English
Language of “Sorry”
It was a summer day, the sun is there as bright as a star can shine, and as annoying “diva” as a thing named “star” can be. I came back home to find my mom made one of my favorite Emirati sweets named “Khabees”, that although I know how to cook I never bothered to learn how to make it. I sat in my regular couch in the living room with my laptop on my lap, As usual, flipping from one page to another and probably shortening the lifespan of my fingers by typing like crazy, with that cheesy smile on my face cause I know mom just apologized to me.
If your gonna read that piece one more time, trying to spot in which part mom apologized at then I will save you the trouble and say the magic is in the “Khabees”,, How? That is my mom’s language of sorry.
Through my interaction with different people that passed through my life, I realized the fact that apology is a very hard step for many people, I am not a psychologist but that can be because of the self-esteem issues or their moral compass is just different from mine. However I know one thing that every person apologies is their own way.
Going back to the root is not always helpful. For example if a person drops a pen from your hand then apologizes for that its good, but the same person can get you in a big problem with your boss, maybe even unintentionally, yet not show any sort of remorse. On the other hand there are people who will apologize clearly for any big trouble caused by them, but a small issue like dropping a pen may not make them even blink again.
The question is: How would you rather be friends with?
I don’t think that is a proper question to ask, since I don’t believe you have full control on who your friends are, or at least not always, yet for me I would rather be with the 2nd person, because he/she can be rude sometimes, but when it really matters their morals are clear.
Then we meet the OTHER kind of people, like my mom, who will Never Ever say the word sorry or any of its synonyms by their mouth, rather make a gesture that by time you should be programmed to read as their sincere apology.
I should admit that sometimes it makes me frustrated, sad, and gives me the blue,,, yet I rather be with someone that gives me a sign of remorse than someone who ignores the whole situation.
I know that different people apologize distinctly, some bring flowers, others cook, and some write letters, I don’t know If it’s the right thing to do, but I learned that this situation just exist, and like many thing in life, this is one of the situations that a hard right or wrong does not apply here. Yet it is up to the people to see if its something they can accept or not…
Soo ,,, tell me,,, is this is something you would prefer, or you need your apology to be loud and clear…
…………………………………………………………..
Dream
My eyes lid were slightly fighting the urge to stay closed, My eyes fought the light to unveil a foggy view of uncertain objects, it was not soon that i realized that i was a prisoner of the savages whom i didn’t recognize. i was under their mercy to the undefined time. i was on my bare knees that could feel the uncomfortable forest carpet, i could sense the things i was upon: barren tree leaves, dead ants, and a lot of dirt. it was summer yet the breeze that day was refreshing. “How ironic” i told myself, i never felt so connected to nature as now, now that i face the true death. i can see the bullet that would kill me now, it is being placed in to that gun and brought forward to me. as i could feel my heart beat racing, my blood running though my veins, my sweat across my skin, i could feel every move ,, every thing, my senses were never awake like this as that gun reached my forehead were it found its home and those figure started to tickle that trigger until it happened.
I opened my eyes and saw lavender sheets and a bright white light, it wasn’t until few moments passed that i realized that i was in my room lying on my comfortable bed, with the air conditioner’s breeze comforting my heat and that bright light on my roof. “It was Just a Dream” i mumbled with my self releasing a serene sight.
If it was a reality, and i was living those moments i would say “What an unfair crucial world” since it isn’t , the only thing i have to think is how should i make this better for the people who may actually live that. i don’t know who they are, where are they from, or why are they in that situation. a wrong person at the wrong time in the wrong place, a psychopaths victim, a criminals joy, or just war. all that i know is that is a situation for no person to be at, not me , not my best friend, and definitely not for my worst enemy.
all that i could do in that moment was to raise my hand to the sky, and pray to all with the most pure call to my god for mercy. but i realize that if i ever had the chance to prevent one person from being in that situation i would do my best.
How would i do that, why, and where,, i have no idea,, but i know that if my dream was this bad,, the reality is definitely the worst.. and if i ever get into such situation and survive, then this page is where you can find the story,,
Thank you for reading,, Keep save,, Love You.
…………………………………………………………..
Patriotism Extreme: When is it time to say ENOUGH?!
