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Volume 3 Issue 1 Zayed University College of Communication and Media Sciences

Escapade Issue 1

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Page 1: Escapade Issue 1

Volume 3Issue 1

Z a y e d U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e o f C o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d M e d i a S c i e n c e s

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Letter from the Editor

Co-EditorMaryam Al musoori

DesignersGhaya Al habtoorFatima AlbannaNouf Farid AlBastaki

SupervisorWilliam McCarthy

Suggestions, opinions,contributions, and letters to the editor are always welcome.

email:[email protected]

It is finally here! The issue to debut the new faces behind this masterpiece. It gives me great pleasure and pride to introduce the new Escapade Team! We have been courageous enough to take on this magazine from the previous team who have left us with nothing but big shoes to fill. The heart and soul that they have put into this is what has brought it to life, inspired, and moved us all, and for that I would like to dedicate our first issue to you. I truly respect each of you for all the work and passion you have brought to our table. You will always be the inspiration behind these pages. It is now time for a new team to continue the legacy and explore the world of Escapade. There is nowhere to go but up from here.

Noor Al FardanEditor in Chief

Escapade

ContributorsAlia Al MidfaFatma BujsaimFutaim BakhitHunoof HamadMaha YaqootMaryam AbdulazizMaryam YaqoobSamira JumaSara Al MadaniShaima EbrahimShoaq Al FardanShurouq Ahmed

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contents3 Changing The World One Shoe Box At A Time4 Meet a Pal5 Creating The Perfect Balance6 5 years in ZU7 Dubai Lynx Academy Competition8 Useless Facts9 Behind The Dark Room 11 ZU Wings & The Mystery of Colors13 Behind The YouTube Channel14 10 Little Things15 Sri Lanka Galle16 Just For Fun17 Events In ZU

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Alia Almidfa Sincerely,

What to place in a shoebox:ToothpasteToothbrush

Shampoo + soapShaving cream

DeodorantT-shirt (optional)

Small towel (optional)Cap (optional)

[email protected]

We, the Hala girls of the CCMS, have taken upon a mission.To change the world through philanthropy. Our most recent project is the “The Shoebox Ini-tiative.” This initiative benefits Dubai’s unsung heroes, the city’s laborers. Laborers in Dubai are often overlooked or ignored. We owe them our skyscrapers and our beautiful homes. So, we decided to give back and lend a hand to the men that built our city building after building. After some extensive research about laborers in the UAE and previous humanitarian efforts directed at them, we have come up with a list that sums up the laborers’ basic needs. It’s strange looking at all the things we take for granted every day, and realizing some people can-not afford them! The realization that a bar of soap can make a huge difference in a person’s life is humbling. Instead of donating money, we decided to give them their basic necessities. This is where the shoe box comes in. Each person willing to par-ticipate must assemble a shoebox with specific items, and give it back to us.We have received many shoe-boxes this semester. Stu-dents have been so gener-ous. Recently we received a donation of over 30 boxes!It has been so nice seeing ZU students involved in our little project.

Dear ZU-ers,If you wish to participate, you can drop off a shoebox any-time at the Hala Room. There is no deadline yet, but we will be announcing one soon.And no you don’t have to top off the record of 30 boxes, one is enough. If we got one shoebox from each student at the uni-versity, that would be a success! Some people have asked me, why the laborers? Why not benefit or-phans or schools or…? Yes, there are many problems in the world. Yes, there are a lot of people who need help.We decided to start at the very bottom of society’s food chain, and help the group that sel-dom receives any credit for their contribution to society.As Mother Teresa once said “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” It’s the smallest things in life that matter the most, or so they say. We hope this small thing will create a ripple effect that will benefit our society as a whole. We wish you would take part in our little project.

Member, Hala, College ofCommunication and Media Sciences

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I also chose it because they direct paths, which means they are able to refer students to particu-lar people whenever needed.

Originally, there were 61 applicants, but only 42 were chosen from the application form process. Then after the interview process 31 were chosen. At the end 18 students were the final choice. The 18 students come from different departments of the university that were carefully selected in a process of thorough group & individual inter-viewing. These students were selected based on their high GPAs, good standing, a minimum of 3 semesters, wide engagement with the ZU com-munity, and their communications skills.

