Sunday, November 22, 2009

I Raise My Hands Up & Ask Humbly


May I always be able to spread love & goodness;
May I always find happiness & joy in small things in life;
May my eyes are set on the inner beauty of human beings;
May I realize when I can swim with the flow & when to swim against it;
May I find the strength to focus on the good in my life and master shifting myself out of worry & negativity;
May I have free spirit to travel new paths;
May I choose my life in independence of what others think;
May I always find the way to grow and evolve;
May I find joy in who I become and the trip that is taking me there;
May I have a pure soul not contaminated with jealousy and/or greed whether it is money or power;
May I be humble yet assertive;
May I always chant the gratitude prayer.

Please help me to find home & my passion in life.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Prejudicial Questions & Reel Bad Arabs

Since I started to travel & living abroad, I was constantly been asked “nana questions!”, it took me some time not to be insulted & to find my way of answering in calm, logical tone & yes... showing respect to the other person ignorance.

I can't recall in this moment all sort of questions, what comes to my mind are:

  • How come an Arabic lady can travel alone?
  • Are you vegetarian because you are a Muslim?
  • Why you are not wearing a veil?
  • Do you dress like this or only because you are abroad? When you go back to your country are you going to dress differently?
  • Why you have suicide-bombers who kill innocent Israelis?
  • No way, you have Arabs who are Christians?
  • How come you are educated?
  • Do you have normal streets & buildings?
  • Do you ride camels?
  • How many wives your father has?
  • We have Indian TV channels, it is not Arabic?
  • Where is Palestine? Ah you mean Israel...

No wonder I would be approached with all these questions if Hollywood alone produced around 920 movie which portray degrading images of Arabs women & men. These movies did play a major role in formulating prejudicial attitudes toward Arabs, Arabic culture & civilization. They managed to rob an entire people of their humanity & portray them as terrorist, savage, & uncivilized. “Reel Bad Arabs How Hollywood Vilifies a People” reveals how Arabs have been portrayed and how Hollywood has played a major role in creating anti-Arab culture & Islamophobia around the world. I recommend reading the book or watching this 50 minute documentary.

Maybe if these movies stop this type of bad portray, people will start to learn & accept the cultural differences. This what actually happens when Europeans & Americans come to our side of the world; they enjoy being with us. Enjoy our hospitality, generosity, kindness, social ties, knowledge, sense of humor, etc.. They think dressing in Bedouin cloth & riding camels is cool. They fall in love with our nature; sea, mountains, valleys, and desert. They become curios to learn about the culture and civilization that is behind all these great monuments they see around.

Maybe, mabye ...

One day when I travel I could be engaged in discussions that will involve how Arabs came up with number "Zero", how valuable is our soap invention to humanity, what our contribution in Math, Medicine, Astronomy, etc...

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

14 Kilometers

14 kilometers is the distance that separates Africa from Europe , but these 14 kilometers is the last barrier that prevents millions of Africans from fulfilling their dreams & entitle them for a life without hunger and misery.

14 kilometers leaves you wondering how many of these immigrants disappear in the desert forever, sink in the sea, & how many when they reach Europe are distant for more suffering.


Cargo lorry overloaded with immigrants.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

My Bucket List

My bucket list is humble... nothing much... Whom am I kidding :-)

Things I want to do before I die:

  • Trek the Inca Trail, Peru
  • Swim with the dolphins again & again...
  • Trek the Great Wall of China
  • Ride the trans-Siberian railway across Asia
  • Climb Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
  • Trek to Everest base camp, Nepal
  • Bungee Jump
  • Take a zero gravity flight (at Florida's Kennedy Space Centre)
  • Ride roller coasters (tallest & longest!)
  • Spend summer solstice above the Arctic Circle (Alaska, Canada)
  • Try canopying
  • Skydiving
  • Taking a hot air balloon ride
  • Stay in an ice hotel
  • Raft the Colorado river, Grand Canyon, US
  • Go to Galapagos Islands
  • Watching Iguazu Falls
Things I wish to learn before I die
  • Photography
  • Scuba diving
  • Dancing Dabkeh & some of latino dances
Hurray
It is a living organic list, which means it will defiantly grow.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Trip Journal - Tabarka 1 Nov

We left the hotel very early, 6 am we were in the car, my & my new Tunisia friend tugged under a light blanket. The intention was to sleep a bit, instead we were giggling most of the time on silly things. The road to Tabarka is awesome, a small word to describe the rural area, beautiful, raw nature, hazy valleys, and green hills.


It was peaceful, along the way, we passed a lake, farms, lots of trees, houses coloured in white, green or red, different than the dominant blue & white.

Tabarka is located between the mountains and the sea. it a quite coastal town, we wandered until we reached “Dabbabees” The Needles. Though it is a fairly small area yet quite impressive. We stayed 1 hour fascinated by how these Rocks made up needling their way up into the blue skies. As if it is complied of many smaller rocks which all have different shades, & shapes.
Hearing the waves continuously hitting the needles with water foaming around them added magic to the moments there!


On the other side of these rocks lay a Genoese castle an old fort at the tip of the harbour. The fort is normally closed to the visitors as a military compound, but somehow, we opened Sesame for us.


Time for lunch! We were almost starving. We were drawn to a restaurant with the heavenly smell of seafood. We had two types of salad, Tunisian entree a mix of harissa, tuna, grilled carrots, and olives. Reaching the main course; a plate of several types of fishes grilled & fried topped with fried potatoes. We have managed to satisfy all our senses today!

Today was a another joyous day in Tunisia