The essence of every Emirati culture can’t be summarized in few words, however my professor once asked me that he wants me to describe the uae essence in 5 point excluding the clichés like falcon, desert and palm tree…. i wondered for a long time, longer than i expected, longer than you expect,, to come up with 5 points to communicate our culture, however after a long dig in the wrong places in my weird mind, and useless attempts to acquire synonyms, i saw the light that directed me to the ultimate right direction, a word of advice reader: what is right for me is never the right for anyone else, that is what we are, “Humans”, made to connect through our differences, so please feel free to add in the comments the five that best describe the uae for you,, as for me that light directed me to the roots of our existence and they are as following:
1) Grandma’s endless stories
2) Extended generosity
3) Family gatherings 365 days of the year
4) Neighborhoods close ties
5) And finally Hospitality
For me these clearly captured the essence of human ties in the uae culture, although its shame that very few of the emiraties keep these points a center of there lives. each one is now replaced with the following:
1) Friends gossip
2) Favors
3) Family gathers 2 times a year (during eids)
4) Laptops and phones are much important
5) Patriotism
Of course this is not the case of all emiraties, but many of the young “hip n’ cool” generation are. The pride that each person has to be from his/her root is something always encouraged. Its is rather amusing to listen to people talk about their originality by remembering their defendants with hope for progeny that will pass the torch to the next generation. It is very soothing to know that this sense of pride in also deep within in the Emiratis, which is one of the reasons that made me prepare the previous list.
then again when that pride exceeds the level to become intolerable then its just Annoying. Pride is part of humanity, a person is bond to be patriotic about his/her personality, identity, existence, and even nationality, but when is it time to say enough, when does that pride becomes just pure Negative Extreme Patriotism. Even i can’t determine the exact time and extent that turns that Pride into Extreme, however i know that we are naturally born as humans who are bond to feel that pinch of conscious that tells us this is not about me anymore, its not about Emirates anymore, it may have never been about that, its just something bigger to be observed by some superficial brains. I am also a very proud Emirati, i am proud to be from this land, to admit its good and bad qualities, to be rooted in its sand and scented by its essence, but i would always keep that fifth point, that hospitality, Alive. That original hospitality that consist of a blend of our culture with our religious qualities, a hint of respect, and a lot of dashes of smiles. this blend helps us communicate our thoughts, opinions, and information with others. Our ways of communications might change, we move from one on one meeting face to face, to letter, to phones, to meeting millions in cyber space every day. That doesn’t mean that we can’t show our hospitality by our personality anymore, it just means that the doors of creativity is now wide open for our wild minds to explore by living a new adventure every day. It doesn’t make us underestimated, it is just something that is larger than life. and since we spoke about the UAE’s essence i can’t not mention the figure that will always be a part of this picture, the late H.H. Shiekh Zayed or as we knew him (baba Zayed), i would like to end this post by one of his qouts that says “”لقد ترك لنا الأسلاف من أجدادنا الكثير من التراث الشعبي الذي يحق لنا أن نفخر به ونحافظ عليه ونطوره ليبقى ذخراً لهذا الوطن وللأجيال القادمة.”" Our ancestors left us the legacy of our heritage that we can take pride at, preserve, and develop for it to stay an asset for this nation’s future generation”.
…………………………………………………………..
Elevating me
It can be quite surprising,, this life, the urge to sit at 12: 11 in the midnight, while the rest are sleep like bodies lined up on the bed. The feeling of emptiness is rather amusing to have once in a while, giving us a chance to explore the other YOU. My emptiness is not only driven from the fact that now my To Do List, and university assignment schedules are free, but also from the fact that I feel internally incomplete. Leaving the final few months in the university is harder than I expected, I thought I would be happy at this semester and that time would pass by faster than I thought. However now I can through all those thoughts in a pile of my paper, burn them, and through the rest in a big ugly garbage, because that is not what is happening. Every day I feel more torn apart as this very special time in my life is coming to an end. This isn’t me; I am not a person that stares long at a door that is closed rather a person who looks at the future with high anticipations. However the 4 years that I spent in Zayed University campus was more than magical. I got to amaze many people including myself. I got to challenge, win, lose, inspire and get inspired by many. I made true friends and possibly enemies, colleagues and competitors. I discovered the leader that was hidden within, and the person I couldn’t see in my mere reflection in the mirror. I had a dream where I was visited by the first teacher that taught me in the university the first time I entered it, Mrs. Girgana Al Zeer, I lonely tear found its way from my eyes across my cheeks and directly within my heart to think that This Is It, there is no turning back or stalling, not anymore. It seems like I set my first footstep into university last week, and now I am a senior student graduating in June. Sometimes I feel it is a joke or prank that would end any second, and sometimes o find my way back to this page writing words that are carved in my mind, heart, and soul, indicating the time to say Goodbye to all the memories, friends gathering, and club noises that are not going to be the same again. With sorrow in my voice and pain in my heart, I Hessa say Goodbye.
…………………………………………………………..
