Been a long time!!

Its been a while since i last blogged, so im going to catch up with what i have been doing!! I went down to Victoria, where i had an interesting experience with Mormons!! that was quite interesting!! I have always heard that there are many missionaires in north america, but never did i expect to be approached by some!!

Never-the less Victoria is a gorgeous place!! its actually the capital of british columbia, and it took us about an hour and a half ferry ride which cost 10.5 dollars each way!! the ferry ride was absolutely beautiful, there were all these houses at the coast which looked incredible!!

We didnt get to see much in Victoria, cause we were only there for a night and a day!! we had an interesting adventure looking for a restuarant for dinner, and had fun looking through China which is the oldest one in Canada!! its soo tiny, only one street long, but so much fun!! There was this shop which has so many rooms!! To get there we went down Fan Tan Alley which is the smallest alleyway on the island...



Victoria architecture is beautiful, the layout of the city is fantastic!! They have this gorgeous parliament building, and this huge park which is about five blocks long!!

Well other than that, i have been dealing with alot of midterms and school work, which is absolutely boring!! but also the organization im working for called Engineers Without Borders, we had our first international development cafe which was on IMF and world bank and how it affects development, The ID cafe is a place where we can discuss topics on a bi-weekly basis, it was a very interesting discussion!! which got pretty heated!!

This week we are having a discussion is on access to public health in developing countries, so that should be interesting, and im looking forward to it!!

Also its been Halloween here, and i have been doing quite a bit!! It was fun!! I carved my first pumpkin, with the help of Fabian, ill post some pictures soon of that!! Also went to Playland which is a huge amusement park for Fright Night which has every halloween has haunted houses, so went out to see the five haunted houses, it was a blast!! Also met cool girl who teaches how to shoot for a living, so Aj(a british aiesecer and myself) and myself are going to learn when the weather gets better!!



Also for Halloween went on a pub crawl, which is when you go to four different clubs brought about with a big yellow school bus!! it was blast!! The costumes for Halloween were soo outrageous!! After ending the night by having a big dinner at Subway, when everyone went home, Junia and myself walked around downtown looking at the costume, absolutely funny!!



Today is actually the official day for halloween, and we have to go into work with our costumes, that seems like fun!!

lets see how it goes

Thats it for today!!

The Value

I dont like really like forwards, but this came from a very special friend! and maybe thats why its seems much more beautiful than it is!! Dont regret not doing something!!! Love all the special people who have played a role in my life, thank you !!


TO REALIZE
>
> To realize
> The value of a sister
> Ask someone
> Who doesn't have one.
>
> To realize
> The value of ten years:
> Ask a newly
> Divorced couple.
>
> To realize
> The value of four years:
> Ask a graduate.
>
> To realize
> The value of one year:
> Ask a student who
> Has failed a final exam.
>
> To realize
> The value of nine months:
> Ask a mother who gave birth to a still born.
>
> To realize
> The value of one month:
> Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature
> baby.
>
> To realize
> The value of one week:
> Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
>
> To realize
> The value of one hour:
> Ask the lovers who are waiting to Meet.
>
> To realize
> The value of one minute:
> Ask a person
> Who has missed the train, bus or plane.
>
> To realize
> The value of one-second:
> Ask a person
> Who has survived an accident.
>
> To realize
> The value of one millisecond:
> Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the
> Olympics.
>
> To realize the value of a friend:
> Lose one.
>
> Time waits For no one.
> Treasure every moment you have.
> You will treasure it even more when
> you can share it with someone special.
>
> To realise the value of life is for us to
> know that life is too short for
> our generation to understand.

Ramadan Ritual: Fast Daily, Pray, Head to the Mall

The New York Times
October 12, 2005
Ramadan Ritual: Fast Daily, Pray, Head to the Mall
By HASSAN M. FATTAH
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 7 - The decorations are hanging, the cash registers are clanging, and the air of holiday cheer is everywhere. For a holy month, Ramadan is not what it used to be.

Once an ascetic month of fasting, prayer and reflection on God, Ramadan has gradually taken on the commercial trappings of Christmas and Hanukkah, from the hanging lights that festoon windows to the Ramadan greeting cards and
Ramadan sales and advertising campaigns that have become the backbone of commerce for the month.

