the students in between? Screw them is an expression. So they're putting us into boxes.. labeling us. High Income, stupid dumbs & screw them.

I'll see what achievements we'll make today and decide whether coming next week is worth it or not (I seriously doubt it). Until then...

Put iPod in school bag. Check.
Throw in school books. Check.
Have breakfast. Check.
Wake dad up. Check.
Park the car in front of the house (and argues internally whether taking it around for a drive is worth getting yelled at. No). Check.

Peace out!

Baaaaaaaaaaaaa..

Idle

5:21 PM by Halawa

Salamz,

I know I've been idle for a while now... It's the holiday I tell you, probably been one of the least productive ones I've had, that is unless you consider developing a new obsession an achievement.

The New Obsession

I'm not going to rant away about it, it'll just be a waste of space and a bunch of OMG's & incoherent vocabulary put together.

- Gaza is recovering (somehow).

- Obama is being, erm pretty active. His first interview as President was with Al Arabiya (and we ALL know how reliable Al Arabiya is *clears throat*). It was quite a move really..

- Erdogan is 3a rasi. I salute him.. Bravo! I like what he did in Davos and I think he can set a good example for the rest us who want to speak their minds.

- Guys who pluck their eyebrows out can go swallow knives! Yes, that came up randomly mostly because there are things you can't shove down my throat.

- We're back to school after tomorrow... Don't get me started on that, this is going to be one long semester.

I have nothing to write about really, the good stuff happens when I get back to my life.

Peace!

Day 2 + 3 of the Campaign

8:41 PM by Halawa

Salamz guys,

I wasn't in the mood to post about the second day last night mostly because it wasn't exactly my day. We got our result yesterday, yes THE RESULTS of all results. It was quite a shock when I heard about my average, the marks had dropped noticeably all around the Emirates; well YEAH, they will when you make weird assumptions that the students can somehow improvise despite the the observations I previously talked about. Anyways I'm pretty satisfied now after all the support I got and the way people put it for me, Al Hamdulilah.

Yesterday (the second day of the campaign) was HECTIC! We packed 25,000 hygiene kits! Just shout for something you need and you'll see it hurling your way in NO TIME! Everyone WANTS to help, and the spirit they have cannot be described & yet again people of all nationalities & religions showed up! I met truly inspirational people & a couple of bloggers too.

Yesterday was NOTHING compared with today, 3200 people attended so the place was packed! We got so much work done! To be quite honest, I'm totally spent and I just feel like throwing myself on the nearest surface, I'll leave you with some photos & videos.

After we were done, we tidied up

At work

After the storm

Oh oh, and SHOUT OUTS to the ladies & gents in the group I was leading! Table 20, you guys were amazing! Very cooperative and responsive! I want to see you guys tomorrow Inshallah!

I'm off for now!

Peace!

Dubai Cares Campaign - Day 1

7:45 AM by Halawa

Salamz everyone!

Yesterday was the first day of the Dubai Cares Campaign, volunteers were called in to assemble School & Hygiene Kits & it was NOTHING like I expected.

It was quite an adventure for us (my dad & mom dropped me off), we left Sharjah at 3:30 p.m. and I got to DIFC at nearly 5:10, why? Mostly because I've NEVER seen so many DETOURS in one place IN MY LIFE! Example: The detour roads have two lanes and if you're not familiar with all the last-second lane choice you'll end up totaled with a metal bar. So I say "dad go left", mom says "go right", and the GPS says: You are not on a road =_='... Go figure.

No worries, once I got there my jaw pretty much dropped out of place after seeing the building, you feel so tiny standing next to those Skyscrapers! Everything is just so.. huge!

And the people inside, straight out of a movie, you know... The rich Armani-wearing business man who eventually ends up committing suicide? They were scattered all over the place! Me and my sister would get weird glares but I'd just beam back in return, it actually felt good giving the place a little color, everyone was so neutral & sour-faced.

