Speak Like an Emarati with Great Praise

Ana far7aana. 5l9t el class kaif armis emirati. (I'm happy. I completed the how to speak Emarati class) I graduated "magna cum laude" from Level 1, wallah (I swear) because only 2 out of 10 students have attended the exam-graduation Sunday night. LOL

I feel like I know a lot. I guess it's the Shaima-factor. She is good and effective teacher and has a sense of humor (she is a comedienne). I vouch that her teaching method (language + culture + humor) really does work. She also shares techniques that will make learning easier. I really enjoyed the whole thing to the hilt. I finished level 1, being able to compose, speak and understand simple Emirati Arabic sentences and feeling hopeful about being able to speak the accent with confidence soon. Can't wait to take it to the next level..

FRIDAY is my 2nd favorite F word...

...next to FOOD! :p

I love Friday because it's the weekend and my only one day off. Even though I don't have Saturday off like others (UAE's official weekend is Friday-Saturday) I'm still happy because at least I have a week-off. 

Being at home on Friday -lying in bed all day staring at the ceiling- can sometimes be boring. Of course, LOL. And sometimes going to a place where you can enjoy and keep busy can ruin your budget and empty your wallet. The only thing I know to save you from all of this is to do some volunteering..

So where was I last Friday eve? I was feeling really good somewhere at the BurJuman because I was helping/sorting through a collection of books (thousands of them) for the upcoming Pink Book Sale.  

Books in the boxes...

Books on the floor...

Books in the trolley...

The pile of books is a mile high!

Another good thing participating on this kind of activity, you'll find a lot of books -- those you've been looking for all of your life, LOL, in a cheaper price. Imagine, I bought these 2 books for only 20 dhs (US$ 5.50)

Okay guys, I'm off here to give hope to a hurting world! ;-)

A Twinkle in the "Eye of the Emirates"

I've been to Al Qasba, a small tourist spot in Sharjah, last Saturday for a couple of hours. Travelled for an hour going there and another one hour going back to Dubai via the intercity bus. Reached my destination around 6pm and left around 10pm

 

It was my first time in that place so I took a LOT of photos.

  

I roam around the area and here's what I've seen ..

There's a kid zone where they can play and have some rides..

A canal and abra (wooden boat) ride..

A foot bridge to cross the canal and go to the other side..

Some nice restaurants and cafes are spread in the area.

Had my dinner at Sumo Sushi & Bento before heading back home

And the Eye of the Emirates which, according to some people, is the largest Ferris wheel in the Middle East. They also say that the fountain in front of the giant wheel is a musical/dancing fountain. I said say because I didn't hear any music nor see it dancing but I saw some kids "showering" over the fountain, I know right?!

 and this is the twinkle mentioned in the title.. :p





Free Unused Books (For Real)

Yo, booklovers and freebielovers in the UAE!

I know there are many of you out there who still prefer to read conventional books than e-books and I also know that we all like free stuff, right? Right?

Lucky us, we have the Book Shelter here in the UAE where we can adopt books as much as we want..

The Book Shelter  is an initiative to promote a culture of reading in the country. What they do is encourage the UAE community to donate their unused books and then they -the Book Shelter- will provide those books to the community -anyone regardless of age and nationality- for free. They are trying to establish free library station across the Emirates, the same thing they have done with Maraya Art Centre in Al Qasba, Sharjah. They have free library centre there with over 400 books that are for free. You could just basically walk in there take a book of your choice and just go home with it. They also have a complete list of books on their website wherein you can just order and they will deliver it for free. They also participate in exhibitions, events and they create a reading nook.

Seriously guys, this organization is superb. They are genuine. I can guarantee there is no catch, no hidden anything, no fees something, no need to like/follow nothing. In fact, last January, I have ordered 3 books and received them right away. They even included a beautiful bookmark. Here's the proof..

 

The best things in life are, indeed, free! And there's no excuses for you all not to visit their site and adopt books.