Bug-arena
When any one hears about our university they imagine that it provides the best services to its students specially a year after getting the international accreditation, for the competing curriculum that our beloved university offers. what many people don’t know is that God’s various creatures have started sharing these services with the students. These creatures started building its own colony in the nests of our university. These creatures share with us students chairs, the university furniture, the corridors, even the food cooked in the university. If you didn’t guess what these creatures are, then I will save you the headache and tell you. It’s a diverse range of Bugs cocktail that insecticide are made for but seems that they don’t match the universities animal right policies, since we can still see those creatures dancing among the classrooms curtains like a professional ballet dancer performing a theoretical show. And I don’t think this dance party is going to be over unless immediate necessary procedures are taken.
The Human and Bugs war is as old as eternity, though I still have a glimpse of hope in me that begs the university administration to take the right procedures –quickly- regarding this dilemma. Because I am tired of playing hide and seek with the cockroaches and bugs in the university. So I decided to talk with the administration to solve this problem. I expected that they have received complains but not started working on them yet. But after talking to Dr. Patricia Robinson, and the Campus Physical Development Office, we discovered that they haven’t received any complain regarding this matter. Which lead us to the root of the problem “The Student Silence.”
I talked to girls who constantly see bugs and cockroaches in the university. And other who encountered a hair in the food, and another who saw a bug in the steamed vegetables, and other complain about Abella company. But I discovered that what stands between us and the elimination of problems in the university is the silence of the students themselves. If any of you says now that she and her friend have complained but nothing changed, then I should tell you that in any association in the world there should be enough complains filed before actions are taken. Therefore I want to ask all the student that if you notice anything wrong you should reach out to the highest authority in that area to complain about the situation.
I was very close to losing hope in the cleanliness of food that is cooked in the university, although we are the generation expected to light the future of this country, so how will we do it if our learning years are filled with food poisoning events. Regarding this issue we spoke to Dua’a Almehri, the vice president of the students council, to know about the procedures taken regarding the sanitation of food offered by the Abella Company to university students. She responded that the council received complains in their My Voice campaign last semester about the quality of food presented in the university. As a result after taking the right steps by the student council it is determined to start a “Food Committee”. The committee will consist of a representative from Abella, group of faculty, staff, and students. Their responsibility will be to check the food to assure the hygiene status, and the quality of it, in order to insure the safety of students and provide the best services. This committee will officially start operating during this semester.
Ms. Dua’a have spoken to the Public Relations representative from Abella Company Mr. Zyad about the hygiene and inspection regarding the food presented to students. He responded that they have received complain from the students about encountering a hair in their meal, while he proved that through the process of preparing food and serving it all the employees are obliged to wear disposal hats. Therefore –and to insure cleanness of food- they are going to be strict about covering the food. Concerning this they are about to change the front glass to be able to cover the entire buffet so nothing from the surrounding area falls in or effects the quality of food. Mr. Zyad also said that they welcome any suggestions from the students in order to develop their services to the better.
…………………………………………………………..
SisterHood
Let’s cut to the chest, Being the older child is really hard,, for people who don’t know it, it’s easy,, they think we sit around holding Pepsi in one hand bossing the little ones around with the other,, Go figure that’s what I thought too, but the shocking news was when reality grabbed me by the neck slapped me in the face on both cheeks twice. Just like a cartoon movie where a hand suddenly appears from the sky slapping a leaving within glimpse,, Dramatic I know just work with me OK ^_^
For ten years I was my Mom’s only child,, the one and only spoiled daughter. When I realized my mum was pregnant, I was ten years old back then, a lot changed in my life.
At that time, I , for the first time in my life, finally, started regularly praying and asking GOD “Allah pleaaaase pleaaase pleaaaase bless me with a sister that looks exactly like me, so that people would think we are twins” that was my childhood prayer, simple, innocent, full of love for my coming baby sister, which I hoped to be a sister.
For all of you who want to know the saying that when children pray for something they really want it happens,, well that’s 100% true, EVIDENCE my sister looks exactly like me. I remember one time when she was about 5 years old I was looking through some old bunch of pictures, and SURPRISE there was a picture of me when I was about 4 years old,, I showed my sis the picture and asked her the dumb question each adult or semi-adult asks any child near them, Do you know who this is?? “Hanan” that is my sister’s name, grabbed the picture and said (that’s “Hanan”), I told her no that’s me that’s ”Hessa”. she insisted that was her so bad she even took the picture to mum (Kids!!! Whatever). Yet again the invincible truth me and my sister look the same, she is just a really really thin version of me.
