Summer Schools’ Peace Camp

My second time to experience being a trainer/activator/teacher. or whatever they wanna call it! Along with a partner, we were responsible for 20-30 kids for 3 days. Well first we were a group of volunteers targeting 5 public schools with 60 students in each age 12 to 15. Volunteers were divided into teams of 4 or 5 for each school. Then we were paired.

It was more of a workshop than a camp, we made some activities for the kids to help them 1-know more about themselves and their personalities 2-learn to appreciate people surrounding them in their lives 3- learn how to solve problems they have with people by peaceful non-violent means.

It was so much fun, I discovered that I liked working with kids :D I also found out that a lot of kids at his age –especially those in public schools- are very much in need to talk and express their views, also they were all complaining that they have low self confidence! One girl told me that she felt self conscious while walking in the street around college students, and felt everyone stare and think “oh you’re such a kid!!”, oh my! So I prepared some extra stuff and quizzes to do with them to help them build up their confidence and self esteem, which they enjoyed so much, and that made me feel very proud =)!

This Peace camp is part of .“The Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement”


Why is it different this year?? Well, the First Lady, Mrs. Mubarak has asked to hold a meeting with the volunteer trainers...Tomorrow!! Well, I’m not the type of person who usually goes to meetings with the President’s Wife!!! So this is HUGE for me!! I’ve never even met our Governor.. Not even our College Dean!! And here I am, skipping these steps and heading straight to the First Lady!!

I wonder though why she didn’t do anything before, this is the 5th year that the Peace Camp is held, and no one ever bothered to talk to the volunteers after the camps were through! This should be interesting!

Only thing is, we were asked to dress formal, I hate formal!! Oh, and no mobiles and cameras are allowed!!

Dude Doodling :)

The one at the top, looks like his punched in his left eye,& the one below, has really some messed up hands.

Out & About: El Montaza

Since our school friends -who have gone abroad for college studies- came this summer holiday to their homeland,Alex, we decided to make a re-union . Destination : El Montazah !!

Former residence of the King of Egypt, now one of several Egyptian Presidential Palaces. In Alexandria .The meaning of the word Montaza is to be far, untouched, unblemished, and free. It is famous for its vast royal gardens , beach and several things .

After contacting as much people as we could, 14 people were able to make it, which was great since they were my closest friends during school!

The Montaza main entrance (It has 2 other entrances)

The entrance from the inside, or rather the exit now :)

It lies on the very east of Alex, were one stands almost at the edge of Alex, viewing the rest of the city that's on the seaside.

The water was soooo inviting, too bad we didn't get our bathing suits :( And that, would be King Fuad's Palace..no visitors are allowed entrance, because it currently serves as a place for the President to receive his guests or maybe come and enjoy himself ..LOL

A friend of ours had access to one of the cabins, were we put our stuff and had our own private area were we played some racket.

It not really that cheap to get a cabin there, it was my fist time to go to one actually, when I used to go with my college friends, we simply hang out at the public gardens,or I went on some occasions were I was a volunteer organizer of a certain event.

so, it was cool :D

After playing, we were hungry, we had each got something to make a dish party,and this is how the layed table looked like.

Drinks:Water,Coke,Juices( 4 flavours ,if you wanna know, oh well, grapes, pineapple,apple & the final is my first time to try Orange and carrots mix, it was okay.. but pineapple is my fav.)

You might be wondering about the dark think in the middle of the table..ehm well that is, " Mahshi Waraa' Enab" i.e grape leaves stuffed with rice .It's more delicious than it looks, every Egyptian is a fan of it.I's also well know in Greece, since they're a mediterranean Country as well.

I got Macaroni Salad, I actually made it, whenever there's a dish party, that's my trade mark!! It's Easy, Tasy, & Healthy. I'll probably make a post of it later!! Maybe you'll find it handy as it requires minimal kitchen knowledge, but saves the day when you're hungry !!

Another pal made chinese rice & chicken sweet and sour, that is always my favourite when I order at the chinese restaurant, and it was as tasty as the restaurant's,I salut you my friend for your great talent :)

We then decided to abandon the cabin area and go to the famous Montaza Bridge, that appears far away in the pic below.

It was quite a distance ,but we made it!!

It was really fun to see those people whom I haven't seen half of them for five years now. And it was as if we were back in high school with the same spirit .

Wishing those who are heading back to Australia, USA, & Netherlands a safe journey!!

Bathroom Tiles:Pick one!

I have a relative who’s living abroad. She asked me to pick up tiles for the bathroom of her apartment that’s over here cuz we’re preparing it for her. So I went yesterday and viewed some tiles, and well here they are... Have any favorites?

Drugs!

Since I'm studying them , might as well draw them, hmm forgot the syringe though and some ampoules..ah well.

Personality change,is it permanent?

I had this friend at high school that was highly energetic, outgoing, spontaneous and very loud. She was so loud that I could hear her from the far end of the corridor and our classroom was at the other end. She was so spontaneous and daring that she once jumped into the pool fully dressed in the school uniform, (& told the teachers that she simply slipped: D)

2 years ago I met her at the university campus by chance –we’re not really close friends- . What I saw was a whole different person. She was quiet, calm, very descent in her talking, asking how I was and talking in such a formal way that has gotten me laughing so hard from the inside. I couldn’t help but ask, “What happened to you? This isn’t you” She said” I was wrong all along, God forgive me, I was so stupid and reckless, but Thank God now I’m a better, more serene person” -oh and her voice has become so low, I had to come so close to her to hear her-.…okay, Fine by me, I wasn’t for any of the extremes myself, but then again I’m not into the extreme quietness and hiding myself in a shell.