Took 15 minutes to find the Emperor Hall, we got lost in "The Gates", found another lost volunteer and continued searching.. we got there thanks to a security guy (aren't they always lifesavers?).

Hundreds of people showed up, there were HEAPS of bags to fill and stack & the best part was that everyone was cooperative, men, women, teenagers, children, Arabs, non-Arabs, all sorts of colors gathered for ONE noble reason... For Gaza.

Each bead of sweat that rose on every forehead was worth a LOT, for a moment or two when we could have a minute off before another load came I would look around and suddenly feel a lump swell in my throat, I couldn't tell whether I was overwhelmed with the fact that there were so many people who wanted to help, or because I felt that still, this was the very least we could do...

They called it a wrap at around 7:00, more work got done than expected. There's still more work to do today & Friday, so try to make it if you didn't have the chance yesterday.

The weather was amazing at night, reminds with being back home in Amman, only difference is the scenery; crop out the skyscrapers, Corvettes and Lamborghinis and there you have it!

I'll be there today Inshallah too, my big brother wants to tag along, the more, the better. Try to bring your friends & family :)

Peace!

Help needed, lend a hand.

7:26 PM by Halawa

Salamz guys...

Today I had my last Final exam, chemistry -thank God- it went well. So, HELLO HOLIDAY!

I wanted post about the past couple of weeks and exams and all but right now there's a more important issue:

We've all been helping out with the current situation in Gaza by donating money, food & medicine... now you can help out by lending a hand:

Dubai Cares needs volunteers to help package 50,000 school kits & 50,000 hygiene kits for the Children of Gaza.

Date: Wednesday, January 14 through January 20, 2009
Venue: DIFC – Emperor Hall
Weekdays: 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Friday January 16, 2009: 2:00 -6:00 p.m.
Saturday January 17, 2009: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

More info here.

I'm going to be there Inshallah everyday (if dad agrees to take me to Dubai everyday). And I'm sure I'll be there on the first day Inshallah. Any bloggers attending? Leave a comment if you are, we're bound to see each other.. POWER OF THE PEOPLE :D

Spread the word people, blog it, invite people to the Facebook event, tell your family & friends!

Peace,
Hala!

The Aftermath....

4:35 PM by Halawa

W.O.W...

The school was buzzing with the news today, nearly everyone was talking about how they joined a facebook group that supported Mr. Zaidi, or about signing an online petition to free him, I could even hear the first graders' roars of laughter in the background while listening to some music on my iPod on my way to school... I spent nearly half an hour debating with my math teacher about my point of view (I bet a lot of people were happy they didn't take a math lesson today) which ended up with both of us insisting on our opinions and him involving irrelevant mathematical terms. (I must admit that he was saying good stuff, but he seeks perfection that doesn't exist in our world).

Anyway, I guess I'm getting too obsessed with the whole thing.. Come on, don't tell me you've never vowed to "stick your foot up Bush's nostrils if you ever had a chance" while having a heated political conversation with your friends!

I was reading some articles about the incident when I came across this one...

Saddam Hussein's former lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said he was forming a team to defend Zaidi and that around 200 lawyers, including Americans, had offered their services for free.

I guess a lot of people like him *wiggles eyebrows*. The general reaction is pretty positive in Mr. Zaidi's interest... not only Arabs, Westerners too. I'd bet loads of Americans would like to have a swing at him too!

An Iraqi lawyer said Zaidi risked a minimum of two years in prison if he is prosecuted for insulting a visiting head of state, but could face a 15-year term if he is charged with attempted murder.

*smirks*... didn't know you could murder someone with a shoe... O_o... I gotta try that one!

Over and OUT (to throw some shoes)

Hala.

Twilight DAY!

9:10 AM by Halawa

OMG!

Yesterday was probably one of the MOST exciting days I've had in my life! We're all going to remember it!

I was up at 6 am due to all the hyperness, tried wasting some time watching TV and sitting around but I eventually drifted away thinking about the book...