However I stand here now I am twenty one years old looking forward to start my final semester at Zayed University. My sister is Now Eleven years old and stubborn as a member of Al-Balooshi family is expected to be (LOL). It came a time in my life during the past eleven years that I really got fed up with my sister. As I said being an older sister is not always fun. If you are the older you are expected to be the responsible one, the forgiving, the “Bigger person” as it is referred to. Not always the fun recipe but is the reality. It doesn’t matter if you are the big sister or brother you are expected to sacrifice a lot. It also occurred to me once as a crazy idea to have a society to support the older child, like the ones calling for human right and so,, you know just a crazy idea. But as a project for one of my classes I encountered a video of one of “Operah’s” episodes, she said something that really lighted me up. They were discussing “True Forgiveness” and how does one achieve it. True forgiveness is being thankful no matter how bad the experience we go through is or no matter how much the next person have hurt us because and I quote “True Forgiveness is thanking that person for giving you that bad experience because it made you a better person.” “You have to think what quality you had grow in order to overcome that obstacle.”
So the summary of it all, no matter how hard you had to work as the older sister or brother, what matters is the sense of pride you get out of it when you know you had to make yourself a better person so that the next in line will be as good. You can be the role model they look after. Also remember what our Prophet Mohammed (BBUH) always advised us because his advise constantly pushed me forward, First Be optimistic as it will always turn to the best. Believe in Fait because whatever happens does for a really good reason, and finally be the best role model ever. From my personal experience I can say that there is nothing more fulfilling than knowing that there is someone you influenced and inspired so much that you became their role model at least at a smaaaal scale in their lives. So I Salute all the good Big Sisters and Brother and ask you to keep ROCKING ON.
…………………………………………………………..
Did You Know
About the emirates before its union:
1. The UAE has more than 330 traditional and antique buildings that goes back in history to the stone ages.
2. The Delma Island (one of the 200 islands the UAE has) is thought to be the oldest settlement in the Area which goes back to before the 7000 BC, meaning before the Pharaohs civilization.
3. There are finding’s in Dubai’s Jumierah area that indicates that the Umayyad Caliphate (The Second Arab caliphate) operated an international Marine center from this area, in addition to the improvement in building ships.
4. Alqawasem (The ancestors of the royal family of Sharjah and Ras Al-Khaimah) had the most powerful fleet in the area having more than 60 large ships and around 20,000 sailor, which made it the most feared power by the Colonizers.
…………………………………………………………..
Amazingly Slow
Today we live in the 21st century, the new millennium which was welcomed with great anticipations for what it behold in its pages of evolutions and wonders. These developments gave this period the name of speed, the period of technology that made the world a touch away. But seems that some of this University employees think that they are still living in the 19th century. It seems like some of its employees don’t use the technology that is available to everyone. So we see these employees arrive to their workplace late an hour or more from the actual timing, which I believe is an exaggeratory time to reach the university. Last week I spent 5 days, Sunday to Thursday going to one of the employees to meet him at 9 AM per day, and I was surprised to see that a pile of dust is living on his desk, and the moss has started to grow on his keyboard because the employee rarely uses it. That is why it seems like we have to forget that we are at the “Age of Speed” when we enter this University. However we have to be fare to the people who uses this technologies at this University, a good example for it are the student. As we hurry every day to open the laptop lid , then enter the password, and when the screen glow on our sparkling sleepy eye, as we start pointing the pointer to the Group Wise icon, either at home or the university, the other disaster appear in front of our eyes, the Group Wise does not work. This lead to the retardation of university services and the breakage of the connection bridge between the student and the departments within this academic structure, which should be referred to as a bee not a turtle. But we forget all that and go through our day, but most probably our life will stop again at 12 PM, because when we speed up to reach the canteen to avoid the crowed at the rush hour we confront another slowness roadblock. Personally I don’t dare to go to the cafeteria at that time because it’s the “horror hour” when you don’t find a place to foot your step, and no oxygen to breath. If you are lucky and made it to the front line then forget your luck and welcome to the world on infinite slowness to get a food service that is not even up to the standard. One day I didn’t have a lot of time, the clock was indicating 12: 40, and I had worked hard on a project that day. Now I have a race against time, I have 20 minutes to grab a sandwich, eat it, and then run back to class that will last from 01:00 to 04:30 PM. I was thrilled to see the counter of one of the cafeterias has no customers, so I ordered 4 sandwiches for me and my friend and grabbed the closest table to that cafeteria and sat down. And here I am getting another shock when my friend came back from the cafeteria for the millionth time saying that the sandwiches aren’t ready yet. We waited for 15 minutes until our order was finally ready. The chicken was cooked and half eaten when we first reached the cafeteria, so does really chopping the chicken and gathering it in a bread takes 15 minutes. I think that the answer is very clear, and the message in what is written above is more obvious. The slowness of the services in the university have really became a phenomena. That is why we should learn a lesson from the slaying of his highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid when he said: “every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up realizing that he should run faster than a lion or death will be his destiny, and every morning in Africa a lion wakes up knowing that he should run faster than the slowest gazelle or he will die from hunger, it doesn’t matter in you are a gazelle or a lion when the sun emerges you have to run as fast as you can.”
