CHILDREN what is so different about them?

  Different societies have different ways in raising their children based on their culture and values. This results in different types of children among the different types of cultures.

   In America, I got to observe the children thorough doing mu community service hours in the children care center. And the first thing I noticed about the way they are raised is responsibility and independence. They teacher emphasizes these values, through making them cleaning there toys and arranging them without any help, wearing and zipping their coats, and cleaning their table after eating. I think that is a great way of raising the children. Besides, I noticed that the children opinions are appreciated, the teacher asks the children to choice the story they want her to read through voting. This way will defiantly prepare them for future elections and voting.  The only thing that I disliked about the children here is that they are given allot of freedom and less punishment for their mistakes.  This actually resulted in children who do not respect their parents to the extent they are suppose to. Which could be solved with more discipline.

    They way the Omani children are raised is not completely different from the way they raised in the US. Although the children in my country are raised to express their opinions and to depend on their selves, but it is at less degree.  but in general the educational institutions focus on these points. But sometimes it is the house that destroys what the schools try to build. Especially with high rate of maids at the houses, the children find it humiliating to clean classrooms or the yards when the teacher ask them to do that. We hope in the coming future such values become more valued in our society.         

Election in Oman and the US

   The election concept is reinforced by our religion Islam. Because, it is the people right to choose who rules them.  But in my country it has a monarchy government where the president inherit the presidency form his father. But this system was not always the dominant system. But for the last forty years we have the same president.

   But we have only one election for the Shura Council. This council has representatives from every city according to the population. And they are elected by the people for 4 years but the possibility to renew the term. The representative job is to present the citizens problems and concerns.  But in America there are many elections like the presidential election and the congress elections. And it is considered as a important part of this country.   

   The way they are elected is almost the same as here where people go to polling stations with some sort of identity. Then they need to fill in some forms. Although there is always campaign before the Election Day, It is not as big as here. Beside, the election age is different. In America people can vote when there are 18 years old. But in my country you need to be 21 to vote.

The families in the US and Oman are they different?!

    Family is the core of the societies.  It is the family values that shape the entire society. The difference between the American society and the Omani society reflects the difference in the family system. The American society is based on the ideals of independence and individualism. And that is very prominent in the American family. The kids are raised will little or no punishment over their mistakes because punishment is illegal. Besides, kids relay on their parents till certain age  where they should start depending upon themselves. And some families end up asking their daughters and sons to leave the house. They start working at eerily age to bay their own tuitions and life expenses. And old parents almost always end up in a nursery house.

   This family picture is completely different from our family picture. We are raised to value collectivism and group work. There is a different way of how we view independence. The families are big of an average five kids in each family.  There is no time limit to which they stop spending and supporting us. Especially girls, they can live with their parents forever if they want. And even boys, their parents continue supporting them even after they start work. They sometimes build their families in their parents’ house.  And eventually, it is the kids who should care about their parents when they are old. It is the kids’ duty to pay them back some of their hard work in raising them. But in this term, it is the Islamic religion that played a big role in creating this value, of parents caring and respect. Parents are highly respected in our societies.

   Marriage is a sacred relation that should be taken seriously by the couples. They should consider and understand the responsibility of such a decision. In our religion and culture there is no place for relations before marriage. In my country the divorce rate is very low. And divorce wouldn’t happen unless in a very complicated and serious cases. And it is still the responsibility of both parents to raise the kids if they happen to have any. And it is the father who should pay the kids expenses every month. On the other hand, Divorce is very high in the US. The families are less stable than in my country. There is a huge number of single parents. And divorce became a normal part of living in this society.

African-American " equality fighters"

    The African-American are those who had been brought from Africa as slaves against their will. Being slaves for a long time and having a dark skin made it difficult for them to assimilate into the American society. They fought for a long time to get their freedom and equability. It started with the civil war on 1861, which put an end to the black slavery in the United States.  But segregations continued against the black people. The African-American suffering remained until the civil right movement which lasted from 1950 until 1960. During this movement two significant laws were passed, that opened the freedom gate from the African-Americans. The civil right movement ended the segregation against the black people in public facilities, and gave them the right to vote in elections. These two laws provided a big push toward assimilating the African-American in the American society.

