Ally Salem's Blog

With the warm weather and relaxing sun rays fading, winter came along..

Whats great about San Diego is that it Never gets Way Too Hot or Way Too Cold.. the weather is perfect, I repeat.. perfect !
You start noticing the weather slightly getting cooler and cooler week by week, you notice the leaves that were once on the trees are now all over the ground, you stop, look up and start seeing clouds, leave the house at 5pm and you see that its dark outside.. thats when you know that winter is on its way.

Whats good about San Diego is that, its never Too wet for you to walk outside, if it rains, it’ll probably just last for an hour or less.. and then your fine without an umbrella..
I love the weather in San Diego <3

Black Friday is the friday following thanksgivng day, it is a day that is PERFECT for shopping. If your love to shop, my advice to you.. save up till this day, you wont regret
On Black Friday, I had to wake up early in order to go shopping and grab what I want. I thought to myself, this.is.war !!
I was ready and prepared for anything, anytime. I had a feeling that there will be a cat fight somewhere somehow, but I was wrong..
I left the house at 7 in the morning and headed to Mission Valley Center first (as it is the closest to my house), I was surprised to see that it wasn’t as crowded as I thought it’d be..it was kinda empty, but that still didn’t stop me from shopping. After Mission Valley Center, I headed to fashion Valley, which had a little bit More people than the previous shopping center. I had to go back home since both my hands were full and my back was Killing me..
That still didn’t stop me from wanting to go shopping again, and so I headed to another shopping in La Jolla, called UTC. After shopping, I was exhausted and so decided to call it a day, and head back home… the weird thing is that, from how much I was distracted by shopping, I forgot to eat..
Oh well, it was worth it

Thanksgiving day is a harvest festival which is celebrated here in the United States. It is a time to thank God for what he has blessed

 people with, it is also a day to express gratitude to everything those people have, from family, friends, and for the lives they have.This was the first time I celebrated Thanksgiving in the United States, and I loved it !

First of all, Thanksgiving meant that I’d get a day off of Uni .. (I really needed that)..
On Thanksgiving, all the shops, stores AND restaurants were closed, everyone was on holiday!

I had no plans on Thanksgiving day, so I decided to go celebrate with my friend and her family. I helped my friend with cooking a couple of dishes, such as Sweet potato pies, Cornbreads, Strawberry Cheesecake and ofcourse ROASTED TURKEY !!! (thats what thanksgiving is about )
We had alot of people over, and so thats what got me excited, we played a couple of sports outside, indoor games such as N

intendo wii, and finally had dinner the food was great ! I simply loved it !
And I thank God for having had such a wonderful day with amazing people.

Some say Uni can be stressful at times, especially when you get overloaded with work!!
That’s actually true, you do go through stressful times, especially when midterms are approaching. You spend almost all day either studying in the library, your dorm, or your apartment.. After your done with studying.. you think, ” God, I reaallyy need to take my mind off of studying.. I need a break!!”
After spending 4 hours studying in the library at SDSU, that was me thinking, oh god, I need to get out of here !
And so, I headed to the Aztec center straight away, time to have fun
I’ve never been to the Aztec center before, so it was kinda like my first “trip” to the Aztec center, and I must say, I wasn’t disappointed !
Didn’t expect to see the things I saw there!
A Bowling alley, Pool tables, Table tennis, Dance Revolution Machines, Guitar Hero, Arcade games, Comfy Sofas, Large TV screen for football matches.. and even More… I was in shock, this wasn’t what I expected to see.
It was a fun and lively environment, everyones excited and enthusiastic, some jumping all over the place, and some really concentrating on winning..
It was a totally different environment! It really help take my mind off of things, to be honest, the Aztec center is a Stress reliever.

Done with Ramadan..and now.. EID AL FITR !!
Eid is a holiday for all muslims that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. ‘Eid Al Fitr’ is an Arabic word which basically means festivity and to break  fast, and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period.

On the first day of Eid, I got up so early (just so I can have my breakfast like I did before Ramdan) uhh felt great ! God I forgot how having breakfast every morning felt like!
After enjoying my breakfast, I went to Abu Bakir’s Mosque in San Diego, prayed with all the Muslims, and got to know alot of people, and ALOT of children.
Everyone seemed happy on the first day Eid, they all had plans… and so did I !

After leaving Abu Bakir’s mosque, I met up with my friends and headed to Coronado (an Island in San Diego) thats where I went Jetskiing !
We rented jet skiis for 2 hours, went out to sea and started wave bashing !!
Sadly I flew off my friends jetskii and fell in the water, however, I have to say that it felt great. 
I used to be scared of swimming in the sea, but after falling (or should I say flying off) that encouraged me, and so I’m no longer terrified from swimming in the sea. 

After Jet skiing, we headed to Downtown San Diego and had dinner in an Iranian restaurant called Bandar, the food was great !
The night was still too young to end, and so just to kill time, we went to Fashion Valley, and watched a late horror movie, then headed back home.

Before the day of Eid, I knew that it wouldn’t be the same as it was back in Dubai. This was the first Eid I celebrated without a family member, I thought it’d be different and boring.. but it wasn’t. This Eid, I had a BLasT !

SDSU

“Oh my god…Orientations TOMORROW !!!  aaahhhh caan’t wait !”
That’s what kept on going through my head… for a whole day, until that day came .

