Where'd she go?

Lately I have become this uninteresting, unsmiling, and unsatisfied person. Someone whom I never wanted to become! Someone I have been trying my best, since graduating, not to turn into. I seem to have let my guard down and lost my optimism somehow…I had a month where I went on two trips, so I came back with the usual post-awesome trip depression but I thought it would not last very long coz I have my friends and my life here which I was at least content with. Apparently not. It seems I need more adventure, more spontaneity…I need to be curious again, I need to be easily amused again, I need to find it easy to laugh again, I need to wake up feeling I have a purpose again! Lately work has been just plain…nothing exciting, which makes me dread going to work coz I end up feeling super duper useless which does nothing to improve my situation! Plus some of my friends are going through more or less what I am going through too so when we go out we tend to suddenly feel so old…too tired to have deep conversations and definitely too lazy to do something about it. We are less excited…less happy. I don’t know about you but I am personally sick of feeling like this! I will NOT turn into this person whom I hardly recognize…and definitely do not like! I need to remember what made me me. I am someone who radiates optimism that it can sometimes, if not always, drive people nuts. I am someone who usually has a smile on her face and finds it annoying to frown. I am someone who when feeling depressed just goes for a walk, or sleeps it off, or goes out with a friend and talks it out till its over. I am someone who can’t stay upset about something for more than a day even if I should be upset about it for much longer than that, just coz its too tiresome. I am someone who makes it a point not to hate anyone…if I’m not clicking with someone then I just keep them at a distance at which I could still accept their presence at least; I don’t let them get close enough for me to hate. I am someone who takes pictures obsessively because she’s afraid of losing the memories, then goes around wondering why she seems to only remember things that she took pictures off. I am someone who doesn’t mind going out with a group of people she doesn’t know so well because I appreciate the fascination of meeting new people. I am a person who definitely cares more about other people’s feelings and situations more than caring about herself…which sucks sometimes because you find yourself with no real goals except to please other people. But that’s me…if someone is upset and I can’t seem to be able to help them I feel bad…if I said a joke that may have been silly to someone I cannot help but apologize. It’s very stupid but it’s me and it keeps me happy to be sure the people around me are happy even if it’s at my own expense and even if I am exaggerating big time. I am someone who needs people around her who love her so that she can be happy; I get my energy from being around other people. I need to feel close to people whom I care a great deal about…I hate that phase of still getting to know someone. I like knowing what’s wrong with the person in front of me without him/her needing to tell me about it. I like knowing that the other person knows me inside out too and just knows everything that is going on with me. I NEED to be that person again coz at the moment I am definitely not happy! This person I want to dig back up is far from perfect…too dependent, too worrisome of other people’s feelings, too concerned with making sure she doesn’t regret a thing she does, too focused on doing the right thing always, and definitely finds comfort in living in la la land where she does not have to make any drastic decisions about her life…but at least that person always managed to see the good side to everything and of everyone, always managed to have a smile on her face, and always found it easy to let people in whom she loves. I have to find her again so I can stop feeling so lost.

Lina's Off to Rome! Bye Bye Lina :(

The company I work for, ARPU+, is a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom. OT recently bought WIND in Italy, which is an operator there so we are opening an office there and needed to recruit new people. I knew Lina considered Rome to be her second home and that maybe she'd like to give this job a shot. So anyway, she got it! I was very proud of her for taking such a bold move, because I know how much she loves her life here. She will learn loads and will get to experience life on her own. But...the sad part is that Lina has been my other half for 16 years now and I cannot imagine her not being a phone call away or a drive away anymore. I can't imagine her not being here experiencing everything with me! It's gonna be difficult but I know she's doing the right thing and I totally support her with her decision. Plus she'll come for a visit every 6 months which is great. Will miss you loads Lin Lin! I dunno how you will remember things over there without me haha but like I used to ask you before we go out "keys? wallet? mobile?", just have me playing in your mind every time you go down and you should be fine! Will miss our sleepovers and pasta cooking. Keep a sofa bed waiting for me over there ;) Love you babe.

