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.

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.

Somethings Others Did Not Know About Me

Honestly, I like to keep my school life away from my family life and social life. It is like I have different personalities around different people. It all depends on who you are with, you might be comfortable saying different things in front of certain people and shy or uncomfortable saying it in front of other people. That's why keeping your school life and social life is a great life tip that is working pretty well in my case. Usually, the people at school that meet me outside of school might notice some differences in how I act rather than being at school with very limited and precise boundaries. There are so many things that my social life friends (not school friends) could know about that my school do not know about. For example, my social friends back in Canada might have known that I am part Turkish as my grandma's mother was originally from Turkey. Of course, the society here in Egypt is a lot more different than the one in Canada, for example, citizens in Egypt are the nicest people you can ever meet, with there kind, warm hearts that keeps you going no matter what. Something that my school and social life friends might not have known about me is that I lived in the United States before I moved to Canada. I stayed in Dallas, Texas for three years exactly right after I was born. When you hear the name Texas, you'd probably think that we were some sort of cowboys, but actually no, we were just living a perfectly normal life like any human. A very interesting fact that no one knew about me was that I have switched many schools throughout my life, 6 to be exact, including the one and only CISE! I was such an adventurous child going from school to school, teacher to teacher, student to student, just this whole change all at once! This is my mysterious life that no one knows about, not telling anyone what my next move is, no one knows what'll happen tomorrow. Maybe I will become a very famous actor or a heroic figure, changing the world with all my mighty power wearing my shining armour. Who knows what comes next may be a turn-up or maybe and hopefully not a turn-down.

My Trip To Disneyland

In the summer of 2016, my father had this surprising yet exciting idea for a family trip but just not decided where yet. We were in Canada at the moment and were thinking maybe travel across Europe and on the other hand road trip across the United States of America. It was up to my youngest sister to decide where we went as she was the least to experience the fun me and my older siblings had upon childhood. Right when she knew that Disneyland was an option and that she could meet all her favourite princesses, she had made her decision and so my family, I, and family friends embarked on this breathtaking adventures to where dreams do come true.

As soon as we arrived at Orlando, Florida, where Disneyland was, it was evening so we headed straight to our hotel, The Caribe Royale, and checked in our backs and went for dinner in Universal Studios City Walk. My dad is not any man, he is the type of man that likes to adventure and get things done, therefore, our whole group would be woken up by father at seven o'clock in the morning in order to get ready and have breakfast and make it to the dream park by their opening time, nine o'clock. Every day my friend and I would be first to dress so we would make our way down to the mini cafe to get a headstart for the food, if that was done, by the time my parents came to the cafe, me and Ahmed, my best friend, would already be in the arcade winning d'em tickets.

The first dream park we went to the next day upon arriving was the Magical Kingdom in Disneyland where we played many rollercoasters and fun water activities like the ride when the whole family sits in a donut an are pushed with water turbines in a small narrow river and all end up getting soaked. Another game that I enjoyed riding was the Simpsons ride where we don't actually move from our spot but are seats are rock'in like crazy. And the funniest ride of all was the one where we entered a huge auditorium and there stood Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. as a stand-up comedian making us laugh our butts off. After the Magical Kingdom, we headed to the Animal Kingdom where we took pictures under the tree of life and danced to traditional African music while getting certain neon body paintings. We did not spend much time there as we had more interesting places to visit such as Universal Studios.

Next, we headed to Universal Studios where I enjoyed my time the most in. The first ride we took was the drop tower and that was nothing compared to the other rides. Our next stop was at those little shacks where we would stop at often to get lemonade, cinnamon sticks, pretzels and hot dogs, and don't forget these rechargeable cups that only last for a day. Next, we headed on this surprising ride named The Jurassic World where we sit on a boat and travel in a narrow river then all of a sudden enter a tunnel that is pitch black and fall a good feet down and splash into the water. Right after that, my mom fought with me because I got her all soaked as she didn't want to go on this ride but I encouraged her. Soon we went to have lunch in one of the restaurants within Universal Studios. Our next ride was never to be forgotten! It was the one where we stayed in line for this new ride called "Skull Island: Region of Kong " for around two hours and when it was our turn they said they're done for the day and gave each of us a Fastlane to any other ride. We made our way to the Harry Potter world, where we drank butterbeer and rode the most terrifying ride in my point of view
"The Dragon Challenge." Of course, we rode the original Harry Potter ride about two times due to its outstanding amusement and also because my mom had her eyes closed the whole ride in the first trial as she was scared. That night was my birthday, so my mom invited us to this amazing Steakhouse where we found a shirt signed by Pepe the soccer player as that was his local restaurant.

