Moroccan Kissing Customs:

When Moroccans see someone they know, it is impolite to just say "hi" and keep walking. At the very least they have stop in order to shake hands and ask "ki dayr? Ça va ?" ‘’How are you? Good?’’ Always with friends and sometimes with acquaintances (shopkeepers, etc.), Moroccans will phrase this question several different ways, and then ask about the other person's health, family, children, and perhaps weather too.
This exchange of pleasantries tends to be continuous and automatic). Sometimes, actually no real thought is put into the questions or answers and both parties are usually talking at the same time. The exchange can last up to 30 or 40 seconds.
Moroccans are very fond of shaking hands every time they see someone they know or meet someone new. When we go into work in the morning or when we leave workplace, we're expected to shake each of our colleagues' hands. Sometimes when you're supposed to attend a familial gathering, and you found the room crowded with more than 8 people you can only say Salam 3alaykom in a bit louder voice instead of shaking hands with everyone in the room!
Here are some costumes of greetings in Morocco:
• We often keep shaking hands until the end of the greeting process.
• Many Moroccans will look towards the ground when greeting ladies and elders.
• We often kiss elders' hands and their heads as well. You’ll always hear them saying Allah yerDi 3lik aweldi/abenti or Allah ye3tik rrDa, both expressions are prayers that God will bless you and be pleasant with you…Sort of.
• After shaking hands,
Touching the right hand to the heart is a sign of respect.
This is not limited to one's elders; it is common to see adults touching their hearts after shaking hands.
• A person at a distance will usually make eye contact, smile, and touch his hand to his heart.
• Affection for children is shown by patting gently on their shoulders or heads, but hugging or kissing cheeks is more common.
• Male/Female contact is often limited to hand-shaking but it really depends on people's social class and their own habits.

Julia Butterfly Hill:

For 738 days Julia Butterfly Hill lived in the canopy of an ancient redwood tree, called Luna, to help make the world aware of the plight of ancient forests. Julia, with the great help of steelworkers and environmentalists, successfully negotiated to permanently protect the 1,000 year-old tree and a nearly three-acre buffer zone. Her two-year vigil informed the public that only 3% of the ancient redwood forests remain and that the Headwaters Forest Agreement, brokered by state and federal agencies and Pacific Lumber/Maxxam Corporation, will not adequately protect forests and species.

On December 18, 1999 Julia Butterfly Hill, then 26, came down to a world that recognized her as a heroine and powerful voice for the environment. Her courage, commitment and profound clarity in articulating a message of hope, empowerment, and love and respect for all life has inspired millions of people worldwide. Julia reflects,

“By standing together in unity, solidarity and love we will heal the wounds in the earth and in each other. We can make a positive difference through our actions.”

Julia Hill chose the name Butterfly while in her childhood years and like her namesake she has undergone a great metamorphosis. She grew up in a deeply religious family as the daughter of a traveling, evangelical minister that later settled in Arkansas. In 1996 she suffered nearly fatal injuries in an auto accident. During close to a year of medical treatment and recovery, she had time to reassess her purpose in life. Two weeks after being released by her doctors, she headed west on a journey of self-discovery. She had no particular destination, but her first sight of the ancient redwoods overwhelmed her with awe. “When I entered the majestic cathedral of the redwood forest for the first time, my spirit knew it had found what it was searching for. I dropped to my knees and began to cry because I was so overwhelmed by the wisdom, energy and spirituality housed in this holiest of temples.”

Julia and other forest activists founded Circle of Life to inspire, support and network individuals, organizations, and communities so together we can create environmental and social solutions that are rooted deeply in love and respect for the interconnectedness of all life. We envision a sustainable culture that honors biological and cultural diversity. Through education and outreach, we promote efforts to protect and restore the Earth.

Which came out of the opened door, the lady or the tiger?

