1. Intellectual Learning

links for videos: https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story_

https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

So far in this course the topics that really stood out to me were identity, bias, and empathy. I remember one of our class activities where we had to choose if we feel like we belong to the Arab world, Africa, or Egypt. I chose Egypt, because that’s what I truly consider my identity. I grew up and lived here my whole life and never even traveled outside the country. The only way I saw other places was through TV. I also felt that I’m Arab because of my religion and language, since I believe those are what connect us most with other Arab countries. But I never really considered myself African and I’m not even sure why. Maybe because I grew up seeing Africans in a stereotypical way and when I grew up and learned that we’re actually part of Africa, it was hard to understand at first. That activity really helped me organise my thoughts about this topic and know where I think I belong because I didn’t think much about it before.

Bias was another thing that really stood out to me. I remember a video we watched of a woman giving a speech about how she loved reading as a kid, but all the books she read were American. When she started writing her own stories, she noticed that all her characters looked American her characters were like white girls with straight blonde hair that was because that’s what she was used to seeing. I really related to this, because when I was younger I also liked to write stories. I didn’t like reading much, I was only exposed to American movies so when I started writing my characters also had American names and lived in American cities that I saw in movies. That’s when I realized I also had some kind of unconscious bias just like her.

Another video I remember well was about the parking experiment that a professor talked about. He split two groups of women one group was told it’s fine to make mistakes, and the other group was encouraged and told they could do it. That video really opened my eyes because I could totally relate. I started learning to drive earlier this year and three people tried to teach me. The first was my father and honestly fathers are the worst teachers sometimes. He was too nervous about both me and his car, so he yelled a lot and that made me even more anxious. Then I went to a driving school and the instructor was a very arrogant man who kept making jokes about women not being able to drive. I was so uncomfortable and nervous. The third time I decided to go to a female instructor and she was completely different she was calm and kept encouraging me and was positive. She never made me feel bad for making mistakes and I actually started improving because I felt more confident and safe. This whole thing reminded me how important it is to support and believe in people instead of putting them down.

Finally, empathy was also a huge takeaway from this course. I think I learned it most from the games assignment, where we had to try different games and reflect on them. It took me a long time to play them but I genuinely enjoyed it. It was the first time I played something that actually had meaning, where I could put myself in someone else’s shoes and make choices for them. Two games that stood out to me were SPENT and Domestic Abuse. In SPENT, I had to make tough decisions about money and family, like choosing between my kids’ happiness and our health or food. It was so unfortunate to realize that people actually go through this in real life and that some parents might even be hated by their kids who don’t understand what it means to not have enough money.It made me realize how hard life can be for people who don’t have enough money and how painful it must be to make those choices in real life. The other game, Domestic Abuse, was made by a student and I really liked how realistic the scenarios were and how it gave advice and facts about the situation. Maybe because I’m a woman and all my close friends are women, I felt so connected to it and it made me hate the idea that anyone could go through that.

Even though I learned so much from these topics, I still have some questions that I hope to explore more during the Soliya program. I wonder how people from other cultures view identity  if they ever feel confused or divided the same way I did between being Egyptian, Arab, and African. I would be also really intrested on what type of bias Americans have. I think hearing different perspectives in Soliya will help me widen my perspective and understand these topics better.

2. Learned about myself

I realized that I actually had some unconscious biases, which I didn’t expect. I was surprised, but at the same time not completely because I knew that everyone has biases to some level. What really made me notice it were the videos we watched, especially the one about the woman who used American characters in her stories and also one of the games we played on Plaza. The one that we each had cards with different personalities and states of people and the dr asked questions and we had to assume string about the, we all assumed things even though we might even not have met these people in real life but these assumptions are stemmed from media which I believe is very dangerous. While we might have guess things right I am sure we got things wrong but the scary part is we will never know unless someone’s with these descriptions tells us. I used to think I saw the world in an objective way, but now I understand that even small things like the movies we watch or the stories we read on the internet can shape how we see others. This realization made me more careful with the way I judge people and situations.

It also made me want to learn more about where these biases come from and how I can change them. Sometimes I still catch myself making quick assumptions about people without even noticing and then I stop and ask myself why I thought that. I think this awareness is the first step toward becoming more open minded. It also made me want to hear other people’s perspectives, especially those who grew up differently than me. That interest I have now actually pushed me to interact more in Soliya program and I ask questions I had in mind for people from different backgrounds and I was surprised by their answers or even their opinions in some topics I didn’t think they would have.

3. Learned in terms of interactions 

One important thing I’ve learned from interacting with people who are different from me is that even when we share some similarities our cultures can still shape us in completely different ways. For example, I have a close friend who is from Pakistan but was born in America and raised in England. The only things we really share are humor and religion but even that religion is practiced very differently between us. He doesn’t strictly fast during Ramadan, like he could skip some days for instance. Which was really shocking to me at first because I grew up thinking all Muslims fast and that not fasting means someone isn’t a good Muslim. Fasting is such an important thing in Egypt that even people who don’t follow other rules of religion still make sure to fast. But through him, I learned that culture has a huge influence on how people practice religion what’s normalised and what is not. It was the first time I was exposed to someone from a culture that’s both similar and different at the same time and it taught me not to judge people based on what I was taught growing up. I realized that someone can be kind and respectfuld even if they don’t do things the same way I do.

For me, being a good global citizen means being understanding and respectful. It doesn’t mean we have to abandon our beliefs or values, but we should always keep an open mind and try to see things from others’ perspectives. We might learn something new or change our opinions, but even if not at least we stay decent humans. From my Soliya experience, I hope to gain a wider understanding of people from different cultures and to be able to express my ideas clearly in order for everyone to understand, in English which is my second language while thinking on the spot. I think this skill will really help me in the future as I continue interacting with people from around the world.

4. Soliya 

If the topic of Palestine came up in Soliya, I actually think it would be one of the most interesting and important discussions. I already have a Palestinian person in my group who mentioned that he wants to talk about this topic and I’m honestly very excited to hear his perspective. I think he’s the best person to speak about it since he can share real experiences and emotions. I’m also curious to hear what others think, especially if someone believes that Israel isn’t the one at fault. I would be curious to know where they got their information from and why they think that way. Personally, I’m not very educated about all the political details, I just know the basics. Therefore I might not be able to participate well in the discussion. But I would definitely support the Palestinian side and try to listen carefully to everyone. I don’t expect any big conflict in our group.The only support I might need would be some guidance from our facilitator to make sure everyone feels safe and heard while sharing their opinions and make the discussion goal is understanding more than arguing.