I really appreciate the hard effort my mom and dad put to this adventure to make it the most fun ever and to let my younger sister's dream come true. Of course, we visited many other places such as Sea World and Epcot. A very interesting event that happened was that I had met one of my favourite YouTubers in Universal studios which were a very exciting moment for my friends and I. I hope soon we will embark on a similar trip like this and even have more fun and blast it with the people we love the most because family and friends come before anything no matter what!

One Word 2018

This past year of 2018 actually wasn't that bad, though I did expect more to be honest, guess what we must always look on the bright side and appreciate what is given to us. I have no clue where to start, maybe school, or maybe jump straight into the fun stuff like vacation and weekends. If I was to label my 2018 with one word it will take me for ages to get the best suitable word, it would take some looking up to god and thinking inside and outside the box. Hmm, crazy, nooo that doesn't work out. Maybe fun, well no, not the whole year, someday it must come to study. Enthusiasm, yes that's the word, ENTHUSIASM. The year 2018 was an enthusiastic year with many surprises and ups and downs. Let's jump right into my first couple of months of 2018.

Just the ordinary, Sunday to Thursday work, work, work at school then study, study, study and a twist all of a sudden then repeat every week. I would never be expecting the twists that would happen, for I remember one of my favourite twists was when my mom surprised us out of nowhere and we all thought she was still back in Canada. We spent the rest of the week enjoying our time and celebrating enthusiastically the arrival of my mother. Other than some certain twists, I would be doing the ordinary and trying my best at school to one day put a forever lasting smile on my parents' faces.

Soon as the days went on, the spring break approached us enthusiastically and all of a sudden we were all the way in Canada with my older brother and my mom. Pretty crazy huh? I spent my time wisely there with my older brother as it was also a break for him, something called reading week for university students. Soon we were quickly headed into Ramadan, but thank god we didn't how to fast for as long as people in Canada had to, as we had returned back to Egypt by the end of the March break. As the weeks went on, we were coming to the end of the school year, when it was the most fun part of my grade 7. Every day we would return home one hour earlier than usual. Also, every week we would watch different movies with one of my favourite teachers, Mme. Wanda. My favourite movie was " The Greatest Showman" and I seriously encourage everyone to watch it.

Then comes the summer vacation where I meet many of my best friends and family. This year my family, friends and I travelled to a very fun place called Suma Bay at the coast of the Red Sea in Hurghada's direction. We had loads of fun there and we enthusiastically learnt how to dance different types of dances while at it, such as the Tango dance. I encourage everyone in Egypt and Visiting Egypt to go there for a few days. Trust me it is paradise. I am very grateful for my 2018 and hopefully, my 2019 will be as good and even betterer. My one word for 2019 is believe. I must believe that anything is possible and that hopefully if I believe, I believe that my 2019 will be a blast.

Anecdote #3

The Scariest Moment of My Life

Everyday at night something scary must happen right before I sleep or during my sleep whether it’s my spooky imagination or my nightmares. I get many nightmares maybe even more than dreams, I think it’s because of all the horror movies I watch and I reflect on during my sleep. Once I went to the movies with my cousins and siblings and decided to enter the spookiest movie there was, The Conjuring 3! This movie is about a possessed house with ghosts within it and there is a little girl that is getting infected by these ghosts. I watched this movie two years ago when I was in grade 6 and it was super scary that I jumped out of my seat in the theatre and I screamed loudly. All this happened because there was a terrifying par in the movie where there was an old man rocking on the chair in the reception and what was so unusual is that we have a similar chair in our living room, so when I would close my eyes to fall into sleep, I would picture the old man in my living room rocking on my chair! How creepy? Another time during my sleep, I would see myself back in Downtown Montreal in Canada and I would remember when a thief broke into our rented car and stole my older brother’s backpack, but with an extra twist. Now what is this “extra twist?” That extra twist was that I got kidnapped there and they man that stole the bag stole me and I tried forcing myself out his car but it wouldn’t work, then all of a sudden I would wake up and say, “ ohh, I just had the creepiest nightmare ever!!”

