{"id":305,"date":"2021-07-26T23:27:43","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T23:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/?post_type=chapter&p=305"},"modified":"2021-08-09T16:17:02","modified_gmt":"2021-08-09T16:17:02","slug":"7-7-living-in-a-different-country-argument-from-experience","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/chapter\/7-7-living-in-a-different-country-argument-from-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"7.7 Living in a different country (argument from experience)"},"content":{"raw":"

English 102, February 2021<\/h3>\r\nLiving in a different country is not easy and especially if the language\u00a0is different as like Arabia and English both are completing different for reading,\u00a0and writing,\u00a0and speaking.\u00a0For example, writing in English is more difficult because\u00a0in Arabia we write from the right and in English it is from the left.\u00a0I know more\u00a0than\u00a0one language, but the hardest two\u00a0to learn were\u00a0Arabic\u00a0and\u00a0I learned\u00a0English\u00a0from\u00a0watching\u00a0a lot of movies and keep\u00a0talking too much and read more.\u00a0Even if\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0wrong and some people are laughing because I was saying some stuff wrong, I don\u2019t care at all. I always like to speak and learn more and as always\u00a0like to\u00a0write\u00a0and read.\u00a0(Learning new information happens when we talk, read, and write about new ideas and\u00a0new language\u00a0such as English)\u00a0In Arabic\u00a0and\u00a0English\u00a0I have to study hard before the\u00a0exam\u00a0and I like to write and read the question and answer a lot and that helps me a lot.\u00a0Learning new information,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0because in Egypt I was work hard all the time for the exams and when I come in America.\u00a0I was feeling\u00a0that I must work hard and learn the new language because this is how I will live in this country.\u00a0A teacher\u2019s ability to communicate directly affects the students\u2019 ability to learn. When a teacher is unable to communicate with students from all language backgrounds, the students will have to resort to self-teaching. For example,\u00a0in the tenth grade I had the hardest teacher I ever saw before. The teacher was not doing anything and not helping anybody and when someone asks her for help she kept saying look at the book or Google it and that was really the hardest English class I ever took.\r\n\r\nI am not from here (America) I was born in Egypt,\u00a0Arabic is my first language and English\u00a0is\u00a0my second language. Before I came here, I loved writing more than reading. When I was in school, I was in the classes and I had to be ready\u00a0to\u00a0read and write quickly\u00a0to\u00a0finish the exams in the given time\u00a0and I was to be\u00a0quick for the writing and reading portions of the exams\u00a0 because the\u00a0high\u00a0schools in Egypt are harder than\u00a0the high schools\u00a0in America. For example,\u00a0while attending middle school in\u00a0Egypt\u00a0we\u00a0did\u00a0not have quizzes at all, which is good, but it\u00a0was\u00a0hard at the same time to get points because\u00a0my classmates and I\u00a0could\u00a0only\u00a0receive points from the\u00a0final,\u00a0midterm and attendance.\u00a0I will say this\u00a0was\u00a0not fair\u00a0because\u00a0we only\u00a0had\u00a0exams and attendance\u00a0count towards points. The awkward thing is the final\u00a0was comprehensive and we were tested on\u00a0everything that I\u00a0had\u00a0learned at the beginning of\u00a0the\u00a0school\u00a0year through the end\u00a0would\u00a0be\u00a0on\u00a0the final. I\u00a0did\u00a0not like that at all, and this is\u00a0completely different\u00a0than final exams in\u00a0America.\u00a0The American way, the way final is\u00a0structured\/formatted\u00a0is that it only\u00a0tests\u00a0the\u00a0material from the\u00a0second semester not from the beginning of the school\u00a0year,\u00a0the fall semester. Some people are thinking that\u00a0the Egyptian exam structure is easier, but it is not at all, and\u00a0universities\u00a0in America are harder than\u00a0those\u00a0in\u00a0Egypt.\r\n\r\nI never thought that school\u00a0in America\u00a0will be that different;\u00a0however,\u00a0tests\u00a0in America are\u00a0half or entirely\u00a0multiple-choice.\u00a0In\u00a0Egypt, we do not have\u00a0multiple choice questions\u00a0we must write out the answers because\u00a0all exams\u00a0are short answer or extended response. The\u00a0essays\u00a0were\u00a0a little bit different than essays in America because they\u00a0would\u00a0give a\u00a0prompt, and I\u00a0would have to\u00a0think fast about the topic\u00a0I\u00a0would have to\u00a0think about the reader to make him like my essay,\u00a0and\u00a0finally\u00a0I must finish\u00a0the essay\u00a0as fast as I can,\u00a0so I can check my\u00a0grammar. Essay\u00a0exams take\u00a0more time to\u00a0read the question and\u00a0write the answer,\u00a0I had to write the answer quickly\u00a0and check the answer\u00a0to\u00a0make\u00a0sure it made\u00a0sense or not because everything was\u00a0graded, especially\u00a0the\u00a0grammar.