Summer Vacation (Brought to you by Kempenski Soma Bay)

To start tgis blog off, I want to inform all of you that I miss you guys so so so much! Everyday I check my Instagram feed and see all of you in different countries, having fun which just puts a smile on m face. But nevertheless, I've also been having a blast with many of my loving friends and of course adoring Family.

Get ready... Put your swimsuits on and take the swim of your life with the amazing Lolo Cruise Ship, that is all inclusive and teaches you all about how Lolo's summer is going! (bubbles sound effects)

So litteraly my summer began the second my two beloved family members returned from Canada with great news for everyone. It was my mom and my older bro Zezo back to share news that my brother's operation that was undergoing had been succesful. Just this news changed my mood for the whole summer, gave me motivation and eventually caused our family to have a blast during these two  short months of vacation.

The first offical event throughout this vacation was the unforgettable week we spent at the North Coast (aka Sa7el for Egyptians) in La Vista Bay with my cousins and close friends, staying up till 6am playing cards. ;) Our daily routine was to wake up around 1pm, jump into the pool for about an hour then head to the beach for the rest of the day. Meanwhile my lovely grandma and mom are having a great time cooking their special meals that would leave all our mouths filled with joy and happiness in each bite.

Our second trip was a long one but it was definetly worth it. We went from Cairo to Soma Bay in Hurghada taking us supposedly around 5 hours but thanks to my dad's driving skills, we got there in 4 hours and a half. Love you baba! As soon as we got to Kemepenski (the hotel we were staying at), me and one of my favourite cousins named Ahmed, wento to the gift shop and bought snorkel gears and soon made our way to the beach. If it were for me to be a travel guide, I'd say that Soma Bay's beach is probably the best site for snorkeling in all of Egypt. Despite the amazing view and snorkelling experience, if you are a very picky eater that wants every food all at once, then Kempenski is the right hotel for you. Litteraly every single day was a different buffet with a different style, for example, the first day we went was Suchi Tueasday where we enjoyed an amazing experience of all you can eat sushi and Japenese food. The next couple of days were also a blast as we bought floaties and headed to the lazy river and soon to the spa. Now this a trip I will cherish forever and I am definetly looking forward to coming next year. Now this is no ad or anything but simply my love towards you Kempinski Soma Bay.

My next destination was only an hour drive away from Soma Bya and that last destination was El Gouna. Sadly, my family was not with me on this trip but I still had a blast as my friends that were with me were very caring and kind and for that I can truely call them family. At first, we didn't find the place as great as we thought it would be but the fun activities we've done there speaks otherwise. The first day was great, we slept in the whole day and in the evening we had dinner and called it a night. The following days, me and my bestfriend got to know the place a lot better and we ended up having loads of fun. First we went to pools followed by water slides and then some amusing lagoon activities. The watwer slides were fun and all but it might've been a little dangerous. me and my friend were going down at the same time but with no mat, and that resulted in getting my back burnt and leaving a mark till today. The best part of this trip was the lagoon water sports and the submarine trip. A few days before we leave, we booked a trip on a submarine where we got to see many new fish and coral reefs I had never seen before in the Red Sea. After so we went to the beach and we took canoeing and wind surfing lessons which taught all of us new skills. The last day before we left, we went to another resort to do some of the most fun activities like the fly fish and the donut.

As you can see, I've had a pretty intresting summer as I hope you've all had too. Share your memories that you have made this summer in the comments and I hope to see you all very soon on September 3rd the first day of Grade 9.

Who Makes The Rules?

Power changes from community to community, region to region, country to country and kingdom to kingdom, it all depend on how it is ruled. As for many different continents and differen countries there is a slight difference among one another. An example is the difference between the United States and Canada, as or the United States, it is the parliment that makes the laws and rules and the president executes them. For Canada, it is the rules made by the monarchy leader in general and the prime minister executes them and makes sure they are followed. There are many different places where their system is different such as the futuristic novel, "The Giver".

As for the very interesting novel The Giver, there is a very distinct lifestyle with different leaders and rulers. In the futuristic novel, there is no president or king or any of that, there are just the strict Elders. The Elders are very important in this community, they are the ones making up these concrete rules that may never be broken. In other countires or kingdoms, there are also strict rules but are not always followed and if there is failure to act upon the rules, there are warnings and consequences but not straight away death or as I can infer from the giver, "release".

In certain situations all around the world, there are exceptions and changes. As for a video I had watched in America, the simplest of problems, a mother of 3 went to court with a bullet in her leg for a parking ticket. Maybe this might not have been such an exception but a warm heart and an action of kindness. As for the judge, he let her go and not worry no more about that silly parking ticket. I can reflect on this by looking back at the situation Gabriel had and was given an extra year of Nurturing.