Anecdote #2

My Most Embarrassing Moment, Spring Concert

Everyone has had embarrassing moments and star of the show moments, it just happens naturally, but the embarrassing moment that happened to me was so unusual and unexpected. I’ve had many small embarrassing moments throughout my life like when I tell someone a secret and they go tell everyone behind my back, but those kindergarten days are over, now I’m traveling to the past in grade 4 when my most embarrassing moment takes time. Everyone will think that this was not embarrassing but trust me, you wouldn’t like to be in my shoes at that moment. Now let’s embark on a trip to the past with my exclusive time machine.

“Zzzzxoooommmmrrrooommm!!!” goes the machine as it is traveling at a speed of 1 year/sec! Just 4 seconds and we will be there as I’m in grade 8 now and we need to travel 4 years back to get to grade 4 back in Canada!! Quick Math!!

This is me 4 years back, during music class:

On one cold winter Monday, I went to school to learn and to get educated and be a successful man. In second period we had music class with the most hated teacher I had Ms. Raven, we were getting prepared for the Disney themed spring concert that was just around the corner. That day we were discussing the choreography to the song “Under the Sea” in the movie “Ariel.” There was a part in the dance were we would link elbows with the person next to us and luckily we were able to pick our partners. Of course I picked my Egyptian best friend, Mostafa, that I knew since I was born in Egypt, fortunately his family and him made their way to Canada a few years later and ended up living 5 minutes away. Thank god he ended up with me in the same school and yet, in the same class. Anyways, we ended up with each other, and it was a dream come true. Every music class we would practice and practice our dance till the day of the concert. 2 months have passed and there are 2 weeks left till the concert. It was great up until the notice of doom was brought up to me that my friend was traveling to Egypt with his mom for 3 weeks. The days went by quickly until there was 1 day left to the concert and it was the same day we had our dress rehearsal, and that’s when I realized that I was going to do the duo part all of the dance and I had to link elbows with the air and just swirl, while all the other students in class already had their partners. I tried telling Ms. Raven that I would not like to participate, but of course with her “ amazing” experience with children, she said it’s “ a big fat no! N O.” So the day of the concert came and I had to swirl all alone looking so stupid and looked like I am a loser and have no friends. It was so embarrassing! Now let’s travel to the future 4 years after grade 8 and search for any embarrassing moments and try to avoid them when their time comes.

“Zzzzzooooommmmmmmm!!”

Anecdote #1

One of The Most Exciting Things That Happened To Me

Everyday is a great and amazing day even though we might not even realize it, whether it's you that makes the best or the loved people around, like friends and family, and I am grateful for every second of my life. At the age of 10, everyday after school I would be happily anticipating my bus ride from school to my house to watch the most exciting and most helpful video of all, life hacks. There is a very known and prominent youtube channel named "Crazy Russian Hacker", in his channel you find a variety of videos containing different life hacks and DIY's, which is short for "Do It Yourself." Anyways, everyday I would watch his videos and I had the post notification bell on, so that whenever he uploads a new video, I would be among the first to watch. In summer of that year, my family though that it would be nicer if we reunited as a family and go to Orlando, Florida as it was the last year for my brother in Toronto because he had to leave for university in London, Ontario, plus my mother, sibling and I all lived together in Canada, while my dad lived in Egypt, so it was a great idea.  

Later when it was July 4th, it was our travel date along with our close family friends, we travelled to Florida for a good exciting 2 weeks and jump for Disneyland to Universal Studios and Sea World and just enjoy our time. The first week was amazing with some ups and Dows, but honestly, there are no words to explain how the second week went, it went from the best rides to simulating sky rockets and planes. On our last 3 days, we spent our time in Universal Studios and Harry Potter World and Universal Studios City Walk with many great mini shows on the run. When it was our last day but definitely not least, we decided is that the last thing we do is a memory that will never expire, to take a perfect picture in front of the Universal Studios globe, and that moment my dream came true. Other than all the exciting events I experienced throughout these 2 weeks, I met my favourite YouTuber, the Crazy Russian Hacker with his family enjoying their time as well. At first I wasn't sure if it was him but guess what, it definitely was. We took a picture with him in front of the big globe and it is for sure a memory that will never go and will always be kept with me in a safe place. (Soon I'll be uploading my picture with him but it'll take some searching.) 

Click here to check out his 10 Million subscribers channel!!