IELTS challenge

I hate those ironic pictures of IELTS students

IELTS is a horror movie to most students especially when their academic future depends on it.
When I joined university I took a TOFEL test instead and was pretty enough with my English level at that time to get me accepted in all colleges. Now that I graduated I wanted to keep my options open to possible future higher education pursuing so I decided to go through all the trouble now when I am somehow free rather than wait for a last minute chance to apply.

The challenge I'm gonna talk about is not an expected academic one but rather a challenge of getting passed harsh circumstances on the way to get the IELTS. I reached a point where I truly believe its not meant to be to take this test or worse I got hit by the evil eye lol

I tried to keep it a secret from many people that I'm planning to apply for IELTS simply cuz I wasn't sure if I'll take it now or then. Only my close family members and some of my workmates -who were so nosy to ask what I'm reviewing in my free time *pfffff* - got to know about the IELTS on my schedule.

When I went to register for the first time I took few hours off work and had to walk around a huge ancient university building to reach the IELTS center. When I finally got there I was given a bank account number to pay the fees and was not allowed to even reserve a seat or fill an application before that!:l

After work on the same day, I headed to the nearest bank which told me that an amount less than 1000 won't be accepted and that money exchange offices are more suitable for such transactions.

I went to the office which then said it won't work to transfer money to a university account I need a specific person name and turned me back to the bank I came from..(this is when I started to lose my temper) 

I went back and explained that to the lady and she asked me about which bank the account is under and so its easier to go there and pay (why u didn't say so from the beginning!!).. unfortunately that bank was already closed.. 

Due to work stress I couldn't find the time to go and pay so I was late by a week or so and thus missed the exam on January, yet I believe its for the best.

to cut the story short; I had to go back and forth for around 4 times to register and every time I forgot an important document unlike the usual me who comes fully prepared. First my ID was at home then it was expired. back for my passport and lastly the receipt as a prove of my payment !!!!!!!!!!! on the last time I started crying on the way back and bumped my head on the car door so hard while my husband trying to comfort me lol

I FINALLY reserved a day, the first of Feb ~

My sister in law happened to had the same exam with her friend and it was nice to have an experienced company on the day of exam. All the time I was praying to this last step to go smooth. 

when it was time to enter the exam hall we took a place at the beginning of the line and when it was my turn bad luck came knocking again !!! I was told that I need my ID not my passport as the lady reserved my seat using my ID before knowing its expired and forgot to replace it with my passport number instead !! I kept my nerves cool and left the line rushing to my car where I kept my ID. Although I was supposed to be from the first batch entering the hall I ended up at the last of the line =___=

there was around 10 rows and guess what!? my sister in law and her friend were at the second and me next to college students at the 10th row !!!!! still cool.

prayers on my mind while holding my disbelief from the series of bad luck doings happening at once. The exam coordinator was reading the guidelines for the exam meanwhile I started feeling like I need a visit to the toilet immediately ! WHY THE HELL did I had cornflakes with milk on an empty stomach! I was in a war wondering if there's time to go to the toilet now or wait for the breaks between each session. I took a risk and went with the first option. xD


luckily the listening part went great but when the reading part was being distributed the craziest shock came rushing !! Now I understood the meaning of "Genre: G " posted on my table, I was assigned for the GENERAL version of the test not the academic! Here I went nuts, "EXCUSE ME!! EXCUSE ME!! I registered for the academic test this is not what I registered for !!!" *freaking out*  the row examiner went rushing to the coordinator and explained the situation while I was like no way such a joke is playing on me oh god no please no I can't wait for 15 more days to retake another exam nor can I go through the long process of registration AGAIN!!

Thank god the drama ended by giving me the right version without questioning and I couldn't believe I handed in the papers and got out of that place finally

I went joking with my friends saying I'm sure my result will get lost somewhere in UK there is no way it can reach me smoothly lol

The results came in time and the series of drama ended with a big joy of getting band 8 out of 9 alhamdellah. :)

In this exam I learned the true meaning of fighting for something you want and working so hard to get it. It was such an unforgettable story that will keep me laughing whenever remembered. Did you had such a situation where you thought maybe its not meant to be but you made it anyways?

peace,
Amna

One Graduation Speech

Graduation speech is something I dreamt of ever since i joined the university and planned for around 6 months earlier, I worked so hard on writing my last words for university sake. To sum this long journey up. I'm quite proud I made this dream a reality to be remembered, so here is my graduation speech as requested :) 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Each year, we gather in the same time and place to celebrate the achievements of a fresh batch of graduates.

