https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5 Made with charm en-us 2022-06-02 19:37:22 UTC 2022-07-07 18:59:41 UTC hello@padlet.com ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2209374349 I started learning Arabic in 5th grade. What can I say? It is a beautiful language that is very structured, so there is little ambiguity. The benefit is that you can pronounce any word correctly the first time. 

Learning this language gave me the capability to move around the city freely. I could communicate with the locals, understand food menus and directions. Even back here in the states, I watch soccer with Arabic commentary to remind me of the beauty of the language. ]]> 2022-06-02 19:41:56 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2209374349 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2209374405 I've attended various international schools that had students from over 120 countries. Everyone has a different culture and a different way of communicating. Walking into the cafeteria, you would catch wafts of cuisines from all over the world. Racism didn't exist here. Most people were of similar economic status. ]]> 2022-06-02 19:42:01 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2209374405 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2209374476 We have gatherings with other family's weekly. My father also meets with his friends weekly at cafes and such. Since the age of ~12, my father wouldn't allow me to play with the other kids. He made me sit with the adults. It was initially boring, and it still is when they start complaining about politics. However, from their discussions, I learned about workplace politics and conflict resolution, the industry, history, and values. I eventually chimed and and became a part of these discussions. This is one of the best things my father did raising me.  ]]> 2022-06-02 19:42:06 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2209374476 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2211984415 Growing up, I moved numerous times. I've learned that many relationships are meaningless. Or rather, it's very easy to up and leave, forget, and start anew. Most of my friends were either like me (moving frequently) or were older, so every year friends would move, graduate, or find new jobs. Sometimes, they'd leave in the middle of the year.]]> 2022-06-06 08:59:44 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2211984415 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2211998758 I have a stutter. According to my parents, it started when we moved to Dubai; 2016. I don't like it at all. In speech therapy, they teach us to be accepting of this; this is who we are. This has a strong aura of complacency. Stuttering makes you less effective and less valuable. I've been doing exercises to improve my communication and have improved significantly. Just need a ways to go. ]]> 2022-06-06 09:18:42 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2211998758 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2212002999 Most of the countries where I am from suffer from rulers who are oppressive. They crack down on citizens and journalists because they might speak non-positively against the regime or make a payment to a charity or company that is not favored by said regime. 

This has raised the importance of privacy and security to me. Most people are aware that what they do online not private, however most people do nothing about it. I've gotten friends and family to start using Signal, Protonmail, and Bitwarden. Now we can send memes in private. ]]> 2022-06-06 09:24:41 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2212002999 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2212013442 Since I grew up in various cultures, instead of having one culture per se, my "culture" is a conglomerate of all the cultures that I have lived in and experienced. This makes it much easier to build relationships as there are many possible things to connect to with others. We can relate on dune-bashing, eating spicy Indian food, drinking Khaleeji coffee, or talking about soccer. ]]> 2022-06-06 09:39:09 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2212013442 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2212015452 Much of my family is currently in Lebanon. And most of them live in the same city. Grandma's house was the hub for all the aunt's, uncles, cousins, etc. Not only does this make it easier to raise children, but the family is really tight and everyone helps each other out. Because of this, I could spend the entire summer there and build a strong bond with my extended family.]]> 2022-06-06 09:42:06 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2212015452 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2212053170 Watch video here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0c3I97oPIHutqmm-IjzgtQvkA ]]> 2022-06-06 10:36:21 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2212053170 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2213579802 Xiaoyuan Lu: One thing that stood out was what we had in common; an interest in privacy. I like privacy and using private communication apps such as Signal due to the abuse of power in my home countries. She is aware that her government monitors all of WeChat, the popular Chinese communication app. She learned Chinese calligraphy at a young age (like 4 years old) which was really cool. ]]> 2022-06-07 12:47:16 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2213579802 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2213606757 Watch here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/013R3DgYG7KbCndIoO0iPjbqA