Kelly stresses how important commitment is as he says “Without commitment, cracks will ap-pear, and that’s cancer”; pointing out that once one student starts playing around, the others will start as well.

After being chosen, the PALs went through a series of training workshops where they were trained about different topics such as: the importance of confidentiality, ethics, and professionalism, how to deal with students in certain situations, how to make referrals of students to other departments when needed, psychological & behavioral under-standing of the student, role-playing to help

Contact us:PALs Center #: 04-4021478E-mail: [email protected]: www.wix.com/Pals_zu/PALSCenterFaceBook: Pals ZU

Some PALs have already offered their services for the Careers Fair in

Dubai and have future plans to expand their involvement with other

university activities and events.

They are leading and setting examples of

good leaders.

Some girls are too shy to discuss personal problems with their

advisors, or are reluctant to deliver the right message in English to their advisors as they would in Arabic to

their friends.

At ZU we already talk to our friends about our personal problems and ask for their help, but wouldn’t it be great if we have students who are available to help us with our different concerns, be it academic-related or personal? Now ZU has brought you yet another successful program just to satisfy the students’ needs.

Many students’ concerns are about the fact that:

Peer Assistance Leaders Program was officially launched on March 13, 2011. The students were given certificates for completing the training pro-cess with the Associate Provost Bryan Gilroy. The members have all signed confidentiality, ethical, and professional agreements with the univer-sity and also signed letters of agreement with the project manager and PALs coordinator David Kelly.

They initially planned to name the program Peer Assistance Support Group (PAS), but then it was changed to Peer Assistance Leaders Program (PALs). Kelly has expressed his excitement for his promising project and stated that ,“I chose the word ‘Leader’ because PALs are ambassadors.”

understand student cases, and more. The pro-gram plans to hold future training workshops about tips for good communication and much more. PALs’ duties go further than just helping fellow students. They take an initial position in the next orientation by personally calling students who have applied to Zayed University and familiarize them with the new program. They will also meet parents to introduce them to the idea of the pro-gram as ambassadors.

By Shurouq Lashkri

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ashion is the trend of the latest clothes and shoes that are being advertised through media and lifestyle magazines. Nowadays the issue of fashion influence has become the most debated topic, with some ad-vocating against while others for it. From young adults and teenagers to older and more mature adults, fashion has greatly influenced their lives, dictating what they should eat and drink and what they should not. Another source of fashion inspiration is sought through admiring and copying whatever celebrities wear to show open-ing or in movies. Some people don’t even care if it fits their taste in clothes, since to them the celebrities are always right.

Fashion has had a great impact on the health of many people, affecting some negatively while others positively. The models depicted in the fashion maga-zines are normally so thin, that their bodies are way below the normal recommendation. What most people do not know is that the images presented in the magazines are computer-modified images where the hips are made more slender and the cheek bones are enhanced. These images affect a woman’s self-esteem negatively, when they try to look like the women in the magazines instead of appre-ciating what they already have.Some go on extreme diets while others become an-orexic or suffer from bulimia.This is so that they can achieve the same look that is being portrayed in pictures and the models featured on the runway.

A recent show by a famous for-mer model, Tyra Banks, focused on the issue of weight and fash-ion. She was quoted saying, “My weight is just a number, how I work it is all that counts.” Such shows help women embrace their body sizes positively and help them wear their curves well in appropriately fitting yet fashionable clothes that enhance their beauty through enhancing their curves. Such shows teach women how to eat and exercise healthily. They learn not to overdo things in the sense of trying to look like someone on a magazine cov-er. As Miss J, a member of the judge’s team from the Ameri-ca’s Top Model show once said, “One should walk with confi-dence in whatever one wears, the way one carries themselves is what matters, and what one wears does not matter.” This is quite true, whereby two people might buy the same outfit, but the one who believes in them-selves will look good in the outfit no matter their size than someone who is slimmer and does not have any confidence.

