Dr. Sameh Abdallah give seminar to CLC students

The main message that Dr. Sameh Abdallah wanted to deliver during his seminar was 10 tips you need to become a journalist. I honestly think he was good overall. The way he was speaking was understandable, friendly, and carefree and this let people understand and pay attention to him more. Because of his way of speaking I think he managed to successfully deliver his message. I don’t really have an interest in becoming a journalist, so his message didn’t really leave an impact on me.

At the very start he stated that he does not like sitting down while speaking, got up and started right away. There was no indication that he will begin talking about tips on becoming a journalism; which was nice because it made the overall seminar inviting. He ended on a more serious note while maintaining his friendly demeanor.

While he was speaking, he used both Arabic and English. I am used to hearing people speak with both languages in everyday conversation, my classes, and even in the movies I watch, so the situation of his use of multiple languages did not bother me. I thought it was appropriate due to the fact that he was talking to a group of college students in a way that was friendly. It was as if he was one of us while directing us towards becoming journalists. His English and his Arabic were both very good. He did not use any jargon and was able to communicate successfully with the room. The only expression that stuck with me was when he kept on repeating “international standards of professionalism or go home” and continued to use the “or go home” expression at the end of any example that went against being a good journalist. The use of the expression was nice, until he started to overuse it. Once he said, “go home”, for the fiftieth time, it was irritating.

His overall body language was good because he did not stand stiffly while speaking. His hand gestures were natural and flowed nicely. I did not notice any excessive overuse of gestures. His movement was too much. I did not like his need to personally interact with the audience and get very close to people. In addition to his excessive interaction, I would have preferred that he maintain his movements within a certain area that everyone could see him at, instead of circulating the room. At one point he stood off to the left side of the room, and from where I was sitting I could no longer see him. His voice was strong, and his volume was loud, which was great. I was seated in the last row and could hear him clearly. In both English and Arabic his intonation of the words were clear and precise.

He had short presentation with the points written on each slide. There was no information under the headlines. It was effective because of his use of the visual aids. He did not have any aids that he relied on, and his explanation of each point made up for the lack of information on each slide.

Only a few people asked questions. He did answer all of them, including the girl that asked several questions at a time. Regarding her, he was more open to answering he questions directly because her voice was loud. There were others I could not hear, and he yelled at them to speak loudly because “all journalists need to have loud voices”. By doing so, I think he scared other people and that is why not many questions were asked.

Pootshi = Life

Pootshi is not a just a dog to me. He is my life partner. I call him my best friend, i call him my buddy, my brother, my husband, my soul mate, my everything. Life was never going to be the same without my Pootshi.

I received my pootshi on the 13th of November 2012 as a birthday gift from a friend of mine. It was my first year in college here in Egypt. He surprised me in a cafe, hiding pootshi in a jacket, because it was raining like hell in Alexandria.

This was literally the best surprise that ever happened to me. I loved him from the first day. Yes this might seem cheesy but come on I'm not talking about a guy I'm talking about a dog here. I knew that finally my life was complete with pootshi.

I live alone and that's why I feel that pootshi really filled my life. Without him I would go crazy. He always makes a sound and that's what keeps me safe. Knowing that someone is with me even if it is just a dog.

But the thing is, and maybe nobody will understand, pootshi to me isn't just a dog. No No, I already mentioned what he is to me and the most important thing and what he really is to me is that he is my SON. Pootshi is human. Pootshi is life.

I can’t go a day without him. Messing up and screwing my house are his habits. I come back every day to finding that pootshi has ruined something new at home. But to me, I do not care, as long as I have got him.

He is my shoulder to cry on and for real and I promise he understands me more than ANYONE. I speak to him more than I do with my friends and I trust him more than anybody else.

Pootshi isn't like any dog and eats dry food or like canned dog food. Nah pootshi eats hot dog, pizza, shawerma, basically anything we eat he doesn't mind eating at all he actually doesn't eat dog food he only eats food we eat. And when I'm sitting with my family or friends on the table, and we are eating, he wants to be sitting with us eating the same food. Why would he eat something not as tasty as ours? He even eats nuts and chips with me. Oh, and I did find him eating my makeup a few times.