]]> 2022-06-07 13:11:35 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2213606757 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2214443734 I grew up going to Lebanon every summer. My favorite place was my grandma's house in the mountains. She gave us free reign of the place. My cousin and I always started by sweeping the entire courtyard of fallen leaves and pines. Then we'd throw water on the floor and squeegee it to make it spic and span. We'd then pluck lemons from the orchard and eat them whole. Our tongues burned after the first two XD. Sometimes, back in downtown, we'd throw said lemons from the 8th floor apartment onto passerby and cars. We were never repremanded unless a neighbor found out and complained to our grandma. ]]> 2022-06-08 03:58:18 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2214443734 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2218717543 Watch Here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0e4ZMet_CGKB-nluHd-Tx7c1g]]> 2022-06-12 18:52:30 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2218717543 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2218746388 Watch Here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/044o9aykH_arMW97vnd9ad4kQ]]> 2022-06-12 20:04:43 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2218746388 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2218875732 Watch Here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/05d0_rf6PN-_PDTObTW0Ne79g ]]> 2022-06-13 01:03:43 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2218875732 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2224292610 Watch Here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/00bxIVvdWI2iA5eMlNfS8gKVg 

]]> 2022-06-17 21:42:17 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2224292610 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2225866814 Watch Here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0410aHbAAWWBj_nnECGMgC-xw]]> 2022-06-20 15:13:48 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2225866814 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2225872994 I grew up in multiple countries around the world and attended multiple international schools with students from over 120 countries. We had a tremendous amount of exposure to different cultures and languages at a young age. We would play wall ball, soccer, basketball together. A team could consist players with no two players sharing a similar cultural background. There was no division of teams between people of similar ethnic or cultural backgrounds.  I can say with full confidence that due this type of childhood, we did not experience racism or white supremacy. ]]> 2022-06-20 15:22:02 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2225872994 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2225884562 Growing up, I would hang around my grandmother a lot. She would teach me how to cook and clean. I particularly remember that my cousin and I would throw water on the expansive patio and squeegee it. We would also pull the weeds from the yard and pluck the lemons from the garden. We would take the rug outside and hit it repeatedly with a broom to remove the dust. These are chores that can be considered to be feminine. 

When we had family gatherings, the men and women sat in separate living rooms. It was not considered appropriate for them to sit together unless the families were good friends or were of the same family. ]]> 2022-06-20 15:35:58 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2225884562 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230360504 I mentioned previously my international upbringing. Being surrounded with friends from so many countries, it's almost impossible to not be influenced by the various cultures. I learned hospitality from the Qataris, how to make good tea from the Indians, Arabic from all of my Arab friends (Egypt, Yemen, Syria, etc.), and rugby from the Australians among other things. 

This heavily influenced our community in regards to racism and multicultural understanding. Since we were no longer ignorant and arrogant of other cultures and ethnicity, racism did not exist. ]]> 2022-06-25 16:27:34 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230360504 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230363510 Watch Here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/096Ojk3T1JYIOkw7lzi8q4C8Q]]> 2022-06-25 16:37:33 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230363510 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230367314 Watch Here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/06bJZHvVyS65M9G44S_XZOsCQ]]> 2022-06-25 16:49:36 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230367314 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230371215 Watch Here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/09dL4_aX6xJIczpyEvri-ILrw]]> 2022-06-25 17:04:12 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230371215 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230373272 Watch Here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/01a5OEE5IiuyjW6nKSuTiLFoQ]]> 2022-06-25 17:12:32 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230373272 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230376393 Watch Here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/077V7wGEXHbmpiz_gi7xkBlsQ]]> 2022-06-25 17:24:11 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2230376393 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2231020223 My first language is English. When I moved to Qatar, I did not know Arabic, so I was not able to communicate effectively. I couldn't understand the road signs and food menus or have as-good conversations with the neighbors or even my extended family. Arabic is the language of the country, my family, and my religion. 

I started learning Arabic in 5th grade. As it got better, I could do all the things that I struggled with as mentioned previously. It's also allowed me to think more effectively as learning more than one language improves connections in the brain.]]> 2022-06-27 03:12:54 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2231020223 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2231026075 I have a friend who is blind. He is an old man who used to come to the mosque frequently. He knew everyone by their voice and always came early to prayer. Sometimes he would give the Athan. He would get places by taking the CapMetro Access bus that is basically a taxi for disabled people, or as they are called back in Qatar: people of determination. He stopped coming once Covid started because he is highly at risk.

The discussion in class made me remember this man and realize how much of a blessing it is to not be disabled and to be healthy. I can go where I please whenever I please and experience both the beauty and the ugliness. ]]> 2022-06-27 03:19:08 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2231026075 ennismsalam https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2239152461 2022-07-07 18:59:41 UTC https://padlet.com/ennismsalam/83nwc90n5sev3nk5/wish/2239152461