Back to London

Eid is over .My flight back to London is in few hours .I have spent some amazing time in the city I was born and raised in .I was surrounded by so much love and pride by people I had no idea they felt that way for me before now. Though,I wasn't particularly keen on the idea of visiting Baghdad before December, now it happened I have no regrets at all . In fact , I truly think (apart from what this visit did to my bank account) , I absolutely needed it .

After spending quite some time in the UK, I was kind of lost ..not literally ( though I m notoriously known of getting lost  but lets save this story for another time perhaps ).I don't enjoy dodging explosives in the streets of Baghdad but I discovered that I secretly like how it makes me appreciate life more. And suddenly all the frustrations of my current life in London seem irrelevant ,dull and empty . 

After being bullied at work , losing people I truly cared about and not particularly making the progress I aspired in regards of my higher education. 2013 in the UK hasn't been so nice to me so far . 

It is not that I haven't been discriminated against in the past and being an Iraqi I'd seen people I cared about getting killed or losing their senses after losing a family member or a loved one . And I certainly had my moments of uncertainly regarding my work and studies before I settled in the UK .

These few days in Baghdad have helped me understand the reason why the younger , less experienced me had faced challenges far more distressing yet managed to get the best out of it and did not feel as helpless as the older 'wiser!' me who is living in a safer, better place now . The answer is simple yet magical  its ' family and friends' 

And though I hadn't lost them but long distance relationships are not always as good and for me they are bound to failure. I have never been good at getting back to people and social networking isn't particularly my thing. I think I had survived before largely because of who I was surrounded by at the time . 

I am absolutely determined to turn things around now  I m reminded that I have been though far worse circumstances and I have done marvelously. I know I have people who love and support me no matter where I go .
Until next time ..keep smiling best friends x

my favorite mug 

I felt great when I saw my graduation photo still in place together with my sister's and my brother's
after my bedroom being turned into a utility room and absolutely everything I left in Baghdad given to charity (for Baraka!)

CCTV in the living room ..I believe its being normalized in Baghdad , no longer  big news to civilians !
you ought to take responsibility of your own safety 

The story of this Eid !

Happy Eid everyone !

So out of 4994 questions to cover for my test , I m  done with only 200. My exam is at the beginning of next month !
Why ?! It wasn't very relevant at this point so for the Eid, I m on leave, my legs are hurt so no travelling and  I was planning to do some serious catch up cramming ...perfect plan Right !
here is what happened

le me in London

A mere one hour into my plan and ...

an unexpected call 'Come to Baghdad now'

 I seriously didnt believe they want me to come only cos' they miss me !'

 booked the next available flight to Baghdad 'same evening'  

bought my grandpa his fav chocolate packed it with my laptop , some underwear and hit the airport !

I was still fasting , last day of Ramadan I thought , I can do it ..In retrospect , I should 've  broken it .Fasting while travelling, dont do it ! an unnecessary hardship

 

 Baghdad ,crystal clear sky ,43 Celius

The heat is good for the healing of my legs ( at least that's what I want to believe)!and  nothing ,I was busy worrying about my entire journey instead of revising for the test, was true ..It turned out , they truly just miss me ! Great 

wish me luck people I need it !

cheers :D

Arab Spring - Iraqi Version !

Tahrir Square -Baghdad -Iraq (I reckon it was taken in the 90s) 

 So the date was set , Friday 2nd August 2013 , the last Friday of Ramadan ,  Iraqi youth is no longer going to stay silent  # Iraq revolting  was the name chosen for the day in social media networks .The young activists organised the entire thing online and though many people were apprehended giving the fragile , tense security situation in Baghdad right now . It was decided that to put up with corruption , oppression and dictatorship is no longer an option  .
Time was set , right after Morning prayers
Place : Tahrir square , Baghdad
so its happening right now as I am typing this . I only know two people who are taking part of it , guess what ?! both of them got arrested earlier this morning .The government ,in my opinion, is freaking out .It can not even tolerate peaceful demonstrations ... Its a bit frustrating to be honest .

Earlier this morning , I was talking to a lady doctor who used to supervise my youth volunteer work back in Baghdad and she is so against all this . To be honest, I can not blame her and anyone whether they are pro and anti demonstrations , the situation in Baghdad is so tense at the moment .800 people were killed last month only ,3000 since April 2013 with civilian majority ! mainly because of the upcoming election . The people in Power want to stay in power and rivalry among different parties has reached its momentum . Add to this the Islamic insurgency groups .Baghdad is literally falling apart this Ramadan . May god's peace and mercy be with my family(or whats left of them) and all the families around the world who lack basic security rights .

Tahrir square -Baghdad February 2012 - in line with the Arab spring

Ramadan Diary

Hey again  !

Twice in one day that's so not me :P 

So since its Day 17 of Ramadan and I dont  think I am doing exceptionally great so far , I've decided to take things under control and start manage my time better ( not sure how blogging about it will help but I am blogging anyways !)

where am I so far ?

The last time I read it was like 2 weeks ago ! not so impressive

Amr Khaled  'The story of Islam in Spain' following his program online is one of my achievement !
great , inspirational (thumbs up)

I am so far behind in my exam preparation (embarrassingly behind) 

 Ahmed Shugairi 'Reflections 9.0' a program about activism and community commitment 'thumbs up'
 

'Arabs in America' a good thing about watching it on youtube is you get the chance to skip the cheesy parts of it but its good ,  Egyptian flavored (maybe too many of them but I cant complain its alright)   

My final Rota assessment is next week and the preparation is not that great ... 

One thing to add;  my broken leg is not a good enough excuse for not being on top of things especially that I am on a sick leave now and  totally pampered by my family ( I do nothing well other than chilling :D)

Alright so 60 minutes youtube ( which is never the case 'cause I always end up watching a small video here and a small video there ! ) plus chatting , surfing randomly online ..its out of control I have to admit :)

I dont have enough time to continue doing this anymore ...I need to prioritize my list to do and focus more ..

actually I ll leave you guys for now and start my time blocking 

cheers !

Surviving a broken leg

Hey there world ! 

Its been a while .. maybe because I am a bit caught up with the preparation for a test I want to sit this September ( Its not going great by the way !) and I currently don't have a 24 hour internet access ( I think anything less than 24 is a nightmare) which is a bit funny because when I was in Iraq , I always had one . Now that I am in the UK ..! what can I tell you ?!( well.. you have to start somewhere)  

So this Ramadan isn't exactly my bestest ! I broke my leg :/ how ? I tripped ( with my own legs !)

 and no I wasn't drunk ( I don't drink and its Ramadan! how could you think that :P)...

Simple things become daunting when you can not walk ! I made a huge mistake by telling my mum who once knew she decided to book a flight and come over ..thankfully I manage to convince her it isnt necessary. Same day few hours later (thanks to her of course), my phone didn't stop ringing as she managed to tell everyone she knows...
That same afternoon, after spending a good ten minute journey from my bed to the apartment door ..I was a bit taken back to see my aunt on my door step ( she lives a good one hour away and shes never visited me before)
'Yalla pack and lets go '
'hmm..'
'Yalla yalla ..'
'alright'
because I wasn't really sure how use those crutches ...guess what! I tripped one more time ..I know !
I ll leave you now ..

have a nice day 

A come back or !

so after a really really long time . I m finally blogging again (really excited about that ) :D .
I m not quite sure on what Im going to write exactly but you are going to see more photos for sure. And I m planning to make my blogs more regular .

Have a blessed Ramadan everyone