\u00a0Grammar is always important in Arabic more than anybody thinks. Therefore, I really do not like the\u00a0grammar in Arabic because\u00a0if\u00a0there any\u00a0grammatical\u00a0mistakes they count\u00a0as\u00a0an\u00a0incorrect\u00a0answer, which\u00a0I really do not understand.\u00a0Like in America I see if I\u00a0make a\u00a0mistake in grammar it is not really a big\u00a0deal, but\u00a0in Egypt, we\u00a0must\u00a0take\u00a0a test about grammar, and it is hard, and I still do not understand.\r\n\r\nClasses like Arabic, science,\u00a0and social studies\u00a0were hard because\u00a0they were completely different than I was thinking.\u00a0I remember\u00a0math\u00a0class\u00a0was easy for reading and writing the numbers and solving problems because\u00a0I\u00a0learned in\u00a0sixth\u00a0grade\u00a0the math\u00a0that was\u00a0taught in\u00a0eighth\u00a0or\u00a0ninth\u00a0grade. Even though\u00a0I only came in here when I was in\u00a0sixth\u00a0grade,\u00a0I had already learned the math\u00a0when I was in school in Egypt\u00a0before\u00a0I came\u00a0to\u00a0America\u00a0that summer.\r\n\r\nSocial Studies in Arabic was the hardest thing for me because I\u00a0actually have\u00a0to read,\u00a0more than any subject,\u00a0and we have to memorize everything that we read.\u00a0I was so bad\u00a0memorizing the\u00a0dates and names\u00a0and whatever\u00a0is written\u00a0in the book I really\u00a0could not\u00a0change.\u00a0I\u00a0had\u00a0to write\u00a0exactly what was in the book and\u00a0could not change the\u00a0meaning,\u00a0but if I need a few words\u00a0to add\u00a0on\u00a0to\u00a0the answer,\u00a0that was not on the book,\u00a0then\u00a0it was\u00a0wrong.\u00a0This is how I am born,\u00a0and I learned Arabic writing and reading from my family and the school hard work.\u00a0One time in Social Studies,\u00a0I\u00a0knew\u00a0that I\u00a0had\u00a0missed one or two questions\u00a0on the exam\u00a0and I\u00a0knew\u00a0which ones\u00a0they are.\u00a0I was trying to talk with the\u00a0teacher\u00a0and she\u00a0told\u00a0me,\u00a0\u201cno you get four\u00a0questions wrong,\u201d and I said\u00a0\u201cno way\u201d\u00a0I know what\u00a0I\u00a0did\u00a0wrong.\u00a0I\u00a0only\u00a0missed one question\u00a0or maybe the last two questions on the exam,\u00a0and she\u00a0kept\u00a0saying\u00a0\u201cno.\u201d\u00a0At\u00a0the\u00a0time I was not\u00a0in\u00a0the top on of my class.\u00a0My parents went to the school\u00a0the next day and talked\u00a0with somebody else and to grade\u00a0my exam\u00a0in\u00a0front of that teacher. In the end,\u00a0I only got one question wrong and that teacher said,\u00a0\u201cthat girl she\u00a0answer\u00a0the question on different way and that way it\u2019s right.\u201d My class teacher said,\u00a0\u201cNo because she have to memorize the reading from the book to answer the question\u201d and the\u00a0other teacher\u00a0said,\u00a0\u201cNo, not always because the students are not\u00a0robots\u201d and I get my grades in the end and I was right when I said I only get one or two wrong.\u00a0For\u00a0Arabic\u00a0language\u00a0I know myself for reading and writing and\u00a0especially\u00a0one the exams because I can feel which one\u00a0I did right and wrong. After I\u00a0finished\u00a0the exam I talked with my tutor in the school and\u00a0she said the same thing as I said to answer the question.\r\n\r\nWhen I came to America, it was\u00a0like entering\u00a0a different world.\u00a0I came to\u00a0live with\u00a0my uncle in Indiana and\u00a0then my\u00a0aunt in Michigan,\u00a0and\u00a0later\u00a0we all\u00a0moved to\u00a0Ohio\u00a0with\u00a0my cousin.\u00a0I started to go to school\u00a0in Ohio\u00a0and\u00a0was introduced to\u00a0an interpreter.\u00a0She was so\u00a0good,\u00a0and she was helping me with everything in reading and writing.\u00a0Unfortunately,\u00a0she left school after one week and I was\u00a0bittersweet\u00a0because I\u00a0did\u00a0not know what I should say or read and write.\u00a0I\u00a0wanted to\u00a0cry,\u00a0and\u00a0I wanted to go back to Egypt to my\u00a0family, friends, and previous\u00a0life.\r\n\r\nMy parents always\u00a0gave\u00a0me hope and after\u00a0a while\u00a0I\u00a0decided\u00a0to\u00a0take charge and decided to\u00a0work hard\u00a0improving my\u00a0English reading and writing. Since my interpreter left after the first week I started school, I did not know any English and did not know what was going on around me. \u00a0The only thing I had left helping me\u00a0survive learning in\u00a0English\u00a0was Google translate. In middle school\u00a0all the teachers allowed me to\u00a0use\u00a0Google Translate,\u00a0even in the exams and quizzes. But there\u00a0was one teacher\u00a0who\u00a0do not\u00a0like\u00a0students using Google Search, but\u00a0I\u00a0did\u00a0not\u00a0know.