Ramadan Kareem :)

Ramadan is here! The time of fasting, shorter working hours, extra prayers, excess food, loads of gatherings with friends and family, and the occassional lack of sleep. In the past, Ramadan used to be alot more family oriented for me since we used to all gather at my grandparents house to have iftar. Since they passed away, we usually just have iftar together at home. At that time, this was not really uneventful since we used to always have lunch together anyway...but now, with 2 brothers going to university at different times, and me going to work it has become very rare for us to have a meal together on one table. I look forward to that in Ramadan for sure. But, with my dad working in Saudi, we are always minus one very important person. My dad used to be the one to wake me up from may nap to have iftar, he used to wake us up at 3am to have sohor together, and over the iftar table would make us listen to the radio with the Ramadan riddles and the like as we ate. He has been working in Saudi for 3-4 years now so we always miss his presense around the iftar table. Every year, this is the time where we really miss my dad and he misses us. But, he manages to make it here for the last week of Ramadan. Other than the chance to eat with my family, I started this Ramadan tradition a few years back where I invite my friends over for a Ramadan dish party. Its a day my mum dreads since I ALWAYS over invite haha but she enjoys it at the end. What's interesting about it is every year the group dynamic is different...it got me thinking about how things change. Who used to be close and now isnt so much, who was in egypt and now lives abroad, who used to be an acquiantence and is now a close friend, who attended all dish parties and is still as close now as they ever were. It's strange how things change from one year to the next, and its also strange how some things always stay the same :) Happy Ramadan to everyone, and I hope you are all surrounded by people you love. Don't forget to smile and watch the belly with the Ramadan food!

El Alsson Class Reunion after 10 Years of Separation!

Yesterday we did the impossible, we had a class reunion after all these 7 + years of not seeing each other...FINALLY! I was so excited about going but then again did not know what to expect. I mean, I am a totally different person now than I was back then and I assumed everyone else would be different too. But to my surprise, I get there and people look different yes but everyone had the same body movements and ways of behaving! It was a wonderful surprise! The guy who was always the class clown and everyone's favourite, was still the one making us roll over with laughter. The girl who used to laugh to talk and talk still was doing the same. It brought back loads of memories! We sat remembering stories and incidents from primary school, and I cannot explain the feelings I got reliving those stories, most of which I had forgotten or have not thought about in years! It was amazing! Loads of people are still in touch with their school friends but those are usually high school friends...this group was my class since primary 4! We were tight all the way till the end of prep school...so this is a whole generation who knew each other's crushes, problems, just everything! Then people started to leave in high school and back then there was no msn, no mobiles, so naturally we totally lost touch. Some people went abroad to study, others went abroad to work...the funny part is, everyone came back home at the end. And all these people still had a special place in their hearts for this particular group of people...we grew up together so we'll never forget each other, and it was nice to be reminded of that yesterday. Many people got called by Lina or Heba to come to this outing and Heba and Lina would both ask "it's me, remember me? we haven't talked in like 10 years" and everyone's reply to that was "of course I remember you! How could you think I'd forget any one of you?!"By the end of the evening we were all thinking "well, since we met and still seem to like each other why dont we start hanging out again?!" So we will now spend one Ramadan night together next week. It's just amazing how things don't really change after years of being apart.

A great loss...Foad El Mohandes

Foad El Mohandes was my favourite actor as I was growing up. He used to make my sides hurt from laughter! His type of humour was something I really loved about him...the way he'd make you laugh out loud in the middle of a sad scene so you end up laughing through tears was just amazing. The way he'd make a joke with such a straight and serious face was awesome; you'd laugh even harder just because he looked so serious! His plays and movies with his wife at the time, Shwikar, were very successful and their chemistry was excellent. I still have some of this duets plays and they still make me laugh. He was a big part of my childhood so hearing that he passed away a few days ago made me very sad. His comedy and his genius will be truely missed.
Foad El Mohandes 1924-2006

Camels in the Desert

The following is a picture taken directly above these camels in the desert at sunset. It is considered one of the best pictures of the year. Look closely, the camels are the little white lines in the picture. The black you see are just the shadows!!

AIESEC Strengths Research

There's this test that's being done on AIESECers to test their strengths. There's a list of 24 strengths and according to how you do in the test, you can see which of these 24 strengths are the strongest in you. I came across it before going to IC and did it...little did I know that the guy who created this test was the guy I was just about to meet in IC. He turned out to be the Chair of IC 2006 haha! He was an awesome guy, really enjoyed his stories and the way he saw the world was just so inspiring. Here are the results of my test, these are my top 5 strengths out of the 24 strengths of the test...what do you think? Accurate?

