“Belly Dancing”

“Belly Dancing” Before this semester began in August I was somewhat clueless when it came to foreign culture and I like many naive Americans when someone said the Middle East the first couple things that pop into my head were hummus, war, and belly dancing. Belly dancing is a common type of dance in the […]

From Trash to Treasure

As a part of my Saturday afternoon, I decided to indulge in a much needed shopping spree-to the thrift store. At this point in my life, thrifting has practically been embedded into my bones. Ever since I was a little girl, my parents had been taking my sister and I on adventures to find the […]

The Power of Foreign Language

After reading and agreeing with one of my classmates, Jack McNenny, blog on the lack of foreign language in our schools, I became interested in how countries throughout the Middle East implement foreign language throughout their education, and how it differs from the United States. But They’re Just Children.. Americans tend to view the concept of […]

The Cubs of the Islamic State

As we dive deeper into the issues surrounding the Middle East, we are finding that ISIS is becoming a bigger problem. ISIS is an extremist group that aims to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas in Iraq and Syria. They are known for their taped beheadings of activists and use YouTube to create recruitment […]

A Religious Journey

2:60 Eat and drink from the provision of God, and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption If you have grown up in a religious household your whole life, try to imagine the complete opposite, or if you have never followed a religion you might be able to relate. I grew up in […]

From Ground to City

Aesthetics. As human beings, we crave things that have the ability to grab our attention. We like to see people, places, and structures that are visually appealing. When I think about this word, I recall my last trip to NYC. It was 7AM and I was sitting on the bus, about to arrive into the […]

Public Health – What’s Everyone Talking About?

In America, health care and health policies are becoming more and more of a debated issue. What is the right way to handle the issue? What stance should be taken? Well, for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions, they are gearing up for the same topic. I was intrigued on what was being […]

Pets or Pests?

I am a pet lover. I have had dogs, cats, hamsters, and fish in my life, and have loved them all. I eagerly await the days that I have the opportunity to raise a husky or a German shepherd, my girlfriend longs for an English bulldog named Winston, and cats will always have a place […]

A City Built From Tourism

As much as I talk about traveling, I have yet to leave the country. This is sad for me to say because I am so intrigued by the world and all of the places I could have passionately traveled too throughout the past few years, besides good ole Ohio. With the amount of trips I […]

Do Two Negatives Make a Positive?

In light of the recent events in the Middle East with ISIS, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I wanted to showcase the amazing contribution that the Middle East has given to society over the years. Some of the most influential advancements came from the Middle East such as medicine, the idea of higher education, and mathematics. […]

Brave the Cave

Majlis Al Jinn Deep, deep in the land of Oman lies a cave. A cave that is home to mysteries, stories, legends, and myths. A cave that is home to many spirits yet is only one single chamber. The name of this cave is Majlis Al Jinn which actually means “Meeting Place of the Spirits.” […]

Israel’s Stance Against the Ultra-Thin Ideals of the Fashion/ Advertisement Industry!

This summer I interned for a high fashion photographer Alexei Hay who had recently converted to be a Modern Orthodox Jew. In the span of a couple months I didn’t only learn about photography, but also about how to live a holy life following Judaism. Many in the industry found themselves puzzled when finding out […]

Miss Beautiful Morals

When you think of beauty pageants, you think of young beautiful women strutting their stuff in front of judges, a live audience, and television viewers. Every year millions of people are glued to their TVs watching Miss Universe or Miss America and we all have our favorite beauty queen. We watch as they show off […]

Right To Love

In the Middle East, perceptions of “gay” or “homosexual” are different from those of the West, and even Ohio University. Simply going against cultural norms can cause one to be labeled as “gay” in the Middle East; this categorization of homosexuality may be on pure assumption as well. Unlike Western culture, there are many classifications of […]

A Whole New World of Controversy

Earlier this year, a Broadway adaptation of Disney’s 1992 movie Aladdin opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City. It received mostly positive critical reviews upon its premiere and was nominated for 5 Tony Awards, with James Monroe Iglehart, who plays the role of Genie, taking home the award for best featured actor in a […]

Expression through Henna

For over five thousand years the art of henna (Arabic) or mehndi (Hindi) has been used as a way of enhancing beauty. Legend has it that Mohammad used henna to dye his beard and that the henna flower was the Prophet’s favorite. The plant has since been associated with positive magic and “provides a link […]

The Beauty of the Unknown

As I tell people that I’m pursuing a Global Leadership Certificate, their first questions pertain to what I’m doing and why it’s relevant to my career. Many people don’t understand the need to relate to issues all around the world, and come together as leaders to learn about them as well as from them. Since […]

Middle East: Home of the Billionaires

Have you ever seen pictures of the Palm Islands in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and wondered how those beautiful islands were crafted into what they are today? Money and geographical location has allowed the Palm Islands to exist. Dubai alone is home to nine out of the seventy-eight Middle Eastern billionaires. With this wealth, and […]

Are We Painting Everyone With the Same Brush?

Female Genital Mutilation On Monday, October 29th, Reza Aslan took an interesting spin on the issue of Female Genital Mutilation when going against the comedian Bill Maher’s perspective of violence and oppression against women. Maher stated that this is a problem in “Muslim countries” that occurs in extreme forms. According to Aslan, the argument was […]

Travel the World. Yes, that includes the Middle East.

While browsing through articles of various topics regarding the Middle East, I stumbled upon a blog that grasped my attention. Looking back at me was a young Australian woman smiling from ear to ear on top of a hillside. A photo of this sort would not typically be the type of element to captivatingly absorb […]