Different lifestyles

I was born and grew up in Jeddah,Saudi Arabia before I moved to Alexandria,Egypt. The lifestyle of both countries is completely different. 

When I was in Jeddah, overall things were easier than Egypt. The differences between the two places are worlds apart.

Despite popular belief, the people in Saudi were more open-minded than the people in Egypt. Overall the community was more diverse. There were people from all over the world. It could be because the area I lived in also had a dominant compound presence. Expats would move to work in Saudi Arabia, and this added to the diversity of the country. In Egypt, the people are more closed-minded. It could be because a majority of the people here are from the same place. There is not a lot of diversity, and people are used to certain traditions. Because of this, the general population is not open to anything “new” or “different”.

People in Saudi Arabia were more respectful of others in many aspects of life. This includes other people’s culture, their privacy, even the driving! In Egypt, people are more opinionated. Everyone has to tell their thoughts on every situation in people’s lives. People could be extra friendly, when strangers will come asking questions, but most of the time it is because people are extra nosey and want to know more about what’s going on all the time. And when it comes to the driving, there are no rules. Driving in Egypt is so crazy! You have to keep an eye out for people, animals, potholes, other cars, bikes, different variations of motorcycles, and the list goes on! When it comes to the driving rules, there aren’t any solid ones, or any that make sense. 

In Saudi Arabia, the country holds on to its culture and heritage. They manage to hold on to what makes them the country that they are, along with its roots. The people of Saudi Arabia are proud of where they are from. In Egypt there is a sense of culture, but at the same time there is a popular distaste for the country through out its citizens. A majority of the people I met when I moved here want to leave the country at any chance they get. I have even met some people who don’t like mentioning that they are Egyptian.

In Egypt, there is a high rate of sexual harassment. The people in general have no respect for others. Especially when it comes to gender diversity. The reaction to sexual harassment offenses is also saddening, because the woman is always at fault. Saudi Arabia tends to have a more solid form of respect regarding its women.

One thing I do prefer about living in Egypt is the integrated community. Saudi Arabia is generally a segregated country. There are limited areas where there is integration. These things only happen at international schools, compounds, and malls – however, there are restrictions to the single men that would like to enter malls at certain times.

The rest of the world does not share the segregated lifestyle, so living with that has always been like living in a bubble. In Egypt, that one aspect makes things a little bit more realistic. But that does not excuse any of the negative activities that happen between men and women, like sexual harassment.

Living in Egypt also gives me the freedom to move around freely. I would drive in Saudi in the compound, but I was limited to only driving within the compound gates. Here I am responsible for where I want to go at all times, so I drive myself around.

In Saudi another issue was that I had to be in the company of a man in my family in most situations. In Egypt, I am not dependent on the other men in my family when it comes to coming and going to certain places, or dealing with important issues related to the bank or university or even the hospital.

Egypt has a relaxed mentality when it comes to getting things done. That is something I was not used to when I was in Saudi Arabia. There, things were done more promptly than here. In Egypt everything gets done eventually, but it is done with a “what’s the rush” mentality. When it comes to registering for courses, or payment fees, I’ll have those done after I start university.  In a way it can be seen as a positive factor, because it is laid back. But at the same time it is stressful when you want to get things done, it wont happen in the time that you want it to.

That is another issue about living in Egypt. There is “real time” and there is “Egyptian time”.  If you make plans for 4 pm, expect them to start around 6. This is something I was not used to in Saudi, because there was more respect for schedules and planned times.

I wouldn't say I love one place more than the other but overall the two places were completely different. There are pros and cons of both places, but it is like that anywhere in the world. 

Unfriended

The upcoming new horror movie Unfriended is taking the idea of a dead person and mixing it with social media, as six teenage friends go through a Skype conference call of death.

Unfriended starts a year after a girl named Laura Barns commits suicide and was recorded shooting herself after drinking and having her video anonymously posted on the Internet so people would laugh at her. 

Her six friends were chatting and having a conference call on Skype when suddenly an anonymous, mysterious seventh caller shows up in the call and starts torturing them. 

At first they thought it was a prank until the anonymous caller starts releasing their darkest and biggest secrets and then they realise that they are dealing with something unreal, something or someone that doesn't want them alive, something that wants them dead.

Unfriended has received so many positive reviews when it first appeared at Fantasia International Film Festival a year ago and till now people are looking forward to watching it.

Unfriended is the new movie for the generation of teens.

Print writing vs. Online writing

Print writing and online writing are done in two completely different ways. Even though they are both done for the same purpose – to send information to the reader, they are done differently.

The writing styles of both print and online writing are not the same. Print writing focuses on a storytelling style. When reading print writing there is a narrative approach. It doesn’t mater what the issue is, print writing will write it in a long descriptive way.

Online writing focuses on a more brief way of writing. It is directly to the point, without any extra unnecessary information.

The paragraph lengths are also different between the two types of writing. Print writing uses long paragraphs. This is good for their long descriptive approach towards writing.

When reading online writing, the paragraphs are short. The paragraphs do not have to follow the rules of being three sentences long.

There are no links used in print writing. Links are generally used as a form of reference. Online writers will use links when if want to send the readers to other sites for more content, or to anything related.