\u00a0One\u00a0time\u00a0she saw me using Google Translate\u00a0during a quiz,\u00a0and she\u00a0shouted at\u00a0me, saying\u00a0that\u00a0I am\u00a0cheating on the quiz. She\u00a0accused me of using Google Search to look up the answers on the quiz, and\u00a0\u00a0when I saw\u00a0her,\u00a0I closed\u00a0the opened tab to hide the fact I was using Google Search to cheat.\u00a0I\u00a0told her I\u00a0never did that. She called my parents and\u00a0told\u00a0them\u00a0I was cheating,\u00a0but my parents\u00a0told\u00a0\u00a0her,\u00a0\u201cNO she\u00a0would\u00a0never do that.\u201d After\u00a0some time\u00a0she\u00a0apologized\u00a0to me and\u00a0said\u00a0she\u00a0thought I was cheating\u00a0because there\u00a0was\u00a0a student\u00a0who\u00a0said that I was cheating, but now knew I was using Google Translate.\u00a0I\u00a0said,\u201d\u00a0It\u2019s okay and thanks for beveling\u00a0me.\u201d\r\n\r\n\"living\r\n\r\nThe picture is my brain\u00a0because\u00a0the\u00a0brain\u00a0represents\u00a0me and everything\u00a0in\u00a0it is\u00a0about the things\u00a0I learn, and I feel it\u2019s the good one to do. I the first\u00a0side it\u00a0is\u00a0me when I was in Egypt and it\u2019s says \u201cthis is Maryan, I really missed everyone in Egypt so much and I really can\u2019t wait to see you guys again soon and for my family I really love you all guys can\u2019t wait to see you guys again.\u201d The second\u00a0side it\u00a0is about America and what happened to me in the beginning it\u2019s like I don\u2019t know America and I don\u2019t know how to write or read and after I stated to know that there is google translate and I started to use that and after I know how to read and write the stuff in the school and around me too.\u00a0The reason I did it like this is because this is the way that I can write Arabic and English together and the idea of the topic \u201cLiving in a different country\u201d\u00a0because\u00a0everything happened to\u00a0me\u00a0is in my brain, and I will never forget those things. Now\u00a0I know\u00a0how to\u00a0read\u00a0and write\u00a0and understand\u00a0English more than before.\u00a0I learned writing and reading\u00a0in English\u00a0at the same time,\u00a0and\u00a0now\u00a0I\u00a0love\u00a0it!\r\n\r\nLater, in\u00a0my\u00a0sophomore\u00a0year in\u00a0high school\u00a0my\u00a0English teacher\u00a0did not teach us\u00a0anything at all. I\u00a0did not\u00a0understand why\u00a0she did not lecture, or help us understand the reading, instead\u00a0she always\u00a0asked\u00a0me and my classmates\u00a0to teach\u00a0ourselves.\u00a0She said\u00a0we are old\u00a0enough to read and\u00a0understand\u00a0the material\u00a0on our\u00a0own,\u00a0but\u00a0when I\u00a0had\u00a0a question, she\u00a0told me to\u00a0use the book or\u00a0on\u00a0Google\u00a0for the answer.\u00a0Improving my reading and writing during sophomore year in high school\u00a0was\u00a0difficult\u00a0for me\u00a0because\u00a0I\u00a0needed\u00a0a lot\u00a0more\u00a0help\u00a0than the school was able to provide, so I decided I need to teach myself English.\r\n\r\nI started watching a movie\u00a0with English subtitles\u00a0at the bottom.\u00a0I tried\u00a0to read and write\u00a0at\u00a0the same\u00a0time and\u00a0started to practice\u00a0every day.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0first movies\u00a0I watched were\u00a0\u201cHome\u00a0Alone\u201d and \u201cHarry Potter,\u201d I still love these movies.\u00a0I started to write and read, learning from my mistakes,\u00a0so I\u00a0migrated to\u00a0watching\u00a0Netflix,\u00a0which\u00a0I love\u00a0because\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0learning\u00a0English fast and talking\u00a0with people. I\u2019m a talkative person\u00a0and this is how\u00a0I was when I\u00a0born,\u00a0my family always tells me that\u00a0I was not shy at all. I learned English after one year and never gave up because I know life is not easy.\u00a0I always learn everything from my writing and reading\u00a0and\u00a0listening and\u00a0talking\u00a0with people.\u00a0A if life\u00a0were easy\u00a0then\u00a0there would be no lessons to\u00a0learn. For\u00a0me, I always learn\u00a0best\u00a0the hard way, like\u00a0improving my Arabic grammar,\u00a0writing,\u00a0and reading\u00a0has helped me\u00a0to understand people and listen to them.\r\n\r\nEssay exams were\u00a0a\u00a0little bit hard in the beginning, but they helped improve\u00a0my\u00a0reading\u00a0and writing, which\u00a0are\u00a0essential in Egyptian\u00a0schools; however,\u00a0my school was a private school,\u00a0so\u00a0I really do not know about the\u00a0exams in the\u00a0rest of the schools.","rendered":"