Perhaps it was the lady who came out;
There are many factors that will push the princess to show to his lover the door behind it there is the
lady. First factor is that the princess has a lot of money, she has the authority and she has many servers;
therefore she maybe will pay some workers to kill the lady or give her money against being far from his
husband.
Also we know that the princess and the guy love each other so much, and the princess knows that the
decision wasn’t theirs. They were obliged to accept this painful reality because the king orders that; and
when the king says something everyone has to obey. It wasn’t the guy’s will, so she knows that it wasn’t
the guy’s guilt.
I think that love is the greatest feeling in the world, the princess loves him and he loves her. She can’t
saw her lover into the hungry lion; she can’t be the cause of his death. She loves him and when we love
someone we can sacrifice to makes him the happy person on the world even we hurt ourselves.
One the other hand, perhaps it was the tiger;
The princess loves this man, she is so jealous. She can’t see him with another woman and especially
this lady behind the door because it is very beautiful. Therefore, she shows him the door behind it there
is the tiger.
The princess knows that if she shows her lover the door behind it there is the tiger she will be sad and
lonely just for a while. But, on the other case she will suffer everyday because she can’t imagine her stud
with another girl for the whole life kisses and hugs her.
The princess’s father is a semi barbaric, he is very rigid. He wants his girl to be far from the worker, he
wants to separate them, even he knew that they love each other. The princess knows that she can’t do
anything in front of the authority of her father; and she knows well that her father will work hard to
make this relation impossible. She decided to show him the door in which there is the tiger to forget him
for all her life.
Personally, I think that the princess will show to her stud the door behind it there is the tiger. In the
two cases she will suffer, and more when she will see her lover with another girl for the rest of his life. I
think that if she shows him the door in which there is the lady she couldn’t be with him even she will try
to kill the lady; because her father will always control and follow her. The king will try in every way to
make this relation as hard as a hell.

Do you ever experiment with cooking?

When I was in Morocco and before coming to the USA, I cooked 3 times in my life. Always my lovely mom cooked for me; I went to school every day except Sunday from 8.00 am to 5.00 or 6.00 pm. Therefore my schedule was full I had no time for cooking, always tired and I needed just to eat and to sleep.

In the vacation I had no homework and no duties so sometimes I tried to cook but no alwaysJ My mom said to me ‘’ This is vacation you have to relax yourself and to sleep well; because during the whole year you study hard so there is no need to cook, just have fun my sweetheart!’’.

I have always thought that my mom was an exception. Because Moroccan mothers often push their daughters to learn how to cook. The question that imposes itself is why? Because Moroccan men prefer the women who are expert in cooking; and they believe in the proverb who said: ‘’the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!’’ However, me I am not really convinced by this idea because there is things who are more important than food in the relation between husband and wife.

Currently, I can cook everything and especially Moroccan food, because I am alone in the USA I have to do everything by myself. Therefore, I learned by using books of cooking which my mom bought for me.

Appointment at Noon:

Appointment at noon is really a meaningful story. I liked it so much, when first I read it, I felt something in my heart. For many students it seems funny; however, I think that there is a big moral and message that the narrator wants the readers to reach.

The main personality is a bossy bully. He treats his workers very badly. He always orders them to do tasks without any discussion; just do what he says. Curren doesn't want to lose time, he believes that jungle methods pay off. Thus, it is only important for him to make money and he is just interested in his business and his life; he doesn't think about other's lives and others interests. Curren has never thought that he will die one day, and that the current life is not eternal and that his strength will come as a weakness. However death comes in the shape of a person and he takes his soul.

In the end, I learned that we have to do our best for ourselves and towards people. Taking care of our parents, helping poor, being nice, respecting others and even if we are strong and in a high position, we have to always be modest and helpful to others, in order to win in our current life and the next life.

Underwater test:

I think that the crew members were unfriendly and very distant toward Jimmy because they wanted to assess him. They were trying to know if he was ready for this challenge which was the dive. If he could exceed the obstacles they gave him, it would prove that he really loved this job and he could bear any burden.

In my opinion, it was a good idea from the commander to order his staff to pretend like that; Because after all the difficulties that Jimmy found and after his feeling like an outsider, he behaved like a hero and he fought against all the complicated things. In the end however, he passed his test and the crew was satisfied with him and they were sure that they could depend on him.

So, Jimmy proved that he was able to handle a very big challenge. He could bear everything to accomplish his job in the best way.

I learned from this story that if you want something very much and you want to attain a goal, you can survive anything to achieve it.