So she’s been like that now for like, 4 years…a 180 degrees transformation.A few weeks ago I get an invitation to her Henna Night –night before marriage were girls celebrate, blah blah boring stuff that I always try to wiggle out and not attend- This time though, I was eager to go and see what she’ll do, cuz they usually go really wild that night, and I didn’t expect her to do anything. Not now, that’s she’s changed. I was wrong!!

I went; it was held at her house, were she had gotten a D.J with all the equipment and stuff –AT HER HOUSE- and she have gone really wild. As if 4 years of harnessed energy has been unleashed. She danced in costumes of several regions, Hawaii, Arabian belly dancing, Gypsy, Spanish, Hip-hop, and Nubian. She got 3 ladies that wore customs as she did and danced in the background. She was dancing so dynamically that her hair was all wet & damp.

Why am I writing this, well does a person manage to make a life time change in their personality or will they always have their old selves still within them struggling to surface out at any given opportunity ?

Out & About:Farah al Bahr festival 2009

The Anna Lindh Foundation held the Farah El-Bahr 2-days festival, the first annual Mediterranean cultural festival taking place at Qaitbey Citadel in Alexandria. The programme constituted of a variety of cultural activities, including traditional dancing of Palestine and Greece, theatre performances, storytelling and handicrafts presented by artists from around Egypt including Cairo, Assiout, Siwa and Port Said.Furthermore, gastronomy also featured in the Festival and was presented both through traditional Egyptian cuisine and demonstrated by members of foreign communities living in Egypt.

In the picture above, THAT was my cotton candy :) Luv it !!

During the Anna Lindh Festival a number of special activities was dedicated to children including puppet shows, henna tattoos, caricature artists, calligraphy, kite flying, a fire blower and a magician.In the evenings renowned contemporary Egyptian bands including Massar Egbari, Sout fl Zahma, Nas Makan, Station Band and the Egyptian artist Ahmed El-Sawy performed within the Citadel. The festival also included a joint performance between the Egyptian artist Mohamed Antar and the Spanish guitarist Fernando Perez who presented a fusion between traditional Egyptian music and Euro-Mediterranean music.

I hope this year's festival will be as exciting as the previous one!!

5 Things I can't live without!

Here are the 5 things I can't live with out;

1- Water: I drink around 2 litres per day. No amount of tea, juice or whatever drink could substitute for my need of water.
2-Wrist-Watch: I am very much time dependant, it sometimes really gets on my nerves, but it's difficult to change certain traits within us. Even when on a holiday, with no schedule of what so ever, I still need to see and feel my watch on my hand.
3-A Book: yup, I am a book worm :)
4-Internet: Need I say something about that!! Internet is where I read, learn, play,share, connect,listen,discover,and virtually visit places.
5-Belila =D : It's an Egyptian food, that one usually has for breakfast.Some countries, call it Pearl barley. It's basically cooked whole wheat grain, with added warm milk, and sweetened with sugar. some top it with cinnamon or coconut. I Love it. I eat it whenever I get hungry, & I never get bored of it.

**Check out Rei's 5 Things I can't live without ,turns out we have ONE in common :)

**Also, there's Booth's , that was interesting :)

** And Cladyns'

6 Steps to the Sun

If only things were that easy, and goals were that near...

checkered art

Supposed to be doing some mathematical problems, but ...ah well, it's always when I'm supposed to be working that I get more on the artistic side within me =)

My first cake !!

I'm not into the kitchen at all. Yet, mum was coming from abroad, and I didn't know what to do to welcome her...my bro suggested making a cake. and what a success it was !!

German: Bilder von dir

Ever since I started learning German, I found that listening to songs while reading their lyrics is a very helpful way to memorize vocab and an already built sentence.Specially if it has a nice tune that would stick to your mind. I would recommend this method to anyone who's taking a new language course, you'll be ahead of your mates in the course ;)
This is the first German singer I've ever tried listening to, Laith Al-deen, this song is called, Bilder von dir or "Pictures of you". Enjoy :D



210-laith Al-deen - Bilder Von Dir

Instrumenal : Don't lose your mind

The most Famous Egyptian composer & pianist, Omar Khairat. This is a track called " Don't lose your mind".Starting 3:02 is my favourite part in this piece. Enjoy :D




06 - Omar Khairat [ Don't Lose Your Mind]

Out & About: Green Plaza

Yesterday I took my siblings to Green Plaza, to see Toy Story 3 at the Cineplex.

I love this place because it's open, and green. I'm not claustrophobic,but why go to a mall, with all these people walking under the same roof, when you have a spacious open air place to have a walk , shop or dine at the same places you'd find at the mall !!

l;

There's all the usual brand shops, and some regular ones.

We dined at Pizza Hut,

Then there are the numerous cafes where you can sit and enjoy a drink, dessert or whatever you want while watching people pass by. or if it was the World Cup season, like now, you can watch the game on the big screens with alot of football fans around you.. I personally hate football. It makes people act so irrationally .

I love this flower shop.. It always brings a sense of joy to me , just watching it and watching people go in and come out with different bouquets ,wondering who they are ment to be given to :)

This colourfull, castle-like building is Karamantas, the gaming area in the Plaza.I enjoy it most with my friends, my favouritees are , air hockey and the laser storm. There is also bowling, crashing cars, video games, trampoline,..etc

The top level "2nd level" of the plaza is dedicated to the Hilton Hotel.

It's a nice place to stay in, since you're basically surrounded by everything.



"Piece of Egypt", the antique shop.

And we finished off the day by some ice-cream. I had a pistachio and mango ice-cream :D

The place seems a bit deserted, because it was before 3pm.. people start storming in around that time. But I'm an early person, so we started our day at 11 am. Almost everyone was still asleep at home.