English 102, February 2021<\/h3>\n

Living in a different country is not easy and especially if the language\u00a0is different as like Arabia and English both are completing different for reading,\u00a0and writing,\u00a0and speaking.\u00a0For example, writing in English is more difficult because\u00a0in Arabia we write from the right and in English it is from the left.\u00a0I know more\u00a0than\u00a0one language, but the hardest two\u00a0to learn were\u00a0Arabic\u00a0and\u00a0I learned\u00a0English\u00a0from\u00a0watching\u00a0a lot of movies and keep\u00a0talking too much and read more.\u00a0Even if\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0wrong and some people are laughing because I was saying some stuff wrong, I don\u2019t care at all. I always like to speak and learn more and as always\u00a0like to\u00a0write\u00a0and read.\u00a0(Learning new information happens when we talk, read, and write about new ideas and\u00a0new language\u00a0such as English)\u00a0In Arabic\u00a0and\u00a0English\u00a0I have to study hard before the\u00a0exam\u00a0and I like to write and read the question and answer a lot and that helps me a lot.\u00a0Learning new information,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0because in Egypt I was work hard all the time for the exams and when I come in America.\u00a0I was feeling\u00a0that I must work hard and learn the new language because this is how I will live in this country.\u00a0A teacher\u2019s ability to communicate directly affects the students\u2019 ability to learn. When a teacher is unable to communicate with students from all language backgrounds, the students will have to resort to self-teaching. For example,\u00a0in the tenth grade I had the hardest teacher I ever saw before. The teacher was not doing anything and not helping anybody and when someone asks her for help she kept saying look at the book or Google it and that was really the hardest English class I ever took.<\/p>\n

