Lang and Lit 1st Entry

Hello, and welcome to my blog. This blog is made for my English Language and Literature class in school. We have began studying our first topic which is around language and culture. I will use my blogs as both an informal, exploratory writing space as well as a place to share projects incorporating digital technology and media.

My name is Zaid Ariqat. I am a 16 year old boy living in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. I come from Amman, Jordan. I am currently studying the IB Diploma program at Raha International School. This is my fifth year at the school, and I really enjoy being here. I have lived in the UAE all my life, however i have relocated a few times between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. I was born in Abu Dhabi where I spent four years, before moving to the wonderful city of Dubai where I lived for six years. I then had to move back to Abu Dhabi because of my father's unstable job in the year of 2010. I live in a family of two younger brothers and sisters, and both my parents.

I really have an extremely strong passion for sports in general; more specifically football (soccer). I am a huge supporter and fan of the football club Arsenal and enjoy watching them play. I also often enjoy playing video games with friends when possible.

I really hope I am successful in the next two school years of this journey, and can successfully achieve the Diploma, but I am aware that extremely hard work is required in order to achieve this goal and it will definitely not be straightforward.

As for my future, I am not completely sure in which direction I will be heading and what I will be exactly doing for my life. Many people I know of have a specific plan on what they will be doing and which direction they will be heading; and on the other hand some people like myself, still have no idea, but will eventually find out soon.

As for my definition of culture; it is the ideas, customs, social behavior of a particular people or society. The most reliable way for people to communicate those ideas and customs is through the use of language. This is why language is an important part of culture.

I identify myself with the Arab culture; more specifically the Emirati culture since I have lived nowhere other than this country for my entire life. I have at times felt excluded from a culture, but not really due to language barriers; for example when I travel to Jordan to meet family and friends, its true I can speak arabic, but I just don't feel the connection and the understanding between us.

Hope you enjoyed reading!

Bye.