Nowadays, rules are made up and decided by parliment if the region is a democracy such as Egypt and USA. But for monarchies, the royal family is the one coming up with the many advanced and strict rules such as the British Empire and Saudi Arabia. It really depends on what part of the world you are at and that you are constantly following the rules and cautious of how severe the consequences may be.

Growing Up In A Digital Playground

Nowadays, everything is about technology! We live in a digital life! The way we behave, act and even dress is all impact from the social media that we live for. Social media can always be a fun place to entertain and learn but it can also be dangerous. As the quote says that there is no one on recess duty, no one knows what you might be doing that can be harmful to you and to others, such as cyberbullying.

You must always be safe on the internet, you might not know what can happen to you as a consequence or as revenge. When you are teasing someone online, it really bugs them as you are heavily affecting their social status which might mean the world to them. In return, that person you bullied will be back to haunt you soon and try to take revenge and ruin your social status. This process can escalate to the extreme and police may be involved and may suspend your internet usage.

There are many ways that educators can help us to avoid such aggressive behaviour online. A good tip for educators is to start by teaching their students how to use digital products by having a lesson where they head to the computer lab or receive iPads and are shown the way to be safe online. If teachers realize something suspicious about a student, they should immediately inform his/her parents so they can also be part of the online behaviour lesson. Educators should always be on the go searching for anything suspicious and warn the child or student. Parents must always be aware of their child's behaviour or the way they've dressed as it is probably an influence from any social media site.

As for the students themselves. They must always be aware that anything can go wrong online like hacks and share of passwords which can result in great problems. They must also know that being like some cool celebrity is not always the best, it can also cause cyberbullying against you and the words said can spread all over in just a couple of seconds. You must always stay safe on the internet and not share any personal information because as said earlier, the word spreads in a matter of seconds.

Sameness...Ft. Ms. Omenya

Sameness is a very large topic I can talk about for days, from groups to groups and from forms to forms. Sameness exists everywhere you go, whether you are at school, at the shopping mall, or in an airplane. Sameness means the lack of variety or similarity between everyone, whether someone is dressed the latest fashion along with several millions of people because The Kardashians wore that during the Oscars or that the style everyone wears, which brings us to one conclusion that people really are afraid to be distinct thinking they will be the odd ones out.

A great example is the celebrities' fashion taste, that all of a sudden we find millions of little Kanye Wests wearing his shoes which does not necessarily mean a bad thing it depends on why you are wearing such shoe. People might just buy the shoe to impress someone or don't want to be the odd one out which is a big NO NO. If you are buying such an expensive shoe because you like it, not because Kanye West wears them or the whole country's population wears them, then that is what is right. A big question that is always asked is whether or not sameness is found everywhere? YES, sameness can be found anywhere you go, whether you are in a public restroom or in a formal and fancy red carpet festival. Believe it or not, sameness is even present at every school. As for the school CISE, there are many different types of people, there are followers and leaders. Usually, followers are the ones in which sameness occurs most often with. If a very popular girl at school came with ripped jeans (during a non-uniform day) or so, next time you'll find 75% of her friends wearing the same "popular" outfit.

Another sameness example that is present nowadays in CISEand other international schools in Egypt, is the way people speak. Sometimes as you hang out with your friends, you'll realize that they've changed to someone that was not meant for them. A great example is how girls that speak perfect Arabic use English words while speaking with no matter who. They start of the first couple of words in the phrase in Arabic and by the end, the rest of the phrase is said in English. I have noticed this with many students at CISE and other international schools. As I stated earlier, no matter where you are, you will find sameness, but there will always be those few unique leaders that will stick to their moral and wear, talk, dance and party the way they like and no one can change that for them. If I have the pleasure to meet Ms. Omneya on an airplane, I'll look around and find all these people dressed semi-formally and have their faces dipped in makeup, and all of a sudden I'll find the one that is on a plane with flipflops, covered with her blanket, and that'll be my match. I used the example of Ms. Omneya because she is a leader and I don't think she would care less what people thought about her, with flip flops or with the latest shoes. I'm a leader, therefore, I also wouldn't care less what people thought about the way I look, talk, or dance.

Ps. Although Ms. Omneya is a leader and would ride an airplane with flipflops,  she ADMIRES the latest shoes, because she is wearing them for herself because she likes the way they look not to impress ANYONE.

Change of Morals

When it comes to facing a certain challenge, you always try your best to succeed in completing the task. When there’s such a competitive or rewarded challenge, it becomes the extreme to try and win and usually you are not considering all factors and maybe fall into a trap. You should always be very careful when it comes to making decisions and the way you will do your task while sticking to your moral and beliefs. 