I am not from here (America) I was born in Egypt,\u00a0Arabic is my first language and English\u00a0is\u00a0my second language. Before I came here, I loved writing more than reading. When I was in school, I was in the classes and I had to be ready\u00a0to\u00a0read and write quickly\u00a0to\u00a0finish the exams in the given time\u00a0and I was to be\u00a0quick for the writing and reading portions of the exams\u00a0 because the\u00a0high\u00a0schools in Egypt are harder than\u00a0the high schools\u00a0in America. For example,\u00a0while attending middle school in\u00a0Egypt\u00a0we\u00a0did\u00a0not have quizzes at all, which is good, but it\u00a0was\u00a0hard at the same time to get points because\u00a0my classmates and I\u00a0could\u00a0only\u00a0receive points from the\u00a0final,\u00a0midterm and attendance.\u00a0I will say this\u00a0was\u00a0not fair\u00a0because\u00a0we only\u00a0had\u00a0exams and attendance\u00a0count towards points. The awkward thing is the final\u00a0was comprehensive and we were tested on\u00a0everything that I\u00a0had\u00a0learned at the beginning of\u00a0the\u00a0school\u00a0year through the end\u00a0would\u00a0be\u00a0on\u00a0the final. I\u00a0did\u00a0not like that at all, and this is\u00a0completely different\u00a0than final exams in\u00a0America.\u00a0The American way, the way final is\u00a0structured\/formatted\u00a0is that it only\u00a0tests\u00a0the\u00a0material from the\u00a0second semester not from the beginning of the school\u00a0year,\u00a0the fall semester. Some people are thinking that\u00a0the Egyptian exam structure is easier, but it is not at all, and\u00a0universities\u00a0in America are harder than\u00a0those\u00a0in\u00a0Egypt.<\/p>\n

I never thought that school\u00a0in America\u00a0will be that different;\u00a0however,\u00a0tests\u00a0in America are\u00a0half or entirely\u00a0multiple-choice.\u00a0In\u00a0Egypt, we do not have\u00a0multiple choice questions\u00a0we must write out the answers because\u00a0all exams\u00a0are short answer or extended response. The\u00a0essays\u00a0were\u00a0a little bit different than essays in America because they\u00a0would\u00a0give a\u00a0prompt, and I\u00a0would have to\u00a0think fast about the topic\u00a0I\u00a0would have to\u00a0think about the reader to make him like my essay,\u00a0and\u00a0finally\u00a0I must finish\u00a0the essay\u00a0as fast as I can,\u00a0so I can check my\u00a0grammar. Essay\u00a0exams take\u00a0more time to\u00a0read the question and\u00a0write the answer,\u00a0I had to write the answer quickly\u00a0and check the answer\u00a0to\u00a0make\u00a0sure it made\u00a0sense or not because everything was\u00a0graded, especially\u00a0the\u00a0grammar.\u00a0Grammar is always important in Arabic more than anybody thinks. Therefore, I really do not like the\u00a0grammar in Arabic because\u00a0if\u00a0there any\u00a0grammatical\u00a0mistakes they count\u00a0as\u00a0an\u00a0incorrect\u00a0answer, which\u00a0I really do not understand.\u00a0Like in America I see if I\u00a0make a\u00a0mistake in grammar it is not really a big\u00a0deal, but\u00a0in Egypt, we\u00a0must\u00a0take\u00a0a test about grammar, and it is hard, and I still do not understand.<\/p>\n

Classes like Arabic, science,\u00a0and social studies\u00a0were hard because\u00a0they were completely different than I was thinking.\u00a0I remember\u00a0math\u00a0class\u00a0was easy for reading and writing the numbers and solving problems because\u00a0I\u00a0learned in\u00a0sixth\u00a0grade\u00a0the math\u00a0that was\u00a0taught in\u00a0eighth\u00a0or\u00a0ninth\u00a0grade. Even though\u00a0I only came in here when I was in\u00a0sixth\u00a0grade,\u00a0I had already learned the math\u00a0when I was in school in Egypt\u00a0before\u00a0I came\u00a0to\u00a0America\u00a0that summer.<\/p>\n

