My Childhood

 A Lebanese girl raised in Saudi Arabia what a combination right?

Riyadh

Being raised in the richest country in traditions and diversities, was the most important thing that has shaped my personality, and as Malala Yousafzai said that it doesn’t matter where a person could end up in life but where his childhood was because it will always be the center of his personality.  My childhood was perfect, firstly I lived in the two biggest cities in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh and Jeddah), and secondly studying in an international French school that was like a small community where students and teachers from all around the world living and studying under the same roof. We were exploring each other’s traditions like the Moroccan, French, Tunisian ones and many more daily. For example, at lunchtime, we sit around the table eating, tasting, and sharing new traditional plates and sandwiches. Every student had the responsibility to present his country and to respect others’. I had fun living there especially surrounded by my family we felt so welcomed. In the end, I can say that it is impossible to cover 1% of my 17 years in a place I call my home.

Jeddah

Baking

 

Baking was my biggest challenge because since I was almost 12 years old every time I try to bake, it will end as a big failure and I don’t know why, so I stopped for couple of years. So since I came to Lebanon I started to bake again. I started to think that I have to master the Soft Chocolate cake with chocolate glaze first and then to move to the next step. I started to watch many videos, takes recipes from my friends and family, and finally it was a success. So I started to move to the next step like making tarts, cupcakes, pastry, etc. Based on my experience, baking needs so much patience and time to be on the right track. Take your time and don’t be furious, maybe it won’t be a success from the first time or many times in my case but at the end it will.

Cooking

Cooking has always been my passion and especially in the last 3 years.  I started to learn the basics but of course, I failed many times, then with time I start to discover what my mistakes are and start to learn from them. I start to watch some expert tips videos like Gordon Ramsey and other Lebanese chefs too. One of my favorite plates that remind me of my childhood is the Saudi Kabsa which is composed of special Kabsa spices, Chicken or Meat, and Basmati Rice; and could be served with Greek yogurt or the traditional Saudi sauce which is called Dakkousse. The other dish that I enjoyed cooking is the Chinese Chicken Noodles, maybe you will think it is a hard dish to do but surprisingly it is not it needs some veggies, chicken, noodles, and soy sauce. And finally, one of the traditional Lebanese foods is the Maklouba. This dish differs from a place to another. In our family, this dish contains eggplants, Meat, ground beef, and finally rice; it could be served with some Greek yogurt or a salad. I recommend these dishes to try.

                                                            

Hacksaw Ridge

 "Please Lord help me get one more", that was Desmond Doss's only prayer.

A regular young guy who was dreaming of being a doctor but due to war his sense of humanity and loyalty, he chooses to serve his country but a brave Army Medic who refused to hold a weapon even for the practice. Doss fought for his beliefs because for him he doesn't know how to believe in himself if he doesn't stay true to it. He was a small figure guy comparing to others which result in being bullied by them. With time, Doss has proved the opposite; from the first day he had one idea which is while everybody is taking lives, he will be there saving them even under the active bullets and explosions. Many were injured and others returned back, doss has stayed there on the battlefield rescuing his fellows, and every time he finds one he prays to find one more despite the danger.

For me, this was one of the best movies I saw especially it is based on a true story. This movie was emotional and it shows us that we should always stay committed to our beliefs and no need to hold a weapon to help others. I recommend everyone to watch it.

Bullying

 Bullying could be a repetitive abusive activity that may be physical, verbal, in relationships, social, in-person, or through social media. Bullies are also aggressive, harassing, and harm over and over for an extended period. you'll be able to sleep in absolute fear of how and where the bully hits next, what they are going to try and do, and the way far they are going to travel. The bullying may be physical, verbal and it may be relationship bullying. The bullying is by one person or it is from a group or we are able to call it “mobbing”. this might occur at school, family, the workplace, the home, and neighborhoods. Bullying will cause physical, mental, psychological harm, and could stay for the long term.

There is a page called stopbullying.gov which she has collected data from two sources and said that there are two sources of federally collected data on youth bullying:

·        The 2017 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice) indicates that, nationwide, about 20% of students ages 12-18 experienced bullying.

 

·        The 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) indicates that, nationwide, 19.5% of students in grades 9–12 report being bullied on school property in the 12 months preceding the survey.