   Unfortunately, segregation and discrimination against the black people is still present in the 21 century.   More black people still trapped in poverty and they gain lower income than the white. Besides, the majority of the black people become the victims of violent crimes.

   In brief, the fight for equality of life for the black people continues in the equality and freedom nation.    

My rope course experience

    Challenge is the sprit that  pushes the person  beyond his expectations and limitations. The rope course was an interesting challenge. It was a wonderful experience. Each game taught me something that can help me throughout my challenges in this life. In the first game, in which we had to work with a partner, I learned that being with others require me to help them see what they can see in the life and vice versa. Besides, it taught me that I should trust others to the degree they trust me, to accomplish our mutual goals. In the second game, in which we  had to stand on the square,  squashed together at the top of the mountain, I learned that we can save ourselves and others, if we can use what we have wisely. We should think carefully and consult others when making decisions. In the third game, the spider web game, I learned that when having a problem, we shouldn't think only about how to get ourselves only, but we should think about others too. Saving one's self selfishly  might result in leaving others in the problem forever.  In the fourth game, where we had to arrange ourselves according to the date of birth silently. I learned that words aren't the only mean of communication. A great deal of information carried out through nonverbal gestures. And since we are from different countries and we speak different languages, this game showed that gestures can be affective when communicating with people whom we don't speak their language. Especially when visiting a foreign country, sign language can be useful to get by, if we don't share any spoken language with the person we speak to.

    The rope course was a good experience for the class as a whole. Through this experience we got to know each other more.  It unified the class by getting us to work together to solve one problem. Besides, through this experience we learned a new thing about the personalities of each of the class members in terms of leadership.

   In my country Oman, the rope course is available in some parks. We also have it during festivals, as a corner in the festival where people compete in pairs or groups to when prizes. But we don't have in the universities.    

homecoming

     Being in a new culture allows you to experience a variety of new things. Homecoming is one of the new experiences that I got to see in this university.

I heard allot about homecoming week without knowing what it means, and what is so special about it. I could see the intensive preparations that were taking place. And out curiosity, I asked about his mysterious event that was about to take place. At first, I have been told that homecoming is a welcoming event for graduate students who come back to their university.

  But from what I experienced, homecoming far more than that. Homecoming is one of the biggest annual celebrations of the year in the university. It is an event for all the students and the people in the community too. It is an event of allot of amazing and entertaining activities.

The most important part of it is the American football. Allot of students participated in the preparations of this important part of homecoming. Because everyone - students and residents- were looking forward to it. The marching band was the most amazing part. All the people were excited despite the unfortunate cold weather that day, which reflects the big love for this game.

   The parade was an interesting part of homecoming too. Having the band marching along water street , with people cheering one both sides of the street , was amazing.

   Another interesting fact that I discovered about homecoming weekend is that it is considered as a drinking weekend by many students. Students tend to drink far more than they normally do. They drink throughout the weekends without stopping.  That seems weird.

   In general I liked the cooperative and the dedicative work of the students to make that event look the way it looked. I also liked the great involvement of both the students and the residence in attending the different activates with full enthusiasm. It was  really a great event  to have fun with other  people. 

State Theatre (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

The State Theatre is a nonprofit venue for the performing arts and entertainment, located in downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin with seating for 1100 people. It was first opened as a vaudeville theatre in 1926, then several years later converted to a movie house that closed in 1982. In 1984 the Theatre was donated to a group of arts-minded community members called the Eau Claire Regional Arts Council to create a center for artistic expression. After a significant renovation it reopened the doors in 1986. It is now used by a number of local performing arts organizations including: Chippewa Valley Symphony, Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild, Chippewa Valley Youth Choirs, Eau Claire Children's Theatre, Valley Gospel Choir and UW - Eau Claire.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Theatre_(Eau_Claire,_Wisconsin)

It was interesting to see such an old theatre that is about 84 years old. It doesn’t seem that old from the outside.  I really wanted to see it from the inside to experience the history it holds between its walls, but it was closed. Maybe one day I have the chance.