Social Studies in Arabic was the hardest thing for me because I\u00a0actually have\u00a0to read,\u00a0more than any subject,\u00a0and we have to memorize everything that we read.\u00a0I was so bad\u00a0memorizing the\u00a0dates and names\u00a0and whatever\u00a0is written\u00a0in the book I really\u00a0could not\u00a0change.\u00a0I\u00a0had\u00a0to write\u00a0exactly what was in the book and\u00a0could not change the\u00a0meaning,\u00a0but if I need a few words\u00a0to add\u00a0on\u00a0to\u00a0the answer,\u00a0that was not on the book,\u00a0then\u00a0it was\u00a0wrong.\u00a0This is how I am born,\u00a0and I learned Arabic writing and reading from my family and the school hard work.\u00a0One time in Social Studies,\u00a0I\u00a0knew\u00a0that I\u00a0had\u00a0missed one or two questions\u00a0on the exam\u00a0and I\u00a0knew\u00a0which ones\u00a0they are.\u00a0I was trying to talk with the\u00a0teacher\u00a0and she\u00a0told\u00a0me,\u00a0\u201cno you get four\u00a0questions wrong,\u201d and I said\u00a0\u201cno way\u201d\u00a0I know what\u00a0I\u00a0did\u00a0wrong.\u00a0I\u00a0only\u00a0missed one question\u00a0or maybe the last two questions on the exam,\u00a0and she\u00a0kept\u00a0saying\u00a0\u201cno.\u201d\u00a0At\u00a0the\u00a0time I was not\u00a0in\u00a0the top on of my class.\u00a0My parents went to the school\u00a0the next day and talked\u00a0with somebody else and to grade\u00a0my exam\u00a0in\u00a0front of that teacher. In the end,\u00a0I only got one question wrong and that teacher said,\u00a0\u201cthat girl she\u00a0answer\u00a0the question on different way and that way it\u2019s right.\u201d My class teacher said,\u00a0\u201cNo because she have to memorize the reading from the book to answer the question\u201d and the\u00a0other teacher\u00a0said,\u00a0\u201cNo, not always because the students are not\u00a0robots\u201d and I get my grades in the end and I was right when I said I only get one or two wrong.\u00a0For\u00a0Arabic\u00a0language\u00a0I know myself for reading and writing and\u00a0especially\u00a0one the exams because I can feel which one\u00a0I did right and wrong. After I\u00a0finished\u00a0the exam I talked with my tutor in the school and\u00a0she said the same thing as I said to answer the question.<\/p>\n

When I came to America, it was\u00a0like entering\u00a0a different world.\u00a0I came to\u00a0live with\u00a0my uncle in Indiana and\u00a0then my\u00a0aunt in Michigan,\u00a0and\u00a0later\u00a0we all\u00a0moved to\u00a0Ohio\u00a0with\u00a0my cousin.\u00a0I started to go to school\u00a0in Ohio\u00a0and\u00a0was introduced to\u00a0an interpreter.\u00a0She was so\u00a0good,\u00a0and she was helping me with everything in reading and writing.\u00a0Unfortunately,\u00a0she left school after one week and I was\u00a0bittersweet\u00a0because I\u00a0did\u00a0not know what I should say or read and write.\u00a0I\u00a0wanted to\u00a0cry,\u00a0and\u00a0I wanted to go back to Egypt to my\u00a0family, friends, and previous\u00a0life.<\/p>\n

My parents always\u00a0gave\u00a0me hope and after\u00a0a while\u00a0I\u00a0decided\u00a0to\u00a0take charge and decided to\u00a0work hard\u00a0improving my\u00a0English reading and writing. Since my interpreter left after the first week I started school, I did not know any English and did not know what was going on around me. \u00a0The only thing I had left helping me\u00a0survive learning in\u00a0English\u00a0was Google translate. In middle school\u00a0all the teachers allowed me to\u00a0use\u00a0Google Translate,\u00a0even in the exams and quizzes. But there\u00a0was one teacher\u00a0who\u00a0do not\u00a0like\u00a0students using Google Search, but\u00a0I\u00a0did\u00a0not\u00a0know.\u00a0One\u00a0time\u00a0she saw me using Google Translate\u00a0during a quiz,\u00a0and she\u00a0shouted at\u00a0me, saying\u00a0that\u00a0I am\u00a0cheating on the quiz. She\u00a0accused me of using Google Search to look up the answers on the quiz, and\u00a0\u00a0when I saw\u00a0her,\u00a0I closed\u00a0the opened tab to hide the fact I was using Google Search to cheat.\u00a0I\u00a0told her I\u00a0never did that. She called my parents and\u00a0told\u00a0them\u00a0I was cheating,\u00a0but my parents\u00a0told\u00a0\u00a0her,\u00a0\u201cNO she\u00a0would\u00a0never do that.\u201d After\u00a0some time\u00a0she\u00a0apologized\u00a0to me and\u00a0said\u00a0she\u00a0thought I was cheating\u00a0because there\u00a0was\u00a0a student\u00a0who\u00a0said that I was cheating, but now knew I was using Google Translate.\u00a0I\u00a0said,\u201d\u00a0It\u2019s okay and thanks for beveling\u00a0me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"living<\/p>\n