Marketers and businesses have caught on to the potential of 1.3 billion people at home fasting or breaking their daily fasts and getting back to normal life, a captive audience eager for entertainment and celebration, and more than willing to feast when the sun goes down.

Here in Dubai, the region's supermall, commercialism has taken on a life of its own as almost everything has been dressed in the cloak of Ramadan, from consumer goods to cars. Malls are open till the early morning, and the
nights rock away at dinner parties in desert tents.

"Ramadan is changing from a religious month to a cultural or social event," said Muhammad el-Kuwaiz, a Saudi management consultant based in Dubai. "You're using faith to commercialize something else. It doesn't feel right."

Sheik Ahmed Abdelaziz Haddad, the grand mufti of the Islamic Affairs Department in Dubai, puts it even more succinctly. "The problem isn't that people are trading and doing business," he said. "It's that people have taken this month to be a month of shopping."

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar, is considered the holiest month of the year. It is during this month, Muslims believe, that the Prophet Muhammad received his first revelations of the Koran from the
Archangel Gabriel. From then on, Muslims have been ordered to forgo food, water and other worldly pleasures during the day for the entire month as a pillar of their faith, a sacrifice to show they have not forgotten God and
the less fortunate.

The fast begins at dawn and lasts until sundown, with special prayers held in the evenings in an air of heightened spirituality and meditation.

But walk through many Arab cities this month, and the spirit may also move you to buy, buy and buy some more.

In Egypt, hotels and restaurants advertise Ramadan feasts while an advertising sweepstakes calls on people to read all 30 days of ads to win a prize. In Beirut, Lebanon, worshipers hang colored lights that say Ramadan
Kareem, or blessed Ramadan.

A Mercedes advertisement in a Dubai newspaper plays on the theme of the crescent, a common Islamic symbol: "Welcome Ramadan with a visit to Gargash Enterprises and you'll soon be feeling over the moon."

Companies and political candidates campaigning for parliamentary elections in Egypt next month give away traditional Ramadan lanterns emblazoned with their names and company logos.

A shopping mall here even features a Ramadan display with an uncanny resemblance to a Nativity scene, complete with moving camels, a village elder reading stories and a desert scene.

A program in Dubai offers a different twist, of a million dirham raffle - about $275,000 - with half the total going to local and international charities.

"It's not something bad to have increased shopping in Ramadan" said Mohammed Mahgoub, the commercial committee adviser for the campaign. "The more people buy, the more they share."

The Ramadan consumption is more conspicuous here and in cities like Cairo than in, say, Saudi Arabia.

For advertisers Ramadan is like a 30-day Super Bowl weekend, when TV channels broadcast their best programming and competitors jostle for market share. Some brands spend as much as half of their advertising budget in this month alone.

With those kinds of resources being brought to bear, it may be no wonder that many people are troubled by the creeping commercialism.

"It is supposed to be about spirituality, but it drives me crazy that it is all about food and banquets," said Naglaa Abdel Fattah, 30, a secretary in Cairo. "I do not feel the spirit of Ramadan anymore."

"I call my friend and all she talks about is the 10 dishes her family is preparing for iftar," Ms. Fattah said, referring to the breaking of the fast after sundown. "This is extravagant."

Sheik Haddad says Muslims who take the month lightly are doing themselves an eternal disservice.

"A Muslim who is focused on the worldly trade will miss the benefits he could get in the hereafter," he said. "What we see happening today in the commercialism of Ramadan is caused by Muslim ignorance of what is required
of them to benefit their souls. God defined this month to save them and to protect their souls."

But his message seems increasingly unheeded in the malls and shopping arcades here. Many malls are closed in the afternoons, or are empty because people usually slumber then. But they come to life after sundown, after many people feast, and they stay open until 2 a.m.

"Why can't religion and fun go hand in hand?" asked an Iraqi man who spoke on condition that his name not be used because of the sensitivity of religious matters here. "You want to be part of it. The whole thing is one big celebration, and people enjoy it. There's nothing wrong with it."

But to Mr. Kuwaiz and others, there is plenty wrong with it. "You're supposed to exercise abstinence, and the opposite happens," he complained. "Ramadan has become a month where people exercise gluttony."