A graduation is marked as an ending step of a long educational journey

but this year I’d like to open it as a beginning of a life ahead!

Its simply a start of a new and exciting path, marked with change and transition.

First Impression
I still recall the first day I looked for the IT College.  It is almost as if  it happened yesterday.

How everything seemed so hard and complex, yet so cool. And with every hour with every step we took on the floor of CIT the picture got clearer and clearer

From taking the baby steps in programming shapes to getting involved in the latest research topics, and even competing in regional and national levels, we have come a long way.

Today we are proud, well educated graduates

Hardships
Roses never furnished the road to graduation; at least to those who seek outstanding and excellence.

When people asks me to tell them about the hardship level of studying for an IT degree

I would hesitate a lot to give an answer back and I would say it really depends on how much you wanna pay for it! You can dig deep into it or just walk on the surface just like anybody else. One can choose to be a small garden of knowledge or you can be a forest.

Yet all of those obstacles yielded the greatest lesson in life

If you dream it; you can achieve it!

We were taught to never say I can’t or I won’t but to replace it with I can and I WILL! And that you will never learn if you didn’t ask and fail once in a while

Where to go from here?
Moving on to discussing the adventurous journey that is about to begin as soon as we step out of this hall.

Where do we want to go from here?

What does the world expect from us?

I would like to quote Albert Einstein to inspire our new beginnings. He said: “try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value”.

Do not live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.

I am happy to note that we are already on this road. It’s a happy moment when I see my colleagues drifting away in various roads of interest to match their passion

One discovered herself in graphic designing and opened a business

And another got inspired to be a dedicated teacher to raise generations

Some appreciated their blesses and decided to be a volunteer for social causes

And many much more did stuff the time doesn’t allow me to mention

My inspiration
Before I conclude my speech I would like to speak about a humble person who gave me the paddle to move forward when I thought I no longer capable of giving more..

Who stayed by my side when the storms stroked by

A woman who despite her harsh circumstances never took away even my foolish childish hopes and dreams

A woman I couldn’t pay her favors for the last 23 years even if I wanted to

Because giving in a need is precious

Because a love of a mother nurtures, heals, covers and fills with nothing asked in return.

I am Amna Al Dhaheri because of my mother, my role model, my angel and my best friend

And all of my friends here are who they are because of their respectful mothers

Please stand up and show some respect

Gratitude List
There is nothing better than appreciating the kindness of others from the past on planning the road of tomorrow.

Because the poorest man who thinks god gave him all he is now to live individually.

Gratitude is a bless..

Gratitude is a must..

I convey the deepest gratitude and give thanks to:

-To my dear professors; those who are here and those who unfortunately left us before we can thank them

-To the guidance of our administration and the supportive dean

- To our beloved UAE University for opening the doors for us to gain the highest standard education found across the country

- To our graduates who made the batch 2008 stand out and definitely would continue to shine in the coming years

Conclusion
Finally, the note I would like to conclude with is; one of the best advices I ever came across was: money comes and goes, health and strength may fail, but no one can take away your knowledge.

Class of 2013, and all those who stood behind us, I thank you for helping me believe in this and I encourage you to never stop learning.

Walk tall and dream big.

And remember that with every goodbye comes another hello.

Peace,

Amna Al Dhaheri

Unexpected Interest in Architecture!

When I started my lifetime journey in deciding what I wanna be in the future I picked to be a scientist, I started going through encyclopaedias and getting frustrated on why our brain can't contain all the theories, pictures and information

I was a person who loved science in any form it came.

that trait's vibe stroked powerfully when I grew older, I didn't become a scientist as I dreamed to be, but I realised there is an alternative way to celebrate science as if it was my own!

respecting the work of others and building bridges of all those touching achievements and educating yourself more about them would make you a scientist, an intellectual human being!

working on this belief footsteps, I wanted to choose a cultural elective subject that would introduce me to a new field and there it was 

"Contemporary World Architecture Course"

a subject that mixes art in beautiful decorative pieces and science in balancing all these blocks on top of each other to fulfil its function with a lot of room for analytical thinking

and As expected I fell in love with many great buildings just like I would do to any valuable painting

Architecture gave me another angle to stare from when I wonder around the streets in future :)

My professor was such an inspiration, he visited various countries and paid all the magnificent buildings a visit so all his presentations were filled with personally taken pictures

How exciting can it be to go on reunion trips at one of the greatest building of the history

I think beside a religious building a breath taking building is as holy!

What was the architect thinking when he placed that column here and how he figured that such structure would stand against harsh circumstances?

and most surprisingly how one human being could manage to build a massive building so percisely!