The picture is my brain\u00a0because\u00a0the\u00a0brain\u00a0represents\u00a0me and everything\u00a0in\u00a0it is\u00a0about the things\u00a0I learn, and I feel it\u2019s the good one to do. I the first\u00a0side it\u00a0is\u00a0me when I was in Egypt and it\u2019s says \u201cthis is Maryan, I really missed everyone in Egypt so much and I really can\u2019t wait to see you guys again soon and for my family I really love you all guys can\u2019t wait to see you guys again.\u201d The second\u00a0side it\u00a0is about America and what happened to me in the beginning it\u2019s like I don\u2019t know America and I don\u2019t know how to write or read and after I stated to know that there is google translate and I started to use that and after I know how to read and write the stuff in the school and around me too.\u00a0The reason I did it like this is because this is the way that I can write Arabic and English together and the idea of the topic \u201cLiving in a different country\u201d\u00a0because\u00a0everything happened to\u00a0me\u00a0is in my brain, and I will never forget those things. Now\u00a0I know\u00a0how to\u00a0read\u00a0and write\u00a0and understand\u00a0English more than before.\u00a0I learned writing and reading\u00a0in English\u00a0at the same time,\u00a0and\u00a0now\u00a0I\u00a0love\u00a0it!<\/p>\n

Later, in\u00a0my\u00a0sophomore\u00a0year in\u00a0high school\u00a0my\u00a0English teacher\u00a0did not teach us\u00a0anything at all. I\u00a0did not\u00a0understand why\u00a0she did not lecture, or help us understand the reading, instead\u00a0she always\u00a0asked\u00a0me and my classmates\u00a0to teach\u00a0ourselves.\u00a0She said\u00a0we are old\u00a0enough to read and\u00a0understand\u00a0the material\u00a0on our\u00a0own,\u00a0but\u00a0when I\u00a0had\u00a0a question, she\u00a0told me to\u00a0use the book or\u00a0on\u00a0Google\u00a0for the answer.\u00a0Improving my reading and writing during sophomore year in high school\u00a0was\u00a0difficult\u00a0for me\u00a0because\u00a0I\u00a0needed\u00a0a lot\u00a0more\u00a0help\u00a0than the school was able to provide, so I decided I need to teach myself English.<\/p>\n

I started watching a movie\u00a0with English subtitles\u00a0at the bottom.\u00a0I tried\u00a0to read and write\u00a0at\u00a0the same\u00a0time and\u00a0started to practice\u00a0every day.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0first movies\u00a0I watched were\u00a0\u201cHome\u00a0Alone\u201d and \u201cHarry Potter,\u201d I still love these movies.\u00a0I started to write and read, learning from my mistakes,\u00a0so I\u00a0migrated to\u00a0watching\u00a0Netflix,\u00a0which\u00a0I love\u00a0because\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0learning\u00a0English fast and talking\u00a0with people. I\u2019m a talkative person\u00a0and this is how\u00a0I was when I\u00a0born,\u00a0my family always tells me that\u00a0I was not shy at all. I learned English after one year and never gave up because I know life is not easy.\u00a0I always learn everything from my writing and reading\u00a0and\u00a0listening and\u00a0talking\u00a0with people.\u00a0A if life\u00a0were easy\u00a0then\u00a0there would be no lessons to\u00a0learn. For\u00a0me, I always learn\u00a0best\u00a0the hard way, like\u00a0improving my Arabic grammar,\u00a0writing,\u00a0and reading\u00a0has helped me\u00a0to understand people and listen to them.<\/p>\n

Essay exams were\u00a0a\u00a0little bit hard in the beginning, but they helped improve\u00a0my\u00a0reading\u00a0and writing, which\u00a0are\u00a0essential in Egyptian\u00a0schools; however,\u00a0my school was a private school,\u00a0so\u00a0I really do not know about the\u00a0exams in the\u00a0rest of the schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":253,"menu_order":15,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["mtawadrous"],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[76],"license":[],"class_list":["post-305","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","contributor-mtawadrous"],"part":260,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/253"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":585,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/305\/revisions\/585"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/260"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/305\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=305"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=305"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}