2 o'clock came, and with it came the RAIN! Yes! Good omens AGAIN! (That sort of rhymes doesn't it lol?)

Once I got there, I gave all the girls their t-shirts and we put them on.. people would stare at us and we got all sorts of comments... here are some:
"What team do you people play on?"...
"Toilet..? The toilet's over there!"....
"Vampires... WHERE?"....
"3aaaaaaaaaaaaaw... I'm a wolf"... =_='

And of course, the other undercover Twilighters:
"OMG! Look at their shirts, should we go ask them where they got them from?"...
"Haha, Team Edward always outnumber the dogs"...
"Ooooohhh... your shirts are sooo *sigh*"...

And of course, we got the double head turns... people noticed that we were multiplying somehow.... We payed for our booking and tensions were rising... you could actually smell the excitement in the air!

It was minutes before the movie.. everyone packed up in front of the gate and we started yelling WE WANT TWILIGHT! EVERYONE joined in! We cheered Go team Edward and Jacob... the people were amazingly cooperative! But of course there were the haters... psssht!

Once we got in, all the girls were hyperventilating! And then... the movie began and tears started to fall... the reactions more more suitable for The World Cup instead of a movie! ESPECIALLY when Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) walked in... riot broke out! It was AMAZING! The auditorium would erupt into roars and screams each 5 minutes! Ahaha I was surprised to see some guys at the movie and I was shocked they didn't run out screaming something like THEY'RE HIGH! Well, I must admit.. Edward Cullen is, and I quote our brand of heroin :p

My review about the movie: AMAZING!
You're probably thinking, well obviously... they're fans! We all know it's hard to please all the fans, especially the ones who expect that they're going to see everything that was mentioned in the book. You need to understand that it's HARD to make a book into a movie... to squeeze it all into 120 minutes! And if you haven't read the book, you'll just think that Edward's constipated all through the movie! The vampire's abilities are internal and it's difficult to show that in a movie! Read the books, then watch the movie again and you'll understand everything!

We were in after-shock when the movie finished... everyone was swooning! We took the picture for the Grand Cinemas Movie Guide and decided to kill the energy by going to the indoor Amusement Park.... We sure did kill the energy... some of the girls got dizzy, some got hungry... and we thought it was a wrap for the night!

All in all... it was an amazing girl's day out! And we can't wait till New Moon next year Inshallah (the sequel)!

When I got home I read the November Issue of the Movie guide a picked up... and GUESS what I found?

My letter to Grand Cinemas

But that's not what matters... this is:

I'm going to "receive must-have merch and other cool giveaways" HOW COOL IS THAT? I'm not bummed out anymore! (I'd asked one of the employees whether they could give me a poster once the movie was over instead of it getting covered by dirt in some warehouse and she'd said: "Sorry, we don't do that"..) WELL, HA! In your face!

And the souvenir:

Along with the shirts and all the pics (which I obviously won't post)

What a day...

OVER AND OUT!
*Note.. excuse my writing if it sounds weird... I'm still hyped about yesterday.

Good Day!

1:05 PM by Halawa

Salamz peeps!!!

I AM SUPER HAPPY *jumps up and down*.

I was in Ajman an hour ago to get the shirts I ordered for our Twilight girl's day out tomorrow.. as always I was hyper due to the fact that it has to do with Twilight! I did my best to control myself from running around in circles and screaming OMG in the middle of the Mall... Mission accomplished, the shirts turned out to be PERFECT!

I'm on Team Edward of course!

On our way back....

IT RAINED!!!!!

YES, IT ACTUALLY RAINED! I couldn't believe my eyes! Okay, not the normal rain you see back home, sort of deformed but heck! It was raining cats and dogs, you should've seen the size of the rain drops, they were like baseballs!

Good omens :D

Listen to how hard it's raining:

I honestly can't wait till tomorrow! Good day....

Peace OUT!
7ala.

