Tag Archives: pictures

A New Year one month too late?

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Hi,

Whereas many people around the world are celebrating the beginning of the new year i.e. 2012 (Gregorian) many people around the world are more used to the Lunar or Hijri calendar. Today, on the 1st of January 2012 (Gregorian), the Hijri (Lunar) calendar date is the 7th of Safar, 1433. This is the second month of the year. The Hijri calendar also has 12 months. In case you are wondering why there seems to be a 600 plus year difference in the calendars, this is simple – both calendars have ‘spiritual’ origins. The Gregorian has origins in Christian tradition whereas the Hijri calendar has origins in Islamic tradition.

Here’s a 1 minute song to help people remember the months of the Hijri calendar. Have a good year ahead!! You could use this topic to create a listening, speaking, reading or writing activity.

Do you eat with your hands?

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Hi! Although many of us may eat with a knife, a spoon or a fork, there are a lot of people who eat using their hands.  

Before you start thinking that it is rather disgusting licking your fingers after the end of a meal, research indicates that licking fingers helps the digestive process because it results in the release of appropriate fluids to help break down the food further.  I usually eat with utensils such as a knife and fork, and sometimes use my hands when eating pizza.

However, when in the mood, I’ll eat rice with my hands. Usually at home but even sometimes at weddings in Saudi Arabia. When in the UK (England) and in a public place, I revert to knife and fork. To be honest though, there is nothing like getting your hands dirty with some rice and lentils.  

How do people eat in your culture? Please add a comment below.

How To Write Reviews Of Gadgets – Teaching Ideas

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Learning steps:
Step 1: Play the video and just listen to it. Make notes if you want.
Step 2: Try to answer the questions below.
Step 3: If you can’t remember everything, play the video again
Step 4: Try to answer the questions again.
Step 5: Now think about the video. Did you like it? Was it boring or exciting? Was it clear?
Activities:
What three things do you need to write a gadget?
How many steps are there?
Can you remember two steps?
How much does the average family spend on gadgets a year?
After the video has finished:
Write a few questions about the video to ask your classmates/friends/colleagues
What does tech-savvy mean? Are you tech-savvy? Discuss with your classmates/friends/colleagues

Eid greetings at the end of Ramadan 2011

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End of Ramadan comment:

If every individual in the world was to fast for a period of 29/30 days in a year, and take out five, five-minute slots a day to genuinely reflect on what the purpose of life was, would the world become a better place? Could wars and social injustice be defeated? Would the waste that humanity produces be reduced? Would anything really negative transpire? Whilst we continue to create our new ‘imagined needs’ to forever become our focus of operandi  and convince ourselves that we are the kings of our destiny and that destiny, time and world resources are in fact slaves to our desires,  are we leading ourselves to a self-belief that we can conquer and overcome ‘mother-nature’? If we can defeat death, then indeed we may well profess that we are Gods, but until we can do so, then we are mortals. There is an end….but is this end potentially the beginning to an even better ‘life’?  Now ask yourself this question. Are you genuinely open-minded and going to challenge your assumptions about life (meaning you need to put to one side all preconceived ideas) with the possibility of opening up a new positive paradigm, or are you going to be closed-minded and let things just take their course?

Ramadan Day 26 – The 27th Night

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“Whereas many of us are used to the Gregorian calendar, Muslims also follow the Hijri (Lunar) calendar to set dates. Interestingly, whereas many of us are used to night following day, in the Hijri calendar, night comes first. In other words, the next day begins after sunset (not 1 second after midnight), thus the title above. The photographs below relate to the worship that occurred during the 27th night. The last ten days of Ramadan result in a concerted focus on worship. The Qur’an was revealed within the last 10 days of Ramadan and it is a time for greater reflection and to seek (through prayer) what is within ones heart and mind.”