Print writing attracts a different kind of reader. It attracts a reader that is likely to read thoroughly. The reader will read every word, and they will process all pieces of information presented to them through print writing.

Online readers are more likely going to scan the content. They might skip a few words here and there, or full paragraphs, and only read the parts that stand out to them or seem to be more important than the rest.

When it comes to the writing tone, print writing takes a more formal tone. They will write in a way that is more official and proper. You could even say that it detaches any type of personality from the writing itself.

On the other hand, online writing uses a more informal writing tone. The sentence structure is not as proper as print writing, and the general flow is more laid back. Often times you could even catch the personality of the writer behind the writing.

When print writing, the words used are informative. This often leads to technical jargon – words that are not easily understood by the public. The reason for this could be for it’s more informative approach.

Online writing does not use technical jargon; it is simple. The words are easily understood by the readers and don’t need any extra effort to be processed.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is making use of your tags or labels to the best of your ability. This is in no way used through print writing.

Online writing makes use of SEO by using appropriate tags in the posts. By using the tags or labels they are able to expand the different ways that people can be linked back to their articles. For example, if I were to use the tag “dog” for a post about dogs, anyone who searches for the word “dog” may come across my article in the results.

With the differences aside there are certain characteristics that make online writing really stand out from print writing.

When writing online, it is best to use “killer headlines” to attract readers to want to open the articles. For scanners especially, writers should utilize not only the headlines, but also the bullet points and bold words.

Pictures and videos would also be a great addition to online writing. They can be used as content breaks in articles and also an extra source of information for the readers who enjoy the topic more than others.

Online writing also has something that print writing does not – audience engagement. Because of the different social media platforms and online sources, it is possible for the audience to be engaged in all articles. They can be involved in a conversation by commenting on certain articles. By doing so they can engage the writer or other readers through comments and eventually expand on the topic in general or certain points. The audience also is engaged by sharing the post on their own personal social media accounts. This is a form of distribution.

Print media does not have any of these audience engagement factors.

Online stories also make it easer for the writers to maintain an up to date archive list. The archives can also be publicly shared in an organized manner. This includes links to previous stories. The links could also be from different websites or publications on the Internet.

When it comes to print writing, there is no easy way to access archives. The archives are mainly hard copy and found in a warehouse somewhere, often in the form of a think stack of books. The only reason it would be online is if someone took the time to digitalize all of the print content.

These are the main differences between print writing and online writing.

Lady Gaga get's engaged

On saturday the 14th of February the singer Lady Gaga got engaged to her boyfriend, Taylor Kinney a well known actor. She officially announced the news on Monday 16th of February by sharing a picture of her engagement ring on Instagram.

"He gave me his heart on Valentine's Day, and I said YES!" she wrote.

Her heart shaped diamond ring picture went viral on social media. He had engraved the letters T and S separated by a heart symbol to represent Taylor loves Stefani which is Lady Gaga's real name. Lady Gaga says that he always called her by her birth name, since their very first date.

Reports stated that Taylor had proposed to Lady Gaga before going to her family's Italian restaurant in NYC to celebrate the event. The family seemed very happy and very excited said Barry Lewis the executive editor of Times Herald-Record.

This couple have been together for more than three years and they like to keep their relationship private, but it is known that they have had a lot of sweet moments together.

Chapel Hill Shooting

Three muslim american students were shot in their homes at Chapel Hill in North Carolina on February 10, 2015. According to a local police the suspect has been arrested.

Police states that Craig Stephen Hicks was charged and arrested for killing these three Muslim students.

The suspect appeared in court saying that he understood all the charges according to the Associated Press, and he has already turned himself in after the shooting.

Deah Shady Barakat a 23-year-old with his wife Yusor Mohammed a 21-year-old and her sister Razan Mohammed a 19-year-old were identified as the three victims.

The father of the two girls stated on a local TV station that his daughter always told him that they had a neighbour who was very "hateful" and their sister said she has seen this man with a gun on him in his waistband several times.

The father also said that they have lived a clean life and never gave them a single bad day, and he adds that they have raised them to love their country and all the people in it and that now everybody is heartbroken.

The university adds that Deah Barakat was studying dentistry and was in second year only, his wife was planning on starting in autumn and her sister was an architecture student at North Carolina State University.

Family members, neighbours and friends shared their pictures on social media after incident.

#ChapelHillShooting was the hashtag used in the online community to criticise the US and other Western media for not covering anything about the shooting.

Dog stabbed and crushed by a metal pole in Egypt

The video of this dog was extremely popular on social media, showing the harsh and brutal killing of a dog in Alharam Giza.

In the video, the dog is surrounded by men holding knives and they are stabbing the dog. The dog's barking sounds were echoing through the streets of Giza.

The dog was shortly killed, when a man crushed his body and his skull with a large metal pole.

Social media users say that the owner of the dog had let him loose on eight men. In order to not go to prison, the men demanded to kill the dog. Even though he refused at first, later the owner surrendered his dog, leading to the tragic event.

The Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals has made a complaint about the men responsible for the harsh act to be brought to justice.

In response to the complaint the court sentenced the four men accused for torturing the dog to three years in prison with labor.

In sympathy with the dog, social media users tried to raise awareness of this horrific incident by using thr hashtag #Dog_of_Alahram_Street