2011: A Review

     Well, it's not likely to be a year anyone will forget. All around the world events, whether natural or man-made have affected the lives of millions. In fact, billions is probably more accurate as in 2011 the world population hit 7,000,000,000 that's BILLION.

       Let's go back to the beginning shall we. 2011 started with a bomb attack on 2 churches in Alexandria during New Year services, shocking Egyptians and laying the groundwork for what was to begin a mere 24 days later. The desperate actions of a single man in a small city in Tunisia became the spark that was needed to make millions in the Arab world shake off decades of apathy and stand up to their leaders. How this will all pan out is yet to be seen, but I'm so glad that I'm here to see it instead of reading about it in a history book. For better or worse I can tell my children and grandchildren (presuming I ever have any) all about it. 

      The economic crisis focused on Europe and spread. The Occupy movement started with Occupy Wall Street and expanded to include cities and economic landmarks around the world.

       The UK in general and London in particular made international headlines twice in 2011, the first time in April for the Royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and then again in August because of the riots which swept from London to include several major UK cities. The riots surprised and horrified some, while others seemed surprised that they hadn't happened before. Either way, everyone agreed that the grief of one man certainly helped bring them to an end. Tariq Jahan lost his son Haroon during the riots in Birmingham, Haroon and two others (brothers) were killed in a hit and run in what appeared to be an anti-Muslim crime by members of an Afro-Caribbean gang. Jahan had tried desperately to revive his son himself. This is what he had to say; "I lost my son. Blacks, Asians, Whites - we all live in the same community. Why do we have to kill one another? Why are we doing this? Step forward if you want to lose your sons. Otherwise, calm down and go home - please."

   Osama Bin Laden was killed a decade after the 9/11 attacks. US forces pulled out of Iraq.

    Natural disasters included earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan. The Japanese earthquake in March was followed by a devastating tsunami. The most dangerous and worrying effect of which was the meltdown it caused at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The area is still contaminated and people have yet to be allowed to return after they were evacuated.

    There were floods in Asia and droughts in Africa. Again.

     2011 started with several dictators in place: Ben Ali (Tunisia), Mubarak (Egypt), Gaddafi (Libya), Saleh (Yemen), Kim Jung Il (N.Korea) and Mugabe (Zimbabwe). With 2 days till 2012, Mugabe is the only one left in power.

     On a personal note, I finished my Masters degree in education (woohoo me!) and started teaching full time and I voted in my first ever elections. My love life has remained uneventful, which considering everything that's been going on, is a relief. There was no time for romance during a revolution!

      What does 2012 have in store for us? The Olympics in London, Presidential elections in Egypt and the USA and if the Mayans are to be believed; the end of the world. Whatever's coming, it will be memorable!

My Review of The Fry Chronicles

The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As with a vast majority of Britain, I love Stephen Fry. His various Blackadder characters (especially the brown-nosing Melchett of Blackadder II), the school master in Gormenghast, the idiotic detective in Gosford Park. Not counting his sketches in A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Jeeves in Jeeves and Wooster (also with Hugh Laurie)and many many more. More recently QI and Twitter have been my source of all things Fryesque, not to mention the various documentaries he has produced and presented (the most recent being the fabulous Planet Word, a must see for any anglophone).

I have not-yet-read his first autobiography chronicling his early life; Moab Is My Washpot, but I grabbed at this one with both hands as soon as I saw it. My only regret is that I waited so long to actually read it.

I loved the whole thing from start to finish, his writing style is effortless (he would probably argue this) and makes for very easing reading. He pulls no punches when it comes to describing his weaknesses, and through this he becomes more human. The man behind the voice and brain is revealed and he is full of faults, racked with self-doubts and infinitely more likeable than his on-screen persona.

View all my reviews

What's in a name?

     The other week as I was booking my flight to the UK, I told the lady at the travel agents my name and then spelled it out for her. As we were waiting for the ticket and receipt to be printed she asked me whether my name was Nora or Noora as I had pronounced it Noora (I was speaking Arabic at the time) but spelled it Nora. This lead to me explaining that it's the way it's spelt on my birth certificate and it's easier for non-Arabic speakers to pronounce that way.

     I love the fact that my name sounds completely different, but still correct, depending on who's saying it. It's like I have two names that are both me; Nora has both Greek and English origins, the former means Light while the latter is honour. Noura (نورا)-of Arabic origin- is a derivative of Nour (which was my grandmother's name) which means light.


   So that's me, Nora, Noora, Noura, Norah, however you say it I'll answer!

An Ode To English Plurals.

I was sent this poem from a colleague today and I had to share. What a crazy language we speak, no wonder the kids we teach get confused!
Thanks Wendy!

AN ODE TO ENGLISH PLURALS

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
Neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England.
We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
We find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing,
Grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and
Get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English
Should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
While a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language
In which your house can burn up as it burns down,
In which you fill in a form by filling it out, and
In which an alarm goes off by going on.

