It’s August 5th, 2019: my mom’s birthday. It also means that in 29 days, I’ll be in DC attending my Pre-Departure Orientation before spending nine months in Morocco. Every year, on August 5th, it’s a family tradition to celebrate my mother’s birthday with goat curry. My grandparents visit us each summer, and as much as … Continue reading A chicken curry recipe, and a realization of how much I will miss Desi food
[VIDEO BELOW] A few weeks ago, when I filmed my last Shaami video for a while, I committed to a project of recording monthly Arabic videos to gauge my progress. And so this weekend, I took the plunge and filmed a video to practice speaking in Modern Standard Arabic, or "fus7a," as it's called in … Continue reading My first video in Modern Standard Arabic!
Arabic is one of the hardest languages in the world. It doesn’t hit me every time I sit down to study. Rather, it comes at random times. The times when I realize how great the discrepancy between 3ammiye and fus7a is. The times when I listen to a Moroccan song and notice that I can … Continue reading Arabic: the Thrill and the Struggle
It’s been just over a month since I graduated from high school. In other words, temporarily liberated from the education system, I’ve spent the past month free of the compulsion to learn. I’m no longer responsible for challenging myself, absorbing new content, and proving that I know things based on a set of standards. Yet, … Continue reading Self-Exploration, Self-Education
Before I start, I'll be honest, I haven't been consistent with this blog in the past few months. My last two posts were more announcements than actual blogposts, and I neglected writing for quite a while. Do I have an excuse? Depends on how you look at it. In April and May, I was making … Continue reading Arabic Video: New Steps in My Language Learning Journey
It's been an incredibly long time since I've written (due to IB exams, then graduation, and then a general lack of motivation for all things productive), but I've finally come up with a summer endeavor that I'm excited to share. "Your Future, Their Future" is a project that aspires to address the educational privilege gap … Continue reading New Project: Your Future, Their Future
I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be attending Harvard University starting in the fall of 2020 as a Cameron Impact Scholar! Before that, however, I will be taking a gap year studying Arabic in Rabat, Morocco with the NSLI-Y scholarship! I am so thankful for the Bryan Cameron Education Foundation and National Security Language Initiative … Continue reading My College Decision!
It hurts. As my Muslim friends share their perspectives and emotions, I’ve realized how much the events of New Zealand have affected them personally. To think that mosques-- places meant to serve as sanctuaries and safe spaces-- were subject to brutal terrorism is painful. To think that “Salam”-- a greeting meaning “peace”-- was returned with … Continue reading On New Zealand, and on “Us”
It’s second semester of senior year, and probably the most defining feature of this school year has been APPLICATIONS. Tons and tons of applications. From long personal essays, to short supplements, to interviews, and creative pieces, each application has taken reflection, deep thought, and constant attention to detail. However, when I was invited to apply … Continue reading Getting Creative with Scholarship Apps — Or should I say “Raps”?
As Saif Nabeel’s “Galb Thani” plays on repeat, I make my third round on the small greenbelt behind my house. Alright, listening to slow Iraqi music and taking long solitary walks in the neighborhood is probably not your idea of a workout, but it’s definitely better than what I usually do: sit at my desk, … Continue reading Solitary Strolls…
