The 15 Years Old Ultimate Guitarist

I am really amazed by the talent of my little brother Mustapha (We call him "Papa" at home, because that is how he pronounced his name when he was a toddler). At age 15, he can already play the guitar as good as  Angus Young the lead guitar player of AC/DC. Come to think of it, a few years ago it seems like he does not have the interest to learn how to play the guitar. He was more interested in picking up a basketball rather than a guitar and I guess he was just trying to emulate me. Because every little brother wants to be like their big brother, right? I admit that while our Dad is a very good guitar player (Who by the way is the mentor), I consider myself as a frustrated guitar player and instead I focused on playing sports especially basketball. I joined and played in sports tournaments rather than join battle of the bands. But right now, I still have that urge to learn more on playing the guitar and I am hoping "Papa" can teach his big bro. Below are two videos of my little bro, one is his version of the famed Canon Rock music and the other is a band performance in his school IPSJ (International Philippine School In Jeddah) which is also my alma mater. Enjoy viewing the Ultimate Guitarist!

Kaifa Halak? Wait, Is That An Arabic Word?

I have written a few "blogs" before but this is the first time that I am formally making a blog site via Blogger. I am planning sometime to store my previous blogs here, so that they will not go to waste. Anyway, in case you are wondering, the title of my blog says "Kaifal halak?". Well, it is an Arabic word and it means "How are you?" when translated to the English language. Formally, you respond that with "Ana bi khair, shukran" which means "I am fine, thanks". Maybe you are asking why did I title my blog with that phrase? I guess I am just trying to incorporate my Arabic background into my blog. Speaking of Arabic background, recently I become a fan of a page entitled "OH?! TALAGA? NAG-HIGHSCHOOL KA SA SAUDI? BA'T DI KA DUN NAG-COLLEGE?". That fan page really hit the jackpot because in my experience, I was asked that very question several times but I don't consider it silly. I mean there are questions that are asked to me out of curiosity and I respect that but there are just questions that are so silly and ignorant that sometimes you're going to say "Are you kidding me or what?". But as time goes by, I have learned to answer  and handle these questions well. So in regards to that fan page, I would like to list all the silly questions that has been asked to me because of my background. For now these are the only ones that I have compiled but you never know, someone could ask me something silly along the way.

The above word means "Arabic"

If you grew up in Saudi Arabia, then:
1] Did you ride a camel?
2] Where did you live in a tent?
3] How did you survive there? Isn't the place all deserts and full of sands all over?
4] Do the men really have to grow a beard? Because if not then they will get raped by the Arabs?
5] Do the men have to wear long pants all the time? Because if they wear shorts then they will get raped by the Arabs?
6] When you were there, did you always wear the Saudi national costume (the ghutra and thawb for men)? (Women are required to wear the abaya but are not required to cover their face especially for the non-Muslims) 
7] Isn't Saudi a war torn country? (Clearly, they are mistaking Saudi with Iraq, Palestine, or Israel  However, Saudi did have a war back in 1992 which was called the Gulf War.)

8] You also do not take a bath right? Or practice personal hygiene? Because Arabs do not take a bath or practice personal hygiene. (I don't exactly know if all Arabs take a bath, what do you want me to do, check them one by one? What I do know is that Muslim Arabs are required to perform ablution or cleansing 5 times a day in order to perform prayers or salah.)