Source: https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/what-is-bullying

During my days in school, we used to have a friend who used to stutter a lot and she was shy at the same time and who doesn't interact in class because she was always afraid of talking because there are some students that will make fun of her and bully her. so One day all of us except the girl was told to stay in the classroom. We were wondering what it is about, then our headteacher enters and told us that there is something important to talk about. She started by telling us that bullying is not right and only causes harm to the victim and especially if they have a medical or physical condition and that all of us should treat all of our friends equally because they are the same and everyone has their own differences. She was talking to all of her students and didn't talk about a specific person and she didn't yell on the opposite she talked to us as if we were grownups and that was what I really like about her. Then, a few days later I started to notice that bullying in our class has stopped and everyone started to be supportive and friendly to each other.

So as teachers, we should be aware of it and aware of these students and help the students that are bullied to stop any future harm and harassment and we should teach the students to say no to the bullying and to stop it when they see it plus we should teach them that bullying will only cause harm to the other person with no benefit for the bully and no need to it and as bullies they should think what if they are bullied what then they will act and what they will feel. We can prevent bullying by creating signs, tell them to inform the supervisors, their teachers, or their parents about the happened bullying and the bullies, and we can always talk about it with our students and show them what is right and what is wrong. We should always be by the side of the victim because they are the ones who need help the most.

the developmental process of an egg

     

One of the greatest wonders of the world is the turning of an egg into a chicken. this process requires 21 days of incubation. It starts with an egg that contains the Egg white(Albumin) and the Yolk, the chicken egg starts as an egg yolk inside a hen. before laying the egg there is the fertilization process, division, and growth of the living cells. Then after the laying of the egg and during the incubation, the chick starts to form day after day then on the 21st day it is the hatching of the chick. It was a beautiful experiment that we did during the Developmental Biology course and it was interesting at the same time because we can see that beautiful miracle.

Some microscopic pictures that we took during the class:

  

    

Calligraphy

Calligraphy is one kind of visual art that is related to writing, it differs from one country to another and it includes also many types of calligraphy. This kind of art uses a wide variety of brushes, has many techniques, and needs so much practice to be Professional. Plus it is not hard to learn but yes it is hard to master it. It is used to create or to form beautiful symbols by hand, and it is also used in wedding invitations, other kinds of event invitations, graphic design, and religious art. This kind of art is still present now and others call it Modern Calligraphy which there are a lot of Instagram pages uses to create and post videos about it like @calligraphymasters, @kjairbrush, and @dongchaan.

For me, I have been always passionate about this art, and I was trying to learn it even if I don’t have any classes related to calligraphy near me. But I was trying to practice it by viewing some videos and follow the steps needed by printing some templates.

 

Summer camp 2019

 Summer camp 2019:

The municipality of my village “Aouyoun” organized for the first time in Akkar a summer camp for children aged between 3 and 13 years old. The program was filled with 12 different subjects that enhance the child’s mind and body. The child was attending “robotics”, “crazy science” and “art and crafts” classes that made him discover hidden knowledge when imagining the world of arts and applying science in reality; then they were physically active when participating in “boxing”, “football” and “dancing” benefiting their bodies and having fun at the same time. The program did not stop with these 6 classes and was aiming to improve skills that could not be taught in schools directly like giving “public speaking”,” team-building” and “educational games” classes. The main aim of the camp was to let the village’s children engage in activities together bringing all families together with no boundaries and limits concerning positions, money, and politics. The camp divided the 130 children participants into 4 groups depending on their age. Each level had its specific schedule including all the activities mentioned above taking into consideration that each activity is appropriate for their mental and physical ability separating them into 4 different locations making the camp more organized. 

For me, it was so much work because I was responsible for educational sessions like the scientific sessions and the dancing sessions which needs a lot of energy. The work was not easy, it needed so much focus, time, and energy since disciplining 130 children is such a big responsibility despite the energy needed in the dancing classes. However, I enjoyed achieving every single task I was charged with. Showing that much effort, the main goal that I thankfully achieved was preparing myself to the commitment of work in an institution collaborating with one of higher position, completing tasks on time respecting deadlines, and finally working with a group absorbing leadership and team-building skills.

                       

                             

                                            

EDUC-561

 EDUC 561, Educational Media and Technology, is a course that helps us to discover new technologies, apps, and websites that teachers can include in their classroom for better education.

This course discusses technology development techniques in education and trains potential teachers to use technology as an effective tool to boost learning. This course explores technology creation approaches in education and prepares future teachers on using technology as an essential method to improve learning.

For me, I am really liking this course because I like to discover new things and especially in technologies for better learning and let me see how teaching methods are improving for easier and developed methods.