He is such a smart and funny dog. And that's what I love about him. Whenever he sees anyone he is always all excited and happy and jumps so high where he can reach your face from excitement. Everybody loves pootshi so much. Whenever somebody comes over pootshi is the first one to greet them at the door with a great big welcome.

When I need someone I always go to pootshi without thinking. Yes I know he doesn't answer me, but I know and I'm sure he understands. He knows when am sad, he knows when I'm sick. He understands me. His eyes speak. When I cry, he licks my tears off face to tell me not to cry. He even makes sounds and might as well cry with me without knowing what is wrong. He feels me. I know that till the day I die, I will never love someone as much as I love this dog. He really means too much to me. I wish humans were as close to dogs and knew how to be loyal and faithful as dogs are to us.

Five New Born Puppies Murdered in Alexandria

Five baby puppies were found two days ago killed in Roshdi – Alexandria, Egypt next to their sad mother.

The dog never bothered anyone in the street and just recently gave birth to a littler of five new baby puppies. The residents of the street always fed the dog to help her survive in the streets.

One day, a man came along while the dog was breast-feeding her puppies. He then attacked the puppies and killed each one.

The one who killed them used a stick with screws attached to the end. He then hit each puppy on the head repeatedly until they died.

People went viral on Facebook from the horrific incident of this man. Nobody can understand why would someone do that to innocent creatures that did no harm.

Yesterday a woman searched for the mother until she found her and took her to take care of her after what she has been through.

Why I wouldn't want to leave Egypt

When I moved to Egypt I went through a lot of changes. But after living here for three years, there are reasons why I would never want to leave or live anywhere else.

Yes Egypt has its chaos and its weird moments, but there are also good parts about living here.

I saw an article on Scoop Empire that gave 16 reasons to never want to leave Egypt. I agreed with all of the points, but have a little twist to each one, as well as some personal additions.

Sure, it is easy to say “I can’t wait to leave this country” or ”one day I’m going to move and I’ll be happy”. But before jumping to those conclusions we need to take a deeper look into the things that make this country a place worth living.

A major part that makes Egypt different than anywhere else is the family feel to the country. This includes real family, and the family you end up choosing for yourself.

The article I read mentioned specifically “family’s Friday breakfast”. There is nothing better than a giant home cooked meal with your family. Fridays are generally known to be “family days’ and on these days breakfast especially is the time for everyone to gather. It gives you a chance to see everyone, sit back, relax, get some well deserved hot falafel sandwiches and a nice cup of tea with the people you love the most.

Speaking of food, street food is another delicacy that isn’t the same anywhere else. Where else could you find little cotton candy bags, corn, hummus, fool and other fun Egyptian delicacies? Everyone knows you can not consider yourself a local until you survive the local kebda cart. But once you try it, you will never go back to getting it from anywhere else.

Over summer, it is more than exciting to see the corn vendors coming back to their regular posts. It is the best season for grilled corn, and a nice indicator that summer is right around the corner.

Speaking of summer, the beaches are always sweetened by the freska man and his box of heavenly goodness. Nobody does freska like Egypt.

During Ramadan, there is no better place to feel the month like Egypt. There are colors and lanterns and so much more that add to the overall feel of Ramadan.

Eid and other holidays are also spent in a nationally noticeable way. It doesn’t matter what city you are in, you’re celebrating with the country.

The general traditions are also great, like having “fesheekh” during Easter and other typical Egyptian delicacies.

The shopping is a whole other story. Egypt’s enjoyable shopping isn’t malls and high fashion, it’s more the downtown side ally shops. These side ally souks tend to have a series of ridiculous options from belly dancing attire to ridiculous outfits to amazing accessories!

And the weddings! You haven’t been to a wedding until you’ve been to one in Egypt. Everyone is over the top when it comes to being grateful and happy.

Apart from all the big things, it’s also the little things that make the country so enjoyable. Like taking a walk on the beach and having the sea as your backyard.

Even though the country has a lot of weird chaotic sides to it, it also has a flow. Things just work. There is something pleasing when you’re stuck in traffic and you see a little kid riding a horse next to you at full speed in the middle of the main road. This is apart from the horse and donkey carts. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

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.