Immigrants

In "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan, the dilemma of living as a Chinese immigrant is extensively portrayed, as Amy's mother faces difficulties in terms of acclimatizing to America's English language, which led to negative responses from society. In reality, it is common that when one's family settles into a new country, in which they are unaccustomed to, they must endure the frantic process of learning and absorbing the traditional language, which in this case is English.  This may comfort them afterwards, through feeling welcomed by society and blending in with everyone else. Amy's mother did learn the English language successfully in her point of view, yet chooses to use her own words and her own way of speaking, which the American society considers to be "broken". This unfortunately resulted in people taking advantage of her, thus causing Amy to take in charge of some of the upsetting situations. Amy uses her fluent English language and her mother's "broken" language to display society's response towards the use of different "Englishes".

Personally, I believe that these inhumane people had no right to mistreat her or single her out, and have no right to mistreat anyone else according to their English usage. Amy's mother should be respected, as she is a grown woman with a great mind. In fact, these coldhearted people should be understanding and cooperative in order to escalate her confidence in speaking English, and so that she feels no different from everyone else. Since they are American, and representing their people and country, treating immigrants that way displays their lack of hospitality, as Amy and her mother, as well as the rest of the immigrants in America, are considered to be their guests. It would be the same if an American immigrates to China, and the Chinese took advantage of his/her lack of fluency in the Chinese language. In actual fact, this entire story very much applies to my mother and I, but is the exact opposite, as my mother's "broken" English was accepted. When my family immigrated to Canada five years ago, I was very fluent in English, as I have been learning it since the early years of my childhood. However my mother on the other hand, was very hesitant towards the English language, and therefore decided to attend "English school" in Canada. She was very determined in learning English, and she successfully did. But she did face similar problems to Amy's mother in terms of speaking it, as it was also "broken". However, never once in those four years did she encounter people taking advantage of her, or judging her way of speaking. Actually, whenever she would be talking to someone over the phone or face to face, she always informs them beforehand that her language isn’t very good. But really they would respond: "Oh no no, don’t worry it is actually very good. I understand everything. Please continue…" This in fact, increased her confidence and fluency in English, and only made her better.

Therefore, when learning a new language in a new country, it should be very encouraging and educational, rather than stressful or embarrassing, to make their living conditions much comfortable. In terms of the American society, they considered language not only a tool of communication, but a sociological tool of measuring individual worth, which in my opinion is very frustrating towards the non-native speakers, as they should be treated equally to those that are native speaking. 

A Good Name

Dear Diary,

Today, by the light of the vivid yellow sun, I blissfully awaken to the splashing sound of the jewel-blue stream trickling across the serene countryside. In that moment, goosebumps immediately bloomed, and a boisterous electric current, transmitted through my veins, as I recalled that today I will be collecting my designed clothing pieces from the fashion designer.

As soon as I entered the little vintage shop, a huge smile cracked on the old lady's face, and a conversation instantaneously set off.

"So you're Deema", the lady exclaims. "What a beautiful name you got!"

"Why thank you", I responded politely.

"Where are you from Deema?" she immediately interrupts.

"I originate from Palestine, actually."

"Hmm…interesting. I am really wondering, what is the relation between your name and Palestine?"

The old lady had many unexpected yet exciting questions, "Actually, my name is considered to be very sacred in Palestine, as "Deema" signifies a rain cloud, heavy with blessed water or rain drops. There, they really value the rain, as it is their source of water for drinking, farming, washing, and for other basic uses."

She nods very slowly, and proceeds to handing me the many clothing pieces.

After my appointment was effectively done, I contemplated about her previously asked questions about my name and Palestine, as she really reminded me of how significant my name is to my culture and its linkage with my personal identity overall.

Marriage and Weddings in Palestine

Here we are, three weeks of Grade 11 have passed by in a heartbeat. Just yesterday, I was meandering through the sacred hills of Palestine. Oh how is it that time flies so fast?