The whole fashion buzz has affected the self-esteem of most women negatively es-pecially the young ones. In an attempt to look like their fa-vourite models and celebrities some have turned to surgery, altering the way they look tofit those of their role models.All the same, the results are nev-er always satisfactory to them as

Fsome undergo countless num-bers of surgeries to try to change how they look. This in turn drains their finances and the re-lationships that exist between them, their family and their friends, further affecting their self-esteem. On the other hand, some people will try to change their lifestyle through embody-ing healthy living standards that some celebrities go through. For example, in an attempt to have the same beautiful skin as that of a celebrity, one might change what they eat from greasy fast food and snacks to healthier foods, like vegetables and fruits. Instead of changing the way they look surgically, they have opted to change what they eat and exercise instead of slack-ing around. Fashion that repre-sents the look of their favourite celebrities has inspired them positively and not negatively.

Today fashion is more provoca-tive than the way it was in the past. The images portrayed in the magazines are more reveal-ing of a woman’s body than pre-vious images in the past, where fashion was more conventional.Some women who view such images tend to think that this is how they should dress if they want to attract attention to themselves. What they fail to re-alize is that one does not have to wear skimpy clothes to attract attention in public. The modern look of fashion on the other hand has presented some with the confidence that they had lacked.

By :Hunoof Hamad

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I think that university is just the start of what you will face in the future. Studying at university also taught me how to rely on myself and complete my work and take responsibility for my actions. Also, it did not fail to get me to socialize with new people and learn the importance of sharing our knowledge and supporting each other.

These five years have been the best years of my life. Zayed University has made me a stronger person. I never knew that I could use my creative ideas and express them or have the courage to talk in front of so many people.

That was the begin-ning of my 5 year journey through Zayed University.

Many girls who will read this list will easily be able to relate to it. Some students think that uni-versity life is when they finally get their freedom after spend-ing years in school restricted by red lines and boundaries.

The experiences I have faced at ZU, all the way to my senior year, was more than I ever imagined I would experience during my lifetime. My writ-ing is a very small portion of what I went through compared to everything that happened to me during these years.

First, one of the most impor-tant things I have learnt in my 5 years of being here is to be independent in the way I think, my actions, and what I work on. Back during school days I had my teachers push me around and order me to do work, but in university this changes and you have to learn to become your own person.

Second, during my first year I was worried about how I would manage my studies at university and where this will all lead me. Will I be able to graduate or will I just stay for a year and then leave like some of my friends? With all my doubts, seeing myself af-ter spending 5 years studying, it still amazes me that I was able to pass all the obstacles. Now all I have left are a couple of months until I have to be ready to face the real world.

Here are some phrases that many students are familiar with:

Being LateProjectsExams

Warnings

Skipping

classes

Running away

to have lunch

somewhere

by Maryam Abdulaziz

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Fatma Al Ghaith and Mira Al Siri are both 4th year students at Zayed University. They specialize in creative advertising and PR at the College of Communication and Media Sciences. They joined a three-day educational international festival from 27th – 29th March, at the Dubai Lynx Academy. The annual festival ended with a competition where teams of 4 had to present a ‘pretend’ pitch on filtered water. Fatma Al Ghaith was part of the winning team while Mira Al Siri was part of the runner-up team.They both talk about their experiences in this competition and how CCMS helped them achieve it.

Mira Al Siri: “The academy was intertwined with the festival in a way that we would go to a couple of seminars that were in the festival, learn something from them, and discuss it with other people. We met with CEOs and creative directors of the festival, Leo Burnett and Marc Canning. We had people who are either studying advertising, marketing, copy righting or graphic design from Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, and oth-er nationalities. On the first day of the festival, we were distributed in 4 groups of 5 and everyone was from a different field of study. Being in a group with different majors enabled us to join powers and forces and everyone got out their best qualities and put them into play.”

Fatma Al Ghaith: “Yes, we used techniques such as Principles of PR, as well as things we’ve learnt from public speaking, for the presentation. They were pleased by our public speaking skills. We were also the only 2 groups that used Prezi for our presentations. Leo Burnett commented that he was impressed by the technological advances that we used to present.”