And in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop?

The Royal Wedding

   Yes it's a bandwagon and yes I'm jumping on it! I was really looking forward to watching the wedding with my best friend while we munched on sugary treats. As it turned out though, one of my teacher training courses was scheduled to start that day so I ended up watching parts of it via a live stream online while I sat in class.

   I thought the whole thing was beautiful, Westminster Abbey looked wonderful, the greenery and plants inside and the way the red carpet accentuated the memorial to the unknown soldier, apt considering William's military career.

   Catherine (Kate) looked absolutely stunning, very elegant and regal. I noticed that while William looked quite nervous when he first arrived at the Abbey, once the service began he was calm.

   They looked  very happy together and in love and I wish them all the best of luck. 

Define Thyself

   This post is a response, of sorts, to Nikki's post HERE. The premise is simple' how do you define yourself?' What, as well as who, are you? So this is my attempt to define myself.

   I'm British. Then again I'm also Egyptian. I'm not particularly more one than the other, there are things I love and things that annoy me about both countries and both cultures. I may be shocked or even disapproving of something in one country that I wouldn't bat an eyelid at in the other. Over the past couple of years I have realised that I'm no longer trying to fit in to one in particular culture or identity, quite simply I am what I am, which is my own combination of what I see to be the best of both.

   I'm a Muslim, but while that's a big part of what/who I am it's by no means all I am. It's just one of the building blocks, a major one, but not really the corner stone.

   Since I left university, I've had a similar dilemma to Nikki. For years I was a student, studying was the main thing I did, despite anything else I may have done on the side. Now however, if you were to ask me I would say a teacher, even though I'm technically still a student teacher and am not actually in charge of my own class. I feel closer to a teacher than a student and hope to have my own class next academic year once I'm qualified.

   I enjoy writing, but first and foremost I'm a reader. Ever since my mum got me reading Enid Blyton as a child, I've read anything that interests me whether it's classic literature, "chick-lit", bestseller or online. I read for enjoyment which is the main reason I didn't want to study English at university, I didn't want to have to read something and then analyze it. I've started doing that more now, but only for myself.

   I'm a traveler at heart, but my funds are limiting me at the moment! One day though!

So that's me according to me: British. Egyptian. Muslim. Reader. Teacher. Optimist. Friend. Traveler. 

Royal Wedding

   In case you spent yesterday (Nov. 16th 2010) under a rock or just didn't turn on your T.V; Prince William is now engaged to long time girlfriend Kate Middleton.

  Yes, I know. Exciting stuff (and I absolutely, definitely did not watch at least an hour's worth of SkyNews coverage) but I have to admit, the thing I'm looking forward to the most is the wedding, the dress, Harry in full uniform at the wedding, nope, none of those. It's the merchandise! Apparently within minutes of the announcement some firms were preparing their cups, mugs, t-shirts, thimbles and God knows what else. I'm looking forward to trawling through websites trying to find the tackiest piece (IMPO) I can, feel free to join in and let me know what you find!

I probably will be getting a coin though. I'm sad that way.

CONGRATULATIONS WILLIAM AND KATE CATHERINE!!! (I wouldn't want your job for all the money in the world!)

Falafel in the land of Chips!

Greetings from the Great Smoke aka: London!!

  Just a quick note to let you all know that I'm currently in the capital and so far everything's been great!! Met up with the Irish Alexandrian a couple of times to take in some of the sights.

   Looking forward to heading to another capital city on Monday, Cardiff this time. Look out Wales FalafelandChips is on the way!!!

   More detalis of my trip so far willl be posted once I'm back in Cairo and will include:

• Report and pictures of the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival.
• Report and pictures of Tewkesbury Abbey.
• Report and pictures of The Tower of London.
• Report and pictures of Cardiff.
• Anything else I can think of!!

Blog to you all soon!

xx

Introduction and first mini rant.

Hello!

I'm typing this by candle-light as my neighbourhood has just plunged into darkness; an auspicious start for my blogging alter-ego! It's quite a romantic setting I suppose, although I do wish the unpredictable Egyptian electricians had found a way of having the country's air-conditioners wired so that they were never affected by these power cuts! BTW the unpredictability of Egyptian electricians, plumbers etc. is a topic for another day. It would be fairly long!

After that -slightly random- ramble allow me to introduce myself; my name, as you may have guessed, is falafel (no, really). I'm a British-Egyptian girl in my mid-twenties, born in England (Cheltenham), raised and currently living in Cairo. I graduated from the faculty of Pharmacy in June of 07 and by September had realized that none of the career paths available in the field appealed to me at all; so in October I applied for a position as a co-teacher at an international school, started the same day and haven't looked back! In fact before the lightswent out I was looking up MA courses in education in the UK, suffice to say, I'm in it for the long haul!

That's all for now,I'm sure it will be easier to get to know me as you read my blogs; whether they be in the form of a ramble, a rant or a fangirl 'squee!'

Myself.