Nada El Sawy contributed reporting from Dubai for this article, and Abeer Allam from Cairo.

Mormon missionaries!!

Mormons! What can i say? Some missionaries was trying to convince us! wow! that was interesting! check out sight mormon.org i think was the sight!

Turkey Turkey

Look at our turkey!! yum yum!! We made that!!

The Killers nearly killed me!!

We were third of fourth line from the stage, when people starting pushing forward to try to get in the front line, just like we did, we were pushed over, fell thought i was going to be crushed, someone helped me up i was saved!!

The rest of the concert was AWESOME!!

Something interesting in class!

It was in my consumer behavior class, a guy commented " Well Advertisements are different in Canada, and the US are different because people are educated here"

Pictures of Seattle!

Betul overjoyed!! We made it! We are in America!

Her joy is infectious! jumping like a bollywood movie

Shisha cafe! yay!! Junia(a really good ducth friend) and Betul!!

Cheesecake factory!! yum yum!! Nazly fake birthday!! hehe!!

Had to put it in here!!

Seattle Sequoia!!this is where i heard the cello player who plays in Pasque! Absolutely wild

Pictures of Ladies Night

We went out for a crazy girls night out ages ago! thought i would upload these pictures, my canadian girls olga, jackie and chevy! and my mediterrean sister Betul!! Also to Michelle my house mate! To all the good crazy times we are had, are having and will be having!

What would make you leave your home...

Well tonight at work, which i am actually starting to enjoy! i talked to two women, one from zambia, and one from kenya! And it was really nice talking to them, especially the kenyan one, great talking about my love for the country!! it is an amazing country!

Well the thing that both women had in common, is they had both left their homes, and didnt want to go back! and it really made me sad, and wonder what would make you want to leave your homeland, and of course i asked, and both said that there was nothing nice about it, nothing there for them, and they had given hope in their country, and it made me sad, but it also made me happy that that wasnt how everyone felt, and some people really believed they can make a difference in their country!

I remember Cynthia and Leo this summer, working hard both in the conference and outside to help with the sustainable development of Kenya, and Harold, Iram, Letoya, Miano, as well as the others from Mapacha(there are pictures in the photoalbum), and how although they were frustrated with their country, they still had hope...

I want to give a cheers for those who care for their homeland!! and want to create a better more sustainble world! God bless you!!



Singing to Jumbo Bwana, Yes Style!!

Great weekend!

This weekend i attended WRC(western regional conference), honestly after seattle, which i forgot to mention, i lost my key chain, which is worth 200 dollars of replacement(keys, gym pass, upass) i didnt feel like doing, nor did i have the spirit of strength from a long week of assignments and midterms.

Differences from an egyptian conference, we dont cheer in egypt, it was absolutely annoying, they were always cheering, but like anything in AIESEC the cult part comes in and you end up doing it, and the weird part enjoying it...

Great got to meet alot of AIESECers, i think i want to go to victoria and calgary soon!! Should be fun!! Also there was Assem, another egyptian who is on the Canadian national committee, so cool that there was more than one..

oh Whats fabulous about Canada!! well let me say Vancouver or the west side, everyone is Canadian, but their ethnic group is soo different, so its like countries that i doubted i would ever meet people from, they are here.. thats one of the best things about being here..

Well it was also great i got to see Nermin(Cairo University) this weekend as well, and Salma, they painted the baby room, and its soo cute!! Really cute!!

Well its so funny, cause although i have been here one month, some things that were bizarre at first has become so much more comfortable, but at the same time, i sometimes forget where i am, and think this is not home, but at the same time it is...

i love it!! Im confused!! Well tonight is actually a big night, we are making thanksgiving dinner, and the cool part, canada has had thanksgiving way before americans, in around the 1500 while Americans had it in 1620, so its funny i thought it was american, also canada has thanksgiving one month before americans cause the harvest time is earlier.. well although i always thought thanksgiving was sort of stupid, im really happy im getting to make dinner with some of my friends, to share the feast with other friends.. im thankful for that!!

Also got a very nice phone call this weekend, from my brother Khalid!! i missed talking to him, so im glad i was able to!!

Ramadan is so different here, but im impressed so many people know about it, and are soo helpful.. i have two friends who are actually going to fast with me the last week of ramadan, so that should be fun!!