East in the West Guest Speaker

Sarah brought in my favorite guest speaker. I really admired the choices she made and the proudness she showed about her choices. She pretty much had a choice between what religion and life style she was going to lead. Sure her father led her in the muslim direction but she could have also followed her mother and stayed away from the mosque when her sisters and brothers went with their father. She proudly chose muslim and not only carried out her religion in her own life but now teachs about the Middle East and chose to educate others about the happenings in egypt. She mentioned she had a minor in Egyptology which is solely the study of Egypt. This is very cool to me! Because she could have just said she was from Egypt but lived in the United States which is true, but she did more than most and searched to find out where she REALLY came from. Like I have said before in many of my post, I love hearing stories straight from the persons mouth that it has happened to. This makes it more beleivable. Our movie went perfect with her discussion of when her father tries to hook her up with men. It is another interesting way just like in the movie. She also made me understand why it is okay for fathers to "matchmake" their daughters. Muslims can not go out and drink and hang out in the typical party scene where majority of Americans meet their husbands and wives. It would be very hard to find different types of people when you are in the same environment with the same people. She also did not mind that her father was doing it, she thought it was almost humorous. Another thing that was interesting to me is that she puts her headscarf on in the car to the way to the mosque. She was first to let us know that people stare at her when she had the scarf on. When she is dressed with out the headscarf she said she never gets looks but all of sudden she puts it on and people are staring in her car window. This upsets me but like someone in the class said to many people it is not that we are staring to insult the person, many think it is just interesting to see. She lives a very normal life here and does not seem like the harsh things we have heard about are happening to her. I really respect her decision to embrace her religion instead of being embarrased of it.

Gauntanamo Bay

I really enjoyed this reading. Great pick group! The way he explained it really made you put yourself in his shoes. It was such a powerful reading. The most powerful part of it was in the end when he talks about that whenever he talks about with his fellow prisoners all they can do is laugh. It is hard to beleive that something America did , which is supposed to be this great country that helps everyone, can actually scar a person to the point of numbness. It is extremely disturbing. On the other hand what happened to the United States on 9/11 was the same if not more disturbing than this. Did ANY good come out of these camps? There are articles on the internet of men being found guilty of supplying material to terrorists. What if this was something that could have harmed the United States in the same way that 9/11 did. I am not saying this is right, but theres two sides to every story and in order to get the full grip on an idea you must know both sides. Wikipedia has an amazing explanation, not to mention thorough, of everything that went on at Guantanamo. The picture I have posted is of a Toronto Coalition group opposing Guantanamo (Gitmo). This does upset me a little. I understand what we were doing at times wasn't right but once again there had to be something good that came out of it or else we wouldn't have done it right?

Arranged

Arranged was an extremely good video in my view. It always helps to see an actual story line of the things we have heard about happening. Nasira was my favorite character by far. She laughed about what people said and never took it too serious. She even joked in response about it with the principal, trying to make the rude comment she said seem funny. Rochel on the other hand, took things too serious and became upset about everything way too easily. Nasira was very proud of her religion and at times she almost flaunted it. example.. in the beginning when the teachers are talking about one thing about them, Rochel wouldn't even pronounce her name completey, she tells the staff that they can just call her Rachel. On the other hand Nasira proudly tells tells the staff her name and heritage. Under the title, it reads "friendship has no religion" I really like this saying! It truely is shown throughout the book and I hope teachs many people a lesson. I know many people who have not been friends with someone for something as simple as how they talk, dress, look, preach, or even eat. Friendship is not about judging the other its about excepting them for who they are no matter what! This movie truely proved that two people can be friends from two opposite worlds. It also shows that many people may think they are so different than others but in the end we all go through pretty much the same thing as everyone else. I really enjoyed this movie because it put it in perspective for a younger audience. It is easier to relate to people when it is your own age.