Thats the beauty of Architecture !

Below are some of the inspirations I got out of this course:

Buildings: Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona by Gaudi

if you ever went to Spain, you should pass by this church because its not just a church it one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites! 

The work started back when Gaudi was assigned the project in 1883 and is still incomplete till nowadays!! can you believe that? a building that is being built over history and is expected to be done in 2026 !

Its really huge and complicatedly decorated reminding us of the gothic era, Gaudi made a wonderful job on every piece he laid his hands on over Barcelona ! 

much respect to this man, it will always be a dream to visit this place..

People: Frank Lloyed Wright

I fell for this man's arrogance because it was right in its place.

he didn't receive a formal education in decent architecture universities but he polished his skills on his own with a long experience and natural talent

When he spoke he knew what he was capable of and he saw himself ahead of time and space and dared to call himself immortal!

One inspiring story when he designed the Wax company offices and built a lily pad shape as a roof supported by thick columns that would go thinner at the ground level just as a stem to those pads. It made other architects worried on their stability, a very thin base column to support a huge round piece would go against the known architecture physics at that time! 

so they called for a live demonstration and a daring demonstration they got! that roof was able to hold 10 times it weight until it collapsed!

The view of the offices

I was trying to imagine his feelings watching the site workers add those weights to his structure, that could've been his career collapsing  over there not just a column but he was watching silently how his work came to prove his greatness!

"Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose the former and have seen no reason to change."
- Frank Lloyd Wright 

oh there are many other stuff I want to share but had to stop on these two! 

Currently I'm working on a final project of looking up one of the world's expos to write about. I never appreciated such events until I worked on them and found that it is somehow a festival of architecture !

Architects from different countries come together in one place to be given a chance to build a pavilion representing their country.

and now I wanna go back in time to Yeosu expo and analyze every single pavilion I went through! xD

 

so that was a dedication to an interesting subject I took this semester, what about you readers any influential subject you took this year? 

- Amna Al Dhaheri

A Graduate of UAEU !

ahhh~ May was such a busy month..

I barely had time to focus on writing and instead worked on more important matters like our game launching and preparing for our graduation party

However, I started finding that quality is more awarding than quantity and its what my blog stats shows ( thanks to everyone who took the time to read my posts I'm really touched)

and working on that belief I'm now writing a long post about Graduation 

I must say it was a long journey in college that lasted 5 years for me and even more for others 

last year I attended my friends graduation and now I'm exactly at their place!

we were blessed with amazing 43 graduates, unlike some graduations we were all one team and on the same page. no one complained nor troubled us

Although we were a bit disappointed that we had to plan everything on our own instead of having a decent already planned ceremony but we made it and it was worth shedding the sweat!

it was almost like planning a wedding from reserving the hall, tailoring the gowns, filming the videos, designing the invitations, ordering the buffet, contacting sponsors, printing certificates ... etc.

xD

Funny situations on Graduation Day:

 Amna leaves almost everything to the last minute, I got my gown first day of the week on Sunday and I was lucky to have the gown fitting perfectly on me so I didn't ask for modifications

but what was troubling me is the graduation dress! I decided there is no need for a new dress when I have a closet full of new dresses that were worn few times only but that stupid idea made me recklessly confident to the extent that I didn't check my dresses until a night before !

there was not a single dress that matched my blue greenish sash without making me look like a fashion disaster! I started freaking out especially that I had no time the following day, meeting early in the morning then a rehearsal at 11am I was screwed but I took the challenge to go head to head with time!

Next day I woke up got my flat shoes on and ran as fast as I could to meet my professor then rushed to meet the rest of graduates in the graduation hall.. I was one of the first group to arrive =__= *phewww*

 as soon as I knew all the details of the walk, the awarding, the speech I got excused and drove back home
My mom wanted to go last minute shopping with me but she couldn't got excused earlier than 2pm so I took our crazy maid along to Bawadi Mall

The poor woman I gave her a good run from one shop to another that it became a must to treat her to lunch afterwards lol

I went to Mango and the saleswoman came around to help, I took my sash out and with worried tone I said: "excuse me, I need help. I want a matching skirt or a dress for my graduation party!" My eyes fell on a very beautiful light blue sheer pleated skirt and it was the one I got later. she said my size was already sold out but then came running back as I browsed the store saying: "Maaaam ! you are lucky we have one piece left in store!"