Feeling Good...

8:19 PM by Halawa

Salamz...

I feel like it's been ages since I actually used the Internet... so I might as well post something new..

Right now I'm Feeling Good... because:

1. We have a fourteen - day holiday that starts from today until the 14th of December. Tomorrow is the UAE's 37th National Day... So may Allah bless this country and the people with a new fruitful year! They sort of merged the National Day Holiday with The Eid holiday so that's cool, but I guess I'll be spending the majority of it studying for my mid-years, wish me luck peeps.

2. I did really good (Al Hamdulilah) in my monthly exams, I'm quite satisfied with whatever marks I get bearing the fact that it's the Finals that REALLY make the difference, so if you've been kissing some butt all year, you've been wasting a HELL load of time, the Ministry declared that exams will be held and marked in Public schools instead of being marked by your teachers at your school, which is much fair for everyone!

3. I love the weather, it's awesome. Yes winter in the UAE is the best ever! It's like a Spring day back home.. And I just love it! I adore the breeze that ruffles my hair on my way to school every morning while listening to a Coldplay or Snow Patrol song, the sun blinding my eyes... makes me feel like I'm on another planet!

I had a good day at school after taking this picture

4. TWILIGHT's release is this THURSDAY in the UAE!! I've been counting down till the 4th of December for around a year now! My friends and I have been in contact with Grand Cinemas for over a month getting as much info as we can about the reservations and all that stuff. And you guys might see us in January's issue of "Grand Movie Guide"! :D I made a couple of designs for the shirts we ordered and I can't wait to see how they turned out when I pick them up tomorrow.
You might've noticed that I'm a Twilight-fanatic (aka TWILIGHTER), I never really posted a blog about Twilight knowing that I wouldn't be able to express my hyperness in simple words and I didn't want to scare you people away... so I'll just move on!

If you haven't read Twilight, I TOTALLY recommend that you do! Especially if you're a Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Narnia fan... you're missing out an a great book you know! I got around a dozen people addicted to it, and trust me when I say, you will too! (Props out to Mays who told me about it in the first place).

DO NOT WATCH THE MOVIE BEFORE READING THE BOOKS, it'll be super cheesy and you won't read the book after seeing how lame the movie "might be". We all know we can't compare movies that are based on novels to the real artwork. Again, read the book first.

I guess I'll just stop with reason 4 since it's the one that's making me hyper 24/7... *hyperventilates*.

Over and OUT!
Hala.

At least they're trying..

4:14 PM by Halawa

Alright then...
So I got one of those forward e-mails (which I usually ignore unless the person who sent it instant messaged me and asked me to open it) and I was really happy with what I found. This was taken in "The Mall of the Emirates".

Which translates:
Picture 1: Please wear decent clothing (which cover the shoulders and knees for example)
Picture 2: Please do not kiss or show romantic feelings in front of everyone and please do not drink alcoholic beverages).

If you've lived in the Emirates you'd understand why such "drastic measures" have been taken. When you go to the mall, you REALLY can't raise your head from the floor (and no it's not because of the astonishing cleanness of the floor -it really is clean-), it's because you'd hurt your eyes with the scenes you'd see.

A huge majority of foreigners live in Dubai (Europeans, Australians, Americans, South Africans, etc..) and they tend to think that they can force their lifestyle on other people who don't exactly except things that easily. I mean really, what's fun about showing people that you aren't wearing undergarments? I know they don't MEAN to do that, it's just how they wear their clothes... but you've gotta respect the country you're in, the culture, the customs and the PEOPLE. I'm glad that the officials are at last "trying" to do something.

I try to avoid going to malls as much as I can... but I can't stand not checking out the latest electronics and books! *Walks with head to the floor and bumps into everyone in the way*. So, if you live here, or if you ever visit the UAE.. remember, look sky high or down low for the safety of your eyes!

Over and out!
*Note: Thanks to my girl Tara for pushing this one forward.

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