This summer break was unbelievably joyous and exhilarating, as we visited over 200 of my Palestinian relatives, all living in the same small city of Hebron, creating unforgettable memories. Much of the city's summer break was spent in weddings, as it is the most event that occurs during the summer season so that the whole city (exaggeration) can attend, while having no school or work commitments for the majority. There are many steps in organizing a Palestinian marriage; first off, the parents of the bride and the groom play a major role in arranging the whole thing together. It is common for the mother of the groom to "look around for the appropriate girl for her son" or "his dream wife". Consequently, the mother of the bride, takes the role of introducing the couple, and then are left alone to get to know each other. If all goes well, the engagement or the "khotba" takes place in which the bride and the groom dress up and have a little party, and exchange rings,putting them on each other's right-hand ring finger. Religion does get involved later since common Islamic practices include the "reading of the fatiha" and the "katb il ktab", which finalize the marriage and creates a legal marriage contract. Additional parties for the bride take place before the wedding in celebration of her bridal and her "parting of friends and family".

Moving on, and taking a peak into the Palestine realm of weddings, everything starts from the very beginning of the morning, where the bride and her closest girls go to the salon to get her, as well as themselves, ready for the wedding (this takes all day until the time of the wedding). The same goes for the groom. Once the bride is done getting ready, she heads back home to get picked up by her groom in the decorated car; this is called the "zaffa", where the father brings down the bride from her home, while a group of drummers and singers are in the front yard chanting and the groom waiting to take her from her fathers' hand. Goodbyes are said then and a lot of tears come gushing down. Once they arrive to the wedding hall, where most of the city has already attended and waiting for the entrance of the bride and groom, all the dancing begins within the relatives and the groom. Guests will dance and sing with the newlywed couple, and the groom will sometimes be tossed in the air by friends. This continues on until the cutting of the cake takes place, which is several layers high. The dancing and partying lingers till the end of the night, in celebration of the new married couple.

This summer I personally witnessed the arranged marriage of a 15 year-old girl to a 28 year-old man. To me, it was devastating to see such a young girl sacrificing her education and teenage years for marriage. In addition, there is a 13 year gap between them, which is just not right. Then again, it is really common in Palestine, and everyone feels happy for them. I guess these are the Palestinian marriage traditions that I will have to get used to eventually.

Who am I?

Good morning,

As you may already know, my name is Deema. I originate from a tiny city named Hebron, located in Southern Palestine. All the way through the fifteen years of my existence, I moved to many parts around the world at a young age, which really influenced my character, my perspective on life, and my development as a teenager, over the years. Firstly, I was born in Cleveland, Ohio in the US, where I resided for less than a year after my birth. Then I moved to Jenin, located in Northern Palestine, in which we stayed in for two years. After that, I settled in Sharjah in the UAE for 8 years, which was during the majority of my childhood. Subsequently, my family and I decided on a whole new change by moving sixteen hours overseas to London, Ontario, Canada, which we lived in for four years. Finally after all the major moves, we came back to Abu Dhabi in the UAE, which was in the year 2015. Therefore, this makes it my second year that I have been in Abu Dhabi and in Raha International School. I have many interests in which include playing basketball, reading books, watching movies, writing creative pieces, interior design, and "DIY-ing things". I have many big, yet achievable dreams in which consist of successfully achieving the IB with a score above 40, getting accepted into a high-ranked university in Canada, mainly Toronto University to study medicine, attaining a high-paying job as a doctor, and finally live happily and connect with family. Despite my high expectations and visions in life, I have high hopes and determination in achieving them. I believe that as long as I am successful, while living happily, this would exceed my life goals. In addition to my life goals, language to me is a very huge part of my everyday life as I am very fluent in both Arabic and English, and speak both at home. But since Arabic is my mother tongue, I was taught English at a very young age, as my parents and I believe that it is a vital part of global communication. Ironically, I now face some struggles towards Arabic more than English. However, I am very grateful for learning English at a very young age as it has helped me a lot in my life, especially during the time period in which I lived in Canada. In addition, studying in Canadian universities, and most high-ranked universities in fact require English speaking students in which have a strong language. Therefore, studying language is vital in terms of writing and completing work at school and university.