Fatma Al Ghaith: “It felt great, I actually didn’t expect it. They commented that the print ads were printed properly for this region and for the UAE.”

Give us a background of the program Did you use any methods that you learned from CCMS in ZU?

How did you feel when winning the competition?

I’m happy a ZU student

won this competition

and glad I was in the

runner upteam.

Mira Al Siri

Fatma Al Ghaith: “We were then given a case study, which was for Brita water filters. We had to come up with a PR campaign for Brita and submit it on the final day of the festival. We had to present the campaign to Leo Burnett and their creative directors, and other important people. Marilyn Roberts was our supervisor.”

By: Nouf Farid

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Fatma Al Ghaith: “Future plans would be to teach students more about advertising. Hav-ing a course designated to copyright. We don’t have all the mix for the advertising courses.”

Mira Al Siri: “This is something ZEIN would do. We would give them the campaign idea and see if they could expand on it. Since the Univer-sity spends up to 56 thousand dirhams on plas-tic cups, it would be a good idea to collaborate with Brita. Informing people about filtered wa-ter is essential, since some people in UAE don’t know it is safe to drink even after you filter it.”

Do you have any future plans to expand this campaign?

Fatma Al Ghaith: “The main problem was that we were located in different places. Most of them stayed at a hotel where they could meet up at different hours of the night, while we couldn’t. We were limited from 6 to 8 hours to meet up with our teams, while there were seminars and workshops in between. We also met up during our 10 to 15 minute lunch break. This made it difficult to discuss things about the campaign.”

Mira Al Siri: “They thought I was opinionated, they didn’t consider my opinion as a matter of fact. Some of my ideas were thrown in the trash. They were not used to having locals participate in these events”

Were there any problems you faced during the preparation of the campaign?

For every human, there are nearly 2 million ants

The perfect nap is 26 minutes

The Statue of Liberty was intended for Egypt

If you put Saturn in water, it would float

Michelangelo hated painting

Hong Kong has self-freezing Coke bottles

Buzz Lightyear’s original name

was Lunar Larry

The ‘average’ human is a 28-year-old, right-handed, Chinese man with a mobile phone and no bank account

It is illegal for a chicken to cross the road in Quitman, Georgia, USA

The lolipop was named after a horse

The longest game of

Monopoly lasted for 70 days straight

By: Shoaq Al Fardan

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cup

cup cover

film roller

film

roll pipe opener

ver wondered how pho-tographers managed to produce photographs

from their old cameras back then when digital cameras did not exist? Below is a guide of how you can produce images directly from your manual cam-era and unveils what lies behind the photography’s “Dark Room” in ZU. So buckle up, prepare the materials listed and lets roll!

E

NOTE: Step 1 and 2 must be done in “COMPLETE DARKNESS”! Yes… even a blackberry red light can RUIN your negative images! Why? Because the un-developed negative film inside is extremely sensitive to light. A spark of dim light may burn it thus producing plain dam-aged images. Don’t worry, with some practice you will get used to working in a dark room and it will be a piece of cake.

Take out film roller from camera and extract the film. On the bottom right hand

of the camera, take out the film and using the opener, take out the top part of the film roll (the part that has a head on top) and cut it open to take out the film

content of the roll slowly.

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2 Insert the film onto the film roller.When removing the film,

make sure you hold the film roll by its sides not directly on its face otherwise you will leave fingerprints on it and ruin the image. Hold it by the edge. Cut out the beginning short strip and then place the rest inside the roller where the lines inter-sect until it passes by the two circular dots. Hold both of your hands on the film roller and ro-tate it back and forth so that the film roll goes all the way inside the roller.

Place the film roll inside the roll pipe and insert it inside the cup.

When done, add the roll in the middle, make sure the wider end is facing down then place it in the cup and close it firmly so that no light would enter the cup.

3

Add the developer and stir for seven and a half minutes.