Personally when it comes to facing a challenge, I may come out of my way or moral and do whatever it takes to complete the task. When there is a competitive task while facing others, I get this sense telling me that I must win and usually i do what it takes to meet my dream and beat the others. This is a bad habit of mine that I think I should get rid of. If I continue this habit of disobeying my good and behaved moral, I can still be a smart and intelligent boy but without annoying others or losing any friends. In my point of view, I think that what I do is a very bad thing because over the long run people won’t like to be around someone that’s self centered so I must change that attitude. Second of all, it doesn’t matter if I’m first or last, all that matters is what I am to myself, if I think I am number one without needing anything to prove so, then that’s what I really am. But if I think I’m not that great, I’ll always want to keep getting better and beating everyone, now this is when people change morals. But always note that, people may change to better morals not always to the bad. In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game”, Rainsford changes his moral to the worst, but in other cases like when you are influenced in a good way and start having manners and using polite words. Always keep in mind that not everything is to the worst but also to the better and never forget that we must look at the bright side of every little situation and moral. If you are confronted with challenges, do not change your moral to be the best, always know that you are the best inside of you, and nothing will get to you to let you change your moral.

An Inspiring Story

Every day we learn new things whether it is in direct such as at school or from life learning from our mistakes. Every little thing we do we learn something new from it, for example just by reading the fable about the rabbit and the turtle, we learn that slow and steady wins the race. Life is full of ups and downs, it might start with an up or a down. In the case of Mohed Altrad, it was a down that continued until he was about a teen when he realized he could do something with his life.

Mohed Altrad is a Syrian man that was upbrought by his grandmother as the rest of his family had gone where they can rest in peace. This young boy had no clue when he was born or how old he was. Mohed was not sent to school at all, in fact, he was working as a shepherd at that young age. It was his choice to walk 10 miles in the boiling sand to peek at a classroom through a hole in a wall. He was then welcomed into the classroom and was the smartest and most intelligent of those in his class. Due to his richer classmates' jealousy, they wanted to get rid of him and decided to through him in a hole in the hot desert. When he escaped, he decided to work even harder than he already was and got a scholarship to go study abroad. Of course, that scholarship gave him hope and motivation to keep going. As he arrived in Paris, France, this is when his luck had changed from going bottom-rock down to soaring up in the sky. He still had to work as a part-time job while doing his studies, to make a living and pay for his college tuition fees. It was time to let his hard work pay off, therefore he had decided to buy a company that was on the verge of bankruptcy. He then made a great fortune out of it and had been building his route upwards to someone he would have never imagined to be.

In Mohed Altrad's case, there are many themes that go along with his story as anything is possible. For example, we can also say that never give up keep going as Mohed kept going no matter what it took until he became a multi-millionaire. If you believe in something you must fight for it and eventually you will become it. As the youtube channel that uploaded this video says: "I can. I will." 

What's The Message?

In life, there are many situations where a person has to choose between right or wrong, and as explained by this quote that our reactions are what makes us who we are. Any conflict that happens is actually trying to test our temper, patience and tolerance, but of course, we don't realize so. No matter how big or how small that specific problem is, there is always a solution with many reactions to choose from.

As said, reactions make up who we are, for instance, if you are in a car accident and you come out of your Mercedez Benz, shouting at the man or woman who is responsible for the damage that happened to your car without even asking if they are okay or if they are injured, some unpleasant characteristics will know about you for the rest of your life. Usually, in such a condition, the driver that is less hurt goes to check on the mistaken driver's car, taking care of its passengers and calling the police and ambulance if it is severe. In the first situation, the driver comes barging out of the car blaming the other driver. Cleary the disrespectful driver was wearing a negative lens at the moment, maybe that one was just not right for him. In the second case, the man had fixed his broken lens and got some brand new positive ones. That's why people had appreciated better from that point onwards because he had what was right and remained calmed while helping others away from danger.

Changing your lens is not always to the better, unfortunately, it can be to the worse. Another way people can judge you by is whether you stick to your moral or not. People can switch morals, but must always consider all factors, usually, there are pros and cons nothing is perfectly right nor fully wrong. A great example of characters switching morals is the great hunter Rainsford, from the book "The Most Dangerous Games." Rainsford is being tested whether he will stick to his moral by hunting animals only for fun or actually hunting humans as a game. If Rainsford does change his moral and continues his game of hunting people, then it's like he does not have the will to say who he is with pride. The moral that Rainsford might switch to is just like putting a negative lens on, while he could leave his positive lenses on by sticking to his moral. After all, everyone has the freedom to respond to different situations, but always beware that there might some costs if a lens is just too negative. A good piece of advice is to always keep in mind that the way you respond to situations by using different lenses will reflect on your life, so next time you are picking out lenses make wise decisions to express the good character that is meant for you.