I remember one time I was sleeping over at my friend Taiki's house. For dinner, we had sushi, a dish Im not sure what the name is, and popcorn shrimp (which was for me and friend Jake). It was strange eating with a new culture because there we many things that they did at the table that I've never done before. For example, they gave thanks before the meal, they ate with chopsticks at home, and they spoke in Japanese many times throughout the meal.

With all this going on, my friend Jake and I weren't used to any of it. I mean I've eaten with chopsticks before just not at the house. Also, the family was speaking a different language where as Jake and I only spoke English to each other. Lastly, the dish my friend Jake and I ate (which was delicious) we had never seen before.

At my home, we never really give thanks for the meal were about to eat, we all speak English even though my mom and dad can speak Arabic, and the meals we eat are Lebanese meals which I'm much more used to.

What's in a Name

Names to me aren't a big deal. I've never thought about my name in detail and tried to see if it hindered me or helps me. I personally don't believe a name can do either of those things. Some people go by nicknames because they don't like their name, some because their name is too hard to pronounce, and some because it makes them more confident.

In class we talked about how in "The Namesake" Gogul introduces himself to a girl as Nikhil, which to be honest isn't much better. But him doing this allows him to be a different person. I'm not that kind of person where if I introduce myself to a stranger with a different name I become a different person. I am still exactly the same the only difference is that I carry a different name.

In the end I don't understand how people can let their name control their life. All a name does is give someone an identity to be referenced as, nothing less, nothing more.

Ethnicity/Culture Blog

When it comes to who I am, I'm seventy five percent Palestinian and twenty five percent American. Even though I am Palestinian, I consider myself more Lebanese than anything. This because of the place I was raised when I was younger and the places we visited in those times.

From kindergarden to 5th grade I was raised in Abu Dhabi. In those six years I found a home and have never felt more at home anywhere than there. I know that I was born here, but I spent the important parts of my life developing there which makes Abu Dhabi feel like my main home. The reason I consider myself to be Lebanese is because in the time of living in Abu Dhabi my family and I went on a trip to Lebanon and I remember my dad saying this is where I was born, this is where I grew up, this was my home. I never visited Palestine, partially because it does not exist anymore. But I also know so much more about Lebanese culture than Palestinian culture. In fact, I actually know literally nothing about my Palestinian culture/backround.

Contradictions Blog

For our blog this week we have talk about our thoughts on contradictions. First things first, everybody on planet Earth has contradictions, but many people have different ways of dealing with them. I'm the type of person that doesn't really think to much about the contradictions that I have now or that I've had throughout my life. They just kinda enter my head and next thing I know, they're gone. Now that I'm starting to thing about them for this blog I'm beginning to realize things I didn't see before.

One contradiction I never really thought about is how I'm not religious at all but I noticed at times when I'm scared I will sometimes ask God to keep me safe. I don't know why I do it. I know that it won't help me but I do it anyway, in some weird way it's comforting. This is probably the biggest contradiction I've noticed with myself and I believe that it says a lot about me. I believe that is shows that in a time where I feel scared or uncomfortable I will do things I'm not usually used to prevent any sort of disaster from happening.

I've never gotten angry with myself for having contradictions because like I said before, every single human being on Earth has them. So if everybody has them what's the point of beating yourself up for being normal.

Feminist Blog

Right now in English class we are reading "The Taming of the Shrew" by Shakespeare. Which is a very famous play/book. In the book the character Kate is trying to be "tamed" by the character Petruchio which raises the question. Are men and women fully equal?

I believe that men and women are fully equal but there are some jobs that over the course of history have to suit women better. Many women are a stay at home mom while the husband works for the money which to me, has nothing to do with equality but rather choice. Women are able to do just about everything men do whether it has to do with sports, jobs, politics, etc. Of course the struggle for women and the rights they have has a come a long way over the course of time and there are still countries where women are nowhere near being equal to men but in the U.S. I believe that women are equal.

Sour Sweet Post

For the past two weeks in English class we've been reading Sour Sweet by Timothy Mo. This novel tells the story of Chinese immigrants living in Britain. We encounter many characters/civilians such as Chen, Lily, and Mui who all work hard to make money and create a live for themselves. On the other hand, we also see characters such as Red Cudgel, White Paper Fan, and Grass-Sandal who are in a ruthless gang that deal drugs, raid stores, and even take the lives of others. We see this really come to life within chapter 18 when the Triad raids a rival gang and kill everyone in there way.

Each time throughout the book when the gang is brought up planning something malevolent I think how is a person capable of doing something like this. People aren't raised to kill, they go out of there way to learn and eventually act. Even today, you hear so many stories of school shootings or someone getting shot on the street. There are some people that are born with some sort of mental handicap that you here shoot someone. But what about the one's who are born with a stable brain.  So my question... what outside influences, or innate traits that people are born with interest them in going down such a dark path? 

Halloween Story

It's my first year in Abu Dhabi, I'm five years old and I'm in kindergarden. It's my first time celebrating Halloween outside of the U.S. and to be honest, it feels really weird. First of all, in Abu Dhabi Halloween isn't a holiday that exits there, only the foreigners partake in that holiday meaning there are no pumpkins sitting outside of people's houses let alone in the store waiting to be bought. That year my parents had bought my brother and I squashes to carve instead of pumpkins which I didn't know because I had no clue what a squash was, I just thought it was a weird looking pumpkin. Another reason it felt weird was that I was still getting used to the new environment I was living in, I hadn't fully adapted yet which makes a huge difference.

That year I dressed up as Robin Hood and I'll be honest, I look really good. I have a bow and plenty of arrows, I also have the hat and shoes, everything was just working with that costume. In the end everything worked out fine, I had a great time trick or treating with my friends and my parents and I ate a lot of candy that year.