i just finished watching the movie Paradise Now. This film was very interesting. I myself have negative views on martyrs. I do not like how martyrs say how it is Gods will.. God does not want us to commit suicide. This is considered a sin! How do they think that committing suicide is considered being heroic or courageous. to me committing suicide is the cowardly way because that person does not want to deal with life and its struggles. Another thing that i do not understand is how martyrs or people in the middle east are mad and angry with the system and then go and commit suicide and kill others with them inst that the same thing as what they are mad about to me this is considered as being a hypocrite " do as i say not what i do" How does their idea of settling something better than what they are mad about? Why end your life trying to make the world better and thinking that when you do commit suicide that things will change. If things change don't you want to live through the change.There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. When i think of martyrs the first thing that comes to my mind is 911..All of those innocent people died so that the martyrs could make a point. i am just so lucky that no one i new was in the building or the planes. i thank God everyday that i am alive and living. I live life to the fullest each and every day because i know that is what God wants me to do!

The two short stories we had to read were interesting and made me think. The family was so mad and swore threat the wife robbed them of their legal rights. It seemed that the family was made because their father married a younger woman which i think that i would be a little worried to.I think that it was sad that the father was bribing to divorce his wife if they went to get a lawyer. When a family gets a divorce are you looked down upon? i think that it is sad that the dad and the brother fought so much. How the dad spit in his sons face,and how the brother threw something at his father drawing blood. Me and my family sometimes have our arguments and disagree on something but i dont think that i could throw something at my family. How sad that the dad called the police and the brother was taken to jail and then died a year later. To me Family should not turn on one another. you should stick together. After the dad passed away the family was just worried about where the dad had the key to the cupboard so that they could get their inheritances. I believe that money can tare a family apart everyone wants their fare share. i liked how the end when the daughter saw the women who "Stole" their fortune and how she was not mad she simply said "i remember you...perhaps you remember me?"

I finished reading Gold Dust! To be honest i did not know what to expect when reading the first couple of paragraphs, but as i kept reading i became interested and could not put it down. In the book i liked how Ukhayyad and his piebald camel had so many adventures together. i also liked how Ukhayyad related so much of his life to God and if God was testing him. Ukhayyad i feel knew that good would come out of any situation he was in because of his faith. i am a christian i believe that God tests us everyday and puts many challenges in our paths in life we just need to have patients and know that everything happens for a reason and have faith and this is what i believe Ukahayyad had. i liked how Ukhayyad and his camel were there for each other in the desert. i also like how this book was descriptive like in the desert. To me this shows the truth and the reality of life in the desert and how hard it is live in the desert.i did not like the ending! I almost cried when they had the piebald camel. i thought to myself, Ukhayyed and his camel had been through so much and the men were killing him/ torturing him. i think for my next paper i am going to write about either life in the desert and the struggles that are present in peoples lives or about how when Ukahayyad received the camel when he entered manhood so what boys have to do to enter into man hood or maybe both..

I thought that it was great that the group had Mr. Mougazy( srry if i spelled it wrong) come in and talk to the class. I thought that it was crazy how there are more women in universities in the middle east than men. i also liked how he talked to us about his education. I can not believe that he spent 12 hours a day studying. 1 exam with 15 subjects for their final. What drive and dedication. I did not know that their social structure was based on education. i also thought that it was crazy how he said that if you can get "OUT" everybody is on your side, everybody is happy for you.
"Half meal for dinner the rest is sleep, Not enough food and you are exhausted."

Our class had a field trip last Thursday to a mosque right near Western. I was really nervous and did not know what to expect. As soon as we walked inside i looked to my right and saw a room that had showers. I think that they wash before they pray to cleanse themselves. Before we walked into the prayer room we took of our shoes. our speaker then started to explain how they pray and why women pray in another room. this is something that i did not know. We then walked around the mosque looking at all of the different rooms. We then went into one room and just talked for a good hour. our speaker talked to us about the history of his religion. While we were discussing the history of the religion there was an announcement that we all heard that was spoken in Arabic.it was cool hearing what was said over the speaker. After our discussion we had some treats, some mango juice and dessert pastry. When we were leaving me and mary saw our speaker walk into the prayer room and his face was wet so me and mary thought he washed his face to get ready to pray..one thing that got my attention was that our speaker has a wife and a bran new baby, and he lives her and i think he said that his family lives in Pakistan.. i dont know how he does it...i miss my family like crazy and i only live a 1/2 hour away...

Relationship Between Homosexuality in America and in the Middle East

We are supposed to compare homosexuality in America to the middle east. one thing that stuck out to me was when the mane character asked a guy if he could interview him for his documentary. the guy said no and walked away he did not even give him a chance to explain what his film was about. i think that this relates to homosexuality in America, people don't give them a chance they just walk away. Another part in the movie where i thought there were some similarities between America and the Middle east was when the mane character had an interview with a gay guy and he said that "people in school just don't understand." he also said he came to terms with himself and stopped lying to himself and he said that he told his mom and that she did not understand. i feel that this is so true in schools.

About my project

i did not get the opportunity to go see the play 9 parts of desire because they were sold out..bummer!So i was sad about that! but the good news i work at Arcadia elementary school and there are 2 women who i work with who are from two different parts of the middle east. One of them said that she would come into our class and talk to our class about women in the middle east!! i still have to talk to the other women but how cool would that be to have two different women come in and talk to us about women and life in the middle east especially since they are from two different areas!