Add the developer mixture into the cup until it’s half full and lightly rotate the cup around for around 3 minutes non stop. Af-ter that give it a 3 second break and rotate it each minute along with 3 second break for the next 4 minutes. After you are done with it, pour the liquid in the sink.

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Add the fixer and stir for 30 secondsPour the fixer to the cup

and slightly rotate it for 30 sec-onds nonstop. When done pour the liquid in the sink.

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Add the stop bath, stir for seven and a half minutes

Just like the developer, pour the liquid into the cup until it’s half full and lightly rotate the cup around for around 3 min-utes non-stop. Ater that give it a 3 second break and rotate it each minute alone with a 3

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Prepare the photographic sheet. NOTE: for steps 10 and 11, you must work under the RED LIGHT MODE,

the sheet is also sensitive to regular light, mean-ing the sheet will also burn when exposed to the light.

Prepare the exposure machineSet the machine brightness, shutter speed of the projector so that you are

comfortable with the light and focus. When the light is ready press the Start button so the machine would project the negative image onto the photographic sheet (the image will be in-visible at that time so don’t worry about it)

Take out the sheet and wash it in the developer tray for 2 minutes. Move it to the fixative for 30 seconds, then to the

stop bath for 2 minutes. Finally leave the sheet in water for an hour. During the process the im-age will eventually show up in black and white (it usually takes place when you wash it in the developer),

By Shaima Ebrahim

second break for the next 4 min-utes. After you are done with it, pour it all out.

Wash with water for 20 minutes. Using the cup you have with

another measuring cup, add water to one of the cups, stir it and pour it to the second cup, and then back to the first one. Keep on doing that for 20 minutes. At the first 10 minute interval, replace the water with a cleaner one for a better re-sult and repeat the process for the next 10 minutes.

Take out film and leave it to dry.Using the squidgy, gently re-

move the water remains from the film, then use the clip hangers to hang it inside the cupboard. Leave it to dry.

Cut off the film in 6 sections and place it over the photo-graphic sheet (Must be done

under red light)

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8

9

10

11

12

Congratulations! You have successfully

developed black and white images out of your manual cam­

era!

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Facts about Wing EGreen is known as a relaxing color. It can make you feel relaxed and can help make your vision clearer. This is one of the reasons why factory walls are painted green. Staying in a green room or browsing a green website can be more unwinding and relaxing for people. Psychological fact:John Werner, a psychologist who studies vision at the University of California stated that doctors tend to wear green clothes when they perform surgery, because it helps doctors refresh their vision of red things such as blood. Deep focus on anything red in the surgery room can lead doctors to seeing distracting green illusions on white surfaces. These distracting floating spots will follow the surgeon’s gaze and affect the procedure. However, a doctor can avoid this by looking at green scrubs (medical uniform) to blend right in with the floating spots and stop them from affecting the surgery.

Tip: Girls if you’re having a really

bad day just exit from Wing F,

it might cheer you up!

If you find yourself stressed

out from your assignments,

pass by Wing E to release

some tension and relax!!!

Psychologists, like Dr. Ordtcham, agree that colors have a strong effect on human behavior and mentality. Therefore, doctors take the wall paintcolors in their hospitals seriously because it influences the patient’s mood. Well apparently, Zayed University is taking wall paint as seriously as the doctors. ZU’s wings have different colors, and each color has a psychological effect behind it. Let us discover the psychological effects behind every wing in ZU.

Facts about Wing FYellow is a two-sided weapon. If it is overused it can create feelings of frustration and anger. However if it is properly used, it can cheer up people’s spirit.Psychological fact:People are more likely to lose their tempers in yellow rooms and babies tend to cry more in yellow rooms. The color yellow represents self-confidence. People who are less confident tend to push themselves away from this color, because their subconscious mind knows that yellow is contradictory to their personality. Mothers who have insecure daughters are advised to dress them in yellow to emphasize and support their confidence.

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Facts about Wing DBlue rooms can make you calmer and feel more at ease. However, it could be depressing when it is over used. Psychological fact:When you wear blue, you leave an impression that you are loyal and trust worthy. It is recommended that you choose to wear blue if you are attending any political meetings or job interviews, because the interviewer may unconsciously trust you more.