Your Top Strength: Kindness and Generosity
You are kind and generous to others, and you are never too busy to do a favor. You enjoy doing good deeds for others, even if you do not know them well.

Your Second Strength: Judgment, critical thinking, and open-mindedness
Thinking things through and examining them from all sides are important aspects of who you are. You do not jump to conclusions, and you rely only on solid evidence to make your decisions. You are able to change your mind.

Your Third Strength: Honesty, authenticity, and genuineness
You are an honest person, not only by speaking the truth but by living your life in a genuine and authentic way. You are down to earth and without pretense; you are a "real" person.

Your Fourth Strength: Humor and Playfulness
You like to laugh and tease. Bringing smiles to other people is important to you. You try to see the light side of all situations.

Your Fifth Strength: Citizenship, Teamwork, and Loyalty
You excel as a member of a group. You are a loyal and dedicated teammate, you always do your share, and you work hard for the success of your group.

My 24th strength, which is like the bottom of the pile, was bravery and valor...which I see as too accurate. I am such a chicken! Not brave at all haha. That's something I need to work on big time.

If you want to do the test yourself go to this website:
http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/aiesec/default.aspx
All you have to do is register then you can do the test.

The Pope himself seems to be a fan of making unfounded judgements...

I, as an Arab, dislike the fact that some people in the Western world have such a horrible image of us and what we stand for. I feel that they are misinformed, that they have not researched enough before making their judgements, that they havent even been to the middle east so how could they make such a judgement based on just the news or movies, etc. Now the Pope himself has made misinformed judgements about Islam and to the public. I came home last night from work and my mum told me the statements that the Pope said about Islam, about how its a religion that promotes wars, bloodshed, etc. About how Prophet Muhammed has not added anything to the world, etc. And the first thing that came to my mind was "wow, he has not even read the Quran...its as if he's talking about another religion altogether". My first reaction was not anger, my first reaction was how could a religious symbol, who has millions of followers, make such an ignorant statement; he has obviously not done his homework. He has a responsibility to make INFORMED statements; his position and status in the community demands it. If he had just read parts, not even all, of the Quran he would see that it promotes peace, promotes understanding, promotes kindness, promotes goodness...he may even see the similarities between what the Quran teaches and what the Bible teaches. The fact that a religious figure would slander another religion in itself is such an irresponsible thing to do, and then to slander it based on no research (that it sounds absurd) is even more irresponsible. I wonder what he was thinking when he made those statements...

Song: Last Request by Paulo Nutini

It seems I am starting a habit of listening to these slow and sweet songs. This is one, and a few weeks ago I put "You Give Me Something". I have been obsessed with both for some time and they are just soooo nice. Give them a try ;)

Slow down, lie down,
Remember its just you and me,
Don't sell out, bow out,
Remember how this used to be.

I just want you closer,
Is that alright?
Baby let's get closer tonight.

Grant my last request,
And just let me hold you.
Don't shrug your shoulders,
Lay down beside me.
Sure I can accept that we're going nowhere,
But one last time let's go there,
Lay down beside me.

Oh, I've found, that I'm bound
To wander down that one way road.
And I realize about all your lies
But I'm no wiser than the fool I was before.

I just want you closer,
Is that alright?
Baby lets get closer tonight.

Grant my last request,
And just let me hold you.
Don't shrug your shoulders,
Lay down beside me.
Sure I can accept that we're going nowhere,
But one last time let's go there,
Lay down beside me.

Oh, baby, baby, baby,
Tell me how can, how can this be wrong?

Grant my last request,
And just let me hold you.
Don't shrug your shoulders,
Lay down beside me.
Sure I can accept that we're going nowhere,
But one last time let's go there,
Lay down beside me.

Yeah, lay down beside me.

One last time let's go there,
Lay down beside me.

Travelling down memory lane...

The past few days were full of travelling down memory lane moments. I met 3 people whom I hadnt seen in almost 2 years and all 3 of them I met in my first ever AIESEC conference; NLDS 2004. I met Tom Gara in a cafe and caught up with him, then got to spend a day with him in Alex where we met up with Shady Beshr (second person I hadnt seen in 2 years). It was loads of fun to catch up and remember the old days. Plus thinking about what we all have done since that NLDS was very interesting. Shady went on to do 2 trainingships and Tom went on to work in AI and now is a trainee in Egypt himself. The last person I met was Lina from AAST Alex who was my roommate in NLDS. She is now working in Cairo so I got to see her again in an outing with some really good friends; Martha, Lina, Askoura, Tarek, and Hazem (all AIESEC alumni). It was such a coincidence meeting all 3 of these guys within 5 days so I had to blog about it!