"its the best choice" I thought after looking around all possible stores. In fitting room I got scolded for buying my dress at last minute, the lady was more worried than I am. haha I will never forget her help and worry over my graduation party :p

Later came the shoes picking, my friend would make me laugh most of the time as our taste rarely matches! noting that she came from Ethiopia she loved live bright colors and designs while I like calm and light ones

when it came to shoes we both were speechless! It was a white shoes against a golden glittery one.. and thats when the handsome salesman came offering his help. At that race I had no time and thus no shame too lol seriously its a relative relationship "less time less shame".
I threw the shy girl image in a valley behind and turned to him holding my blue skirt and said: "WHICH ONE?" *stretching my legs too* LOL
he said: "el abyad "The white one"" in lebanese accent *dies*
and the white one I got thanks to his direct stable opinion ~


I couldn't believe I finished shopping in around an hour I broke the record which gave me another hour to eat a large grilled sandwich like a cow at home (I didn't have a decent breakfast)

later I flew to the salon and unlike that hour everyday this time it was crowded by little girls getting ready for a wedding and staring at my hair and makeup


I got on my nerves when it came 5pm and I was still doing my hair.. I need to be in university around that time to take my photos
I got dressed and went to university and oh how lucky I was..
 the sun was almost gone
GREAT!
but the wind is giving us a refreshing blow dry!
OH CRAB!

I was struggling with new high heels and flying abaya with irritating contact lenses and dirt coming in my eyes!
HELP DESERTIFICATION !!

I was late but everyone else was too, shared guilt. nothing can be better.
and there stood all the beautiful graduates of 2013 having small talks and taking photos of themselves
I was rolling in joy but melting from heat formed by too many people in one place lol

we made it to hall and the night went peaceful onward


Speech moment:

I dreamt about this moment since I joined university and planned for it 6 months ago when I was in Korea I wrote my speech while imagining the moment and for that I worked so hard to bring this dream true

I'm really grateful to my friends who took the time to review my speech and encouraged me to go for it
it was as I wanted it to be

POWERFUL
INSPIRING
BEAUTIFUL 

Its weird cuz when I got on stage I didn't feel like I was there or was the one giving the speech I remember my legs shaking.
I didn't know why the audience were so quiet I had those fears of losing people's attention but it rapidly faded away when I asked for a stand in respect to all the mothers. They all responded fast which meant people were actually listening to what I was saying

those who stood so fast to even rise my head and look, that guy in front row who whipped his tears and my mom placing her hands over her chest in disbelief.. that image will forever be engraved in my memory.
 
it was a glorious moment. My legs were about to fail me from the mighty presence of the standing crowd I remember saying to myself: "Amna Al Dhaheri what did you just do?"


After Graduation Ceremony:

I drove back with my mom talking all the way about how happy and proud she is and me laughing cuz she is more touched than her graduated daughter

we stopped by a grocery store and asked for vanilla ice cream covered with chocolate and nuts on a stick and the shop keeper came back saying "only one is left!" We laughed so hard and mom said "its yours! its fate!" The guy laughed along terrified of what the hell are those two women laughing about hehe

I watched "Friends" till late hour and had a peaceful night throwing all the worries behind and blinding myself from the fact that I'm not officially a graduate yet until I submit those freaky projects and get those tough finals off my shoulders

Peace,
Amna

Our First Mobile Game!

I can't believe we actually made it this far, we managed to publish our first mobile game this week xD

we have been working on this game for almost a year as a senior graduation project !

when our interest shifted from robotics to gaming our dreams had a major shift too and we dreamed day and night of making the awesomest game in the history of the college !

and we came up with "Cooking Time" game !

main screen

now I know it may seem expected from girls to lean toward makeup and cooking games, me myself didn't think I would develop something like that when I'm 22 years old lol but when its fun and from the range of your interest pushing yourself forward gets easier 

we developed it to be the first Arabic game in Emirati accent so young users would love to explore something so close to what they know or see 

4 main Emirati dishes

Although we barely had the basic knowledge about gaming and almost zero skill with the massive resources on the Internet all excuses fade away 

and so we were so excited to check how well we did on the gaming field standards. Last week we participated in Mobile Application Contest (MAC) in Khalifa university-Abu Dhabi, and got 3rd prize with 10,000 AED and priceless positive feedback from users who loved the game ! ahhh so proud.

the marketing and documentation of our performance is what is left from the project and all our work will be paid afterwards !

I'm not gonna write much about the game so here is the game website where you can download the game and get more info:

http://cookingtimegame.weebly.com

it will soon be available in different app stores (as soon as we receive the approval)
and we have plans of offering different languages including English soon 

please support us, leave us your comments and enjoy our game! :)
Amna