Facts about Wing CPurple is a mixture of red and blue. It combines both the strength and power of red, and the calmness and tranquil effect of blue. Psychological fact:Purple could reflect elegance, wealth and authority of those who prefer this color.

Facts about Wing BThe color orange helps open up people’s appetite to food. This is why it is often used in dining room.Psychological fact:It is not recommended to have a lot of orange in bedrooms because it might cause anxiety. The reason behind this is that it’s part of the color red. Orange and red are both taken from the sun, and sunny colors give energy and are considered to be useful in daylight, not at night.

Tip: If your friend is having trust

issues with you, just have a heart-to-

heart talk in Wing D!

Having fashion problems? You want

to feel classic and elegant for a day?

Just pass by Wing C

Can’t keep your eyes open for your

morning classes? Park your car in wing

B to energize yourself for the whole

day!

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As we grow and experience university, we real-ize that we don’t learn everything from books and classrooms; sometimes our education and knowledge requires us to go beyond that. Zayed University understood the importance of that re-alization, and hence the extra activities and proj-ects they get us involved in. The College of Communication and Media Scienc-es has recently announced its collaboration with the Majid Bin Mohammed Youth Media Award; an annual award that goes out to the winners of their five categories: best TV/Radio host, best journal-ist, best video, best graphic design, and best pho-tojournalism. The award aims to bring out the youth in the media industry and give them the support and encouragement they need to carry on with what they are passionate about.

By: Fatma Bujsaimchannel

www.youtube.com/user/MajidMediaAwards @MediaAward

Interacting with people like them has taught us a lot in itself, whether it was in learning how to deal with them or just by listening to their expe-rience. It has also been a great networking expe-rience for us as students.

one of the students working on the project, “and a golden chance for any ambitious Emirati media student who wants to develop his/her skills. So far,

Our experience so far is like being in a boot camp; we learned how to handle professional cameras, conduct professional interviews, and edit those videos in the smoothest way possible in a very short period of time thanks to Giorgio Ungania, the Executive Director at Zayed University Media Initiative. Some of us had the basic skills to begin with and some of us weren’t as privileged, but we learned to work in a team that got things done as fast as possible with the best outcome.

We have already grasped so much when we are not even half way through, and there is still a lot more to be learnt through this award. We encour-age people who have a passion for challenges to participate and join activities that the university provides, and take these opportunities because

It’s a golden experience!said Futtaim Al Falasi,

« «

I gained a lot that will be useful to me in the media

field in the future.

««

We have been interviewing important Emirati figures in the media industry such as the TV host and actor Saood Al Kaabi, creator of FREEJ Mo-hammed Saeed Harib, and Ahmed Arshi, script-writer and novelist.

we gain a lot from them; things that we cannot be

taught in the classroom itself.

What I have learned in one week, from this project, is more than what I could have learned in a semester, from a book. COM 315, Media Storytelling II taught by Pro-fessor Cathy Strong, has become the social media team for the youth award where we are working on the awards’ official YouTube channel and twitter.

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In life, we unconsciously experience little things and situations everyday without realizing that these small incidents could be something that we should be grateful for. However, it’s always the smallest things that count and make a difference.

Holding doors for strangers who say ‘Thank you’

2

3

4

5

This happens every day, especially when you’re rushing around university. Even when you least expect a reply, a complete stranger says ‘Thank you’. Although this moment lasts for a couple of seconds, it makes a big difference to a lot of people.

When someone remembers things you’ve said

You may not know her well, but it means a lot to you when she remembers things you have mentioned once.

Getting positive feedback on an essay you worked hard on

Seeing an ‘A’ on an essay that took you all night to finish, gives you that great feeling of satisfaction and motivation.

Looking at old photographs

Looking through old albums and yearbooks with your family and friends and reliving moments always makes for a good laugh.

When you finally remember what you came in the room for

When there are many things going on in your mind; you tend to forget what you are looking for and find it difficult to remember. You start wondering around the room until you remember what you are looking for.