IC 2006! Hey! IC 2006! Hey! Polska Polska!

So finally, after over 2 years in AIESEC, I attend my first international conference, and its not just any conference, its IC!! I got the opportunity to go to IC where AI gives the sessions, where many of our partner companies give trainings, and where only MCP, and LCPs are allowed to attend. I had the golden opportunity to attend IC while being neither and MCP nor an LCP. I attended as an observer which means I am basically there to see the CC in action plus take notes to help me with my job as CCVP DS for IPM 2007. I filled my days with the following: helping the CC out when I could, met up with many of the members to ask them questions, attended CC meetings, attended some of the sessions/trainings as a delegate, attended some of the parties and events to get to know new people, and also met up with my fellow IPM observers to discuss all that we observed. Overall it was an awesome experience, for me personally and for me as an AIESECer. It renewed my need to have an ambition in life, it renewed my belief in taking risks, and it renewed my love of getting to know new people from all over the world. Can you imagine being in a room with over 600 people all of which come from 95+ different countries?? Its just amazing! I was planning to blog every day there coz the days were just packed with new experiences that I wanted to share but of course I didnt do that coz any spare moment I had was spent dozing off due to lack of sleep! So let me try now to recapture the key moments that I had there. I arrived there early in the morning and was greeted by Laura from the UK, was sooo happy to see her coz it marked the beginning of my experience. I get to the venue, which was a university campus, and I meet Lukas and another girl, both from Slovakia, and we check-in together. Little did I know that I would leave IC with Lukas as a really good friend. So I check in and realize I have a whole room to myself but that I share a bathroom with 3 other rooms which should mean a total of 10 people sharing one bathroom! So I unpack then hear some activity in the bathroom so I stay in my room, but my curiosity gets the better of me and I open the door to find Abdo shaving hahaha turns out he's in the room in front of me all by himself as well and he had been looking for me all morning. IC was full of moments of "wow its a small world". I sat to talk with Andries from Belgium and turns out he was in Egypt for quite some time and he was the one Martha and Hazem were always talking about before I came to IC. I then met Claude and Jennifer whom I met in Egypt before as well. Then bumped into a guy from Bangladesh who works in Banglalink which is part of Orascom Telecom. Arthur, the chair of NLDS in Cairo last year, came by to say hi towards the end of the conference which was very cool! One guy also turned out to be in the same New Years Dahab trip that I was in last December as well! Ok, so what about the events of the conference. I was wowed by the opening planery, it was so cool seeing all the countries get up there and do their role calls. It was hilariously funny as well. What amazed me too were how we all danced the AIESEC dances together...everyone all over the world had them memorized! Even though I knew this in theory, seeing it in action was still breathtaking! The opening ceremony was nice as well but a little long I must say. We got there an hour early so what happened was we had a GN role call competition in the stands. Having the Africans sing ONE AFRICANO, then having AAAAA AA PPPP, then MENA MENA MENA, then Yea yea we got spirit, yea yea we got what what what what what what, then who rocks the house CEE rocks the house and up and down and all the way around, and it just kept going on and on which was loads of fun! The ceremony itself was made up of speeches by the CCP, PAI, and Polish Politicians some of which are AIESEC Alumni. Global Village was the best! Partly because it was very well advertized so many Polish people and their families were there. Imagine having AIESEC dances in the middle of a major square in downtown Warsaw with everyone joining in...its like a scene out of the sound of music or moulin rouge! So cool! I enjoyed that very much. The parties we had in the venue itself every night were ok, got a little dancing going :) one of the nights' themes was having guys wear as girls, and girls as guys so that was a little freaky hehe. We also had a bowling night were we Egyptians played the Africans. We had Polish night as well which was really nice. Lukas and I went around the different Polish cities booths trying out all the food and learning a bit more about Poland. Then we had a night of dancing!! Before the last day of the conference we had our official dinner which was held in the opera. The show included the UBS awards plus a pianist who was just hilarious, he was pretending to be the different musicians, then they had modern dancers. A big highlight of the conference was that the MENA GN got approved in legislation!!! We are official now plus Bahrain and Qatar became official AIESEC member countries as well. So IC was a big push forward for the ME region which was excellent! That's a short version of what happened in all the events. We then have the sessions. I attended some workshops and sessions which were interesting. It was cool to see trainers from Cadbury and ABN Emro telling us that they were so amazed by our energy and that they don't regret coming to train us. Alot of them were just told by managers to come and train these students in AIESEC so it was a chore really...but they ended up really enjoying the experience and realized they were dealing with people who had opinions and loads of curiosity, plus too much energy with all the dances and role calls hahaha! As for the CC work, which was a big bulk of what I was doing there, it was very hectic but loads of fun. I used to make it a point to always help out with lunch and dinner, whether its to check people's badges as they come into the tent or to serve the food to the delegates. It was the time I used to mingle with the delegates the most. I loved it. I helped out with wake ups once, with preparing welcome packs, DLD packs, Microsoft giveaways, etc. Whenever I had some free time I'd help out so would do odd jobs here and there. Seeing them in action gave me the opportunity to observe as well. Overall, the experience was unbelievable and I wanted to mention a few people who I'll never forget:

Magda and Bruna, you girls made me feel at home soooo quickly. I love you! I had so much fun with you and miss you already. I will be sure to visit you girls when you both move to London. Till then, enjoy India Magda! And enjoy Spain Bruna! Don't forget to visit Egypt at some point too. You know you always have a place to stay in Cairo ;)

Ferro, you are the man! The way you used to keep coming up with new ideas to keep the delegates happy just blew me away, especially how modest you were about your ideas too. very time someone would tell you, good job Ferruccio, you'd say "stop guys, it was a group effort". You did a great job and I will miss you!

Prateek, you were just so much fun my friend. So sweet as well. Keep smiling always and thanks for all your support. You were one of the few who really got to know all 3 of us (Observers) which we all appreciated.

Stanley! You made me feel welcomed all the time and as part of the team. Your constant complements kept me blushing half the time there! So for all times sake here's another "cut it out Stanley!!"

Kate and Caroline, thanks girls for including me in all your meetings, and activities. Without you, I wouldnt have felt like I was part of the CC. You girls are awesome and I hope we are able to do as good as a job as you have done in IPM. I will take all your advice to heart and will keep them in mind always.

Lukas!!! My personal favourite :) Most of my fond memories in IC included you so a big HUGE thank you for that. I will miss copying you as you danced haha but I will never forget how copying you in Polish night started that huge group of copiers! That was loads of fun! Keep smiling and I hope to see you soon somewhere in the world! Good luck with your AIESEC plans!

Abdou! My roomie! What can I say about you which you don't already know coz I say it ALL the time. You are FUN FUN FUN! I'm so glad you were with me in IC. You were always so supportive, so funny, and above all a great friend. Here's to more nights of gossiping, more days of me reminding you of your badge, keys, and everything else, and more days of working together as a team.

Sherif ya Dessouky! The guy who made fun of my dancing, my job, and everything else hahaha. It was fun having you with me and thanks so much for being so understanding when I was sooo frustrated sometimes. You were like a big brother to me on this trip and such a team player! Here's to more trips with the 3 of us...the CANCER team!

Egyptian delegation, at last I went to an international conference with you guys! As usual, had the most laughs with you guys! Teaching people to belly dance, singing Arabic songs in the bus with everyone staring, ordering pizza late at night, going to the gas station at 3am with our gallabiyyas to grab a bite, etc. all of it was just FUN! I got a chance to get to know Asmaa, Adham, Geet, and Dalia more which was so nice coz you guys are the bomb. Plus got to spend IC with my favourite Mayooya in the world! Plus Tamer, Fawzy, and Sami, you guys were always dear to me so its great to have shared this with you. And congrats to all of you on your success which led you to be in IC 2006!

Rest of the CC, you guys were soooo cool! I have never seen people work so hard yet always have smiles on their faces! Thanks for including us in all your activities and for allowing us to leave IC with you guys as friends. Big hug and kisses all around!

What have I seen of the world??

I like to think that I am a traveller and I am always interested in seeing new places. I was just in IC 2006 in Poland and the idea of sitting in a room with 600 people from all over the globe was just amazing!! Such a rush! I came across Soad's blog and found a map with the countries she has been to all in red...I thought I would do the same and put an aim for myself to have more red dots on my own map!

Stay tuned for more about IC 2006!