Orientation started off with a VERY HOT SUNNY day, at first I had to go *”check-in” , *get a label, *write my name on it and *stick it on my shirt so that people can read my name and see where I’m from.
I was hoping to see someone from the United Arab Emirates, but sadly no one from my country was there, or so I think… I kinda gave up on reading “everyones” label!
I said they’re either going to be  from China, India or Mexico (well the majority were).
Anyway, I decided to go inside, cool down and look for a seat instead of standing and reading labels!
I sat down and started texting all my friends back in Dubai, telling them to “ENTERTAIN” me, cause I kinda felt lost (at first).
A couple of minutes later a guy came and sat next to me and started talking, I was shocked at first, seeing how this guy that Barely knows me comes up to me and starts talking (non-stop), don’t get me wrong, I was glad that someone started talking first, and I’m also glad that I met a sweet guy with a funny personality and a great sense of humour!
I was quite hesitant about going up to random people and introducing myself just out of the blue.

Throughout the orientation day, I made a couple of friends, you can say from all over the world, like Japan, India, Mexico, Pakistan and Switzerland, some of them might not be the kind of people you’d spend Most of your time with, but they sure are the ones that will always say Greet you and talk to you (for a couple of minutes) if you ever bump into them on or off campus !

{ Ramadan Kareem }

Traditional Arabic/khaleeji sweet called "legaimat" thats usually made on Ramdan only!

Ramadan is a month of blessing, that includes prayer, fasting and charity. It is basically the holy month of fasting from dawn to dusk which lasts for approxiamtely 29 days. This time of the year is the time for reflection and devotion to God, and self-control. During the month of Ramadan Muslims show their devotion to God by fasting or abstaining food till dusk. Its not very different from other religions, as some religions also encourage fasting.
Ramadan is an important time for Muslims, not just because it helps a closer relationship with God, but also because Ramadan is a time to think about those less fortunate. Another goal of fasting in Ramadan is to experience hunger in sympathy for those without food, its a way that many Muslims learn to be thankful and to appreciate what they have.
Ramadan begins and ends at a different time each year, (last year Ramadan was on September, but this year, its on August.. it goes back about 10 days days each year depending on the lunar calender and the sighting of the new moon).

As a muslim student studying abroad, I still have to fast.

Yes, it might be abit difficult while I’ll be surrounded by people who aren’t fasting, but in the end, its all worth it =)
Aaaanddd.. Time passes quickly here.. so yehh hopefully I wont feel the hunger.. (Its not like I eat much anyway)

{ Ramadan Kareem }

Info about Ramadan is taken from:
http://people.howstuffworks.com/ramadan.htm

The hotel we stayed in for 2 nights.. Beautiful !

After settling in San Diego, my dad and I decided to go to Vegas, and have some fun (a little). Las Vegas is about a 5 hour drive from San Diego, (but when you’re with your dad, it takes 6 long hours to reach). Mountain after mountain, desert after desert, we finally reached Las Vegas, Nevada!
We stayed at the Bellagio hotel for two nights, I simply loved the architecture and the interior design, although the hotel was very crowded, so we had to queue up for almost everything! (apart from the slot machines).

Las Vegas is known as ”The City That Never Sleeps” , at first I didn’t really know why it’s known for that , but after spending a day in Vegas, I now know why.  It certainly IS the city that NEVER sleeps!
After the sun sets, that’s when the REAL fun begins. The city thats surrounded by mountainous desert starts to light up, shows, clubs, bars, everything comes to life, thats when you can really enjoy your surroundings!

I was told that the legal age to gamble in Vegas was 21, (and I was so excited when I turned 18 -.- ), well that didn’t stop me from entering Casinos.
I tell you Makeup does wonders.. Got all dolled up, walked in, head held up high, and sat straight where the Roullette table was. Thank God, didn’t get asked for my ID. Makeup sure does wonders.

I ended up losing my money(its not like I spent a fortune, thank god), but hey, thats Vegas, you  lose your money if you keep on going.
As for slot machines, I simply Love’em, eventhough I don’t really get much out of them, I still enjoy pressing the button and pulling down the slot machine thing.

That’s about it, my trip to Las Vegas was amazing, an experience I’ll never forget!

Breathtaking view in La Jolla San Diego

While walking through the streets of San Diego with my dad by my side,  not a stranger passed us without a smile. Made me wonder whyy people smile at random people, people they don’t know, at all!
You don’t really see that much people smiling at you in Dubai…

Seeing people smile gives me a warm feeling, it shows how friendly and approachable they are.
This made me think, with friendly people out there, I can survive alone.

One thing, I really liked the most in San Diego (well apart from the amazing weather), is that I actually got asked if not 5 times then more about how I was doing every single DAY ! Everytime I enter a shop, restaurant, or a department store I always get asked “hows it going?” or “hows ur day?”
thats something I dont really hear often in Dubai, which struck me!
People in San Diego are thaaat friendly ?!

I finally started getting used to San Diego, and to be honest, if it wasn’t for the friendliness of the people here, I don’t think I would’ve been able to find my way round. The friendliness of people encouraged me to interact more and approach people easily, this made settling in San Diego much easier for me.

When I first arrived to San Diego I was already with my dad. At that time, I felt that I was safe, knowing that theres someone beside me, here to help me, and to talk to. But then I thought, my dad won’t be with me for long, then whats gona happen? No one knows me here, besides my dad.. I’d be a complete stranger to everyone else..
I feared that I’ll be lonely, have no one by side, to help, talk or even hang out with. I realised that once my dad goes back home, I’ll be on my own.
The thing is, I’ve never been alone, not once, so I didn’t know how it would feel like, not having a parent or a friend with you.
Thought that I’d have to face everything on my own, including difficulties, don’t know what obstacles I’d have to go through.. I feared of being alone, not having friends and not knowing what do.