Hearing your favorite song on the radio

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You probably have the song on your iPod and you listen to it every day, but when it’s played on the

radio, it gets you excited as if you’re hearing it for the very first time.

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8

9

10Forgetting to set the alarm, and waking up just in time

We all forget to set the alarm on some days and this either leads to waking up late or

missing classes. The best part is when you forget to set it and still manage to wake up on the exact time or maybe a few minutes

earlier.

Finding out that someone does the same weird things that you do

You have a weird habit that you do all the time and you think you might be the only one who does it. Later, you find out

that someone else does the same strange things that you do.

Reading old conversationsReading old conversations and messages on

your phone that remind you of old memories and easily draw a smile on your face.

The moment you find a comfortable sleeping position

There are nights when you cannot sleep and you keep changing positions. Then

after hours of tossing and turning you find this comfortable position to sleep in.

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On the 23rd of March this year, we travelled to Sri Lanka to volunteer in building houses for the poor people organized by a non-profit organization called Habitat For Humanity. I must say that this has been a marvelous op-portunity for us to be a part of something that could cause an impact on peoples’ lives after the crisis caused by the tsunami. Unlike other charity organizations, this not only required me to financially help the villagers out, it also allowed me to physically construct and build a house for the less fortunate from scratch.

As soon as we reached Galle, our travel guide introduced us to the family whom we would help build the house and the professional construction workers that would guide us through building the houses for the families. We did many different jobs starting from dig-ging holes around the area to placing boul-ders. We then moved on to creating a cement mixture from mud, rocks and wet stones. The challenging stage was carrying and moving around concrete bricks and stones because they were heavy. However, attaching them to-gether and building layers of concrete was the best part because we felt the progress of building the house just like using Lego pieces.

On our day off, we went on a safari boat trip around the islands of Galle. We explored the Cinnamon Island where villagers explained how cinnamon is made and the uses for it. During the safari boat trip we met more villag-ers traveling on their own boats; a fisherman

and a child who introduced us to his monkey. The next stop was a different boat ride where the surface was made out of glass to en-able us to see the beautiful underwater view. As for the other days, we spent our 8 hours per day building in order to catch up to our goal. During the short breaks, the family members invited us to their playground and the kids taught us how to play their popular sports game called cricket. The children were excited about playing against us, and of course we lost to them. We were given coconuts and grape-fruit straight from the trees as part of their hospitality. Every day after work and dinner, we took ad-vantage of time and walked around the streets of Galle and explored new areas.

On the last day of work, we managed to almost finish building one house and started preparing for the cer-emony organized by the family we helped . We were given certificates of appreciation and took part in the opening of their new house that we built for them.There were many performances done starting from ‘the Sri Lankan water dance’ to ‘the devil dance’ and children singing about motherly love. We were given the opportunity to sing our national anthem. We end-ed the night by having dinner with all four families.

By Shaima Ibrahim

My trip to Sri Lanka was amazing. Helping a family in

need was amazing. The experience of building cannot

be described, and after the dedication ceremony the eyes

of the owner said it all.

“Al Zahra Al Numairy

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By: Ghaya Sultan

Start

FIND THE REFLECTION OF THE MIRROR

By Shaima Ibrahim

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• 23rd & 24th Green Transportation & Logistic Conference

• 28th ZU Ice Cream Social

• Zayed University Carnival

•27th Signing Ceremony: Endowed Professorships & Du Multimedia Laboratories

• 18th Visiting artist Udo Rutschmann’s

Lecture • 21st • Health Fair • Security Awareness Event

• Assistive Technology in Communication

for People with Disabilities

• CCMS students in Qatar

Debate lecture 23 - 28

• 28th National Library Week

• Piano Concert

20th April

• 2nd & 3rd Club Festival

• 2nd Electronics Recycling

•6th HH Sheikh Mohamed bin

Zayed tours ZU

•15th The Wonders of World

Architecture

•21st ITIL V3 World Wide

standard Factor

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In memory of Maryam Mirza.

Page 20: Escapade Issue 1

Aysha Saif Al Hamrani