Hi everyone! My name is Duoaa Alkalaani, I am junior and
majoring in Chemical Engineering and this is my second year at OU. My dream is
to become a very successful engineer in the future and visit new countries as
much as I can because I love traveling a lot. Just to introduce my background,
I was born in Syria in a very small and beautiful city called “Shahba “,I wrote about it in one of my
posts for this class , so if you want to visit my blog and read more about
Shahba I would be so thankful and happy to answer any question you may have for
me,. So I grew up in Shahba and I have got graduated from one of its high
schools. Then in 2010 I came to the U.S with my family, I studied two and half
years at Tulsa community college in Tulsa and last year I moved to Norman to
finish my degree. My brother and I majoring in Chemical Engineering at OU which
makes the studying much more fun and sometimes a lot easier because he always has
a very great ideas to deal with some engineering problems. Last semester I took
an Engineering orientation class, this class was so easy and we had too much
fun in that class because it was just about knowing the organizations at OU and
how to get involve in the activities that the OU offers each semester, but the
fun part in that class was to go outside the class room and find events to
attend in the college of engineering where we can get some points. That was a
very great and fun class to take. I love
to listen to Arabic music and I like to watch movies when I have free time, any
kind of movies really it doesn’t matter for me. Also, cooking is my favorite
thing to do every day. My favorite food to cook is “Makloba with salad”
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| image information: my favorite dish ( Makloba and salad ) |
Hello Duoaa! It's so cool that you like studying here at OU with your brother--I like hanging out with my brothers too, but I only get to see them during breaks. I think my roommate was in that Engineering Orientation class with you last semester, although she didn't enjoy it as much as you did. Are you involved with the Arabic Flagship program here at all? I just recently left the program, but I'm still taking Arabic--I've even worked a teeny bit with Shaami, even though they mostly teach the MaSri dialect here!
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ReplyDeleteHi Christina... or do you go by Douaa? I wrote down Christina from the form you filled out back in Week 1, so let me know what you prefer! And thank you again for sharing about Shahba in your favorite places post. I spent a month in Syria back in 2005, and I went to Shaba to see the mosaics. And I had so much good food there: in fact, the food was AMAZING. I had makloba; the best was with eggplant! Is that normal to have makloba with eggplant? Anyway, it was delicious: I still remember it after all this time ha ha. The reason I was able to make this wonderful trip was because my friend Joshua Landis and his wife Manar were in Damascus that year, so I stayed with them, and they arranged for visits to so many great sites all over the country; my favorite place was Deir Semaan.
ReplyDeleteNow it is so sad to think about the war in Syria; I follow the news that Joshua shares via Twitter and his blog, and often I see the names of places that I visited there, and that makes it so much more real. Have you met Joshua Landis yet? He teaches in the College of International Studies, and his wife Manar is from Syria; I visited her hometown of Latakia during our trip.
Anyway, I hope you will enjoy the class, and if you want to do a project based on Syrian places or about ancient Syrian mythology, that would be wonderful!
Hello Duoaa! That is so crazy you are from so far away, what made your family come to Oklahoma? How long have you been learning english because you seem great at it? I bet the food you make is really good. Your picture made me hungry. Im glad you are enjoying OU and chemical engineering. I too have a brother and sister that go to school here as well and it has been so fun getting to spend time with them and study while at school.
ReplyDeleteHi Duoaa! So interesting to read about how you got here, I am sure that Oklahoma is very different for you! It sounds like you are really enjoying it though, which is great! Chemical Engineering is a very hard degree, but it sounds like you are passionate about it which will make it much easier to deal with! That and having your brother in the same program I am sure have made things easier on you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing a little about yourself, Duoaa. You are either the second person I've met with that name, or we have met before. If you have a Grad Coach in Cate 4, then we are acquainted. Anyhow, I appreciate that you provided some information about where you are from. I have only been out of the country once, so it is always interesting to meet people from elsewhere. Hopefully you get to go back to Shahba from time to time. So you like to cook, huh? I definitely admire people with that skill. I can do the basics, but my food never looks as good as the photo you provided.
ReplyDeleteHi Duoaa! I loved learning a little bit more about you from your introduction! I truly admire your dedication to your degree. Chemical Engineering is absolutely challenging, but I'm glad to read that you are enjoying it all!
ReplyDeleteI would love to learn more about Shahba and am off to read your post about it now! I hope to get the chance to learn even more about you this semester!
Hey Duoaa,
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you! I can't believe you lived in Syria all through high school and just moved here before college! That must have been a huge adjustment. Did you learn English in high school, or did you have to start learning before you moved? I can't imagine trying to study engineering at all, much less in a second language! Good for you!
That dish looks yummy! What's in it, exactly? And do you have a favorite American dish?
Hi Duoaa! Nice to meet you! I think that is so awesome and interesting that you lived in Syria for your whole life and have only been in the U.S for a few years! It is very impressive that you are studying Chemical Engineering ( such a difficult major) in a country that isn't your native country/home. I also love to cook! I cook everyday and love to try new things!
ReplyDeleteHey Duoaa! It is really cool to meet someone from Syria. I am sure you have had some incredible life experiences! My boyfriend is in the Chemical Engineering major and he really loves it as well! I too want to travel a lot and am hoping to do some traveling this summer with my family. I hope you are having a great semester and I can’t wait to read more of your stories!
ReplyDeleteHey Duoaa,
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to meet you! I hope you have gotten off to a great start this semester. It is very interesting that you lived in Syria for your whole life and have only been living in the U.S for a few years! Chemical Engineering? Whewww... Kudos to you for having the guts to choose that major haha, I know I couldn't do it! I wish I could cook, but I am always down to try new food, it would be interesting to see what dishes from Syria tasted like!
That's so great that you and your brother have the same major! My brother and I also have the same major here at OU, and it is a lot of fun! I love having him in my classes because it is so much easier to meet people to study with when he and I can make friends together. Chemical Engineering seems like a very difficult major, so I wish you the best!
ReplyDeleteHello! My wife loves Abrabian music. Its amazing to see international students in OU. I am also an international student from South Korea. Ive been here for a couples though. Still there is a culture shock. I would be great to see some recipes from Syria. I bet they are delicious. It was nice meeting you and I hope your path in chemical engineering is a successful one.
ReplyDeleteDuoaa, hey! I loved your introduction! I originally visited your page to look at some of the layout and designs you have on your page, but I decided that I was going to read your introduction while I was on your page!
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that you're an international student, and I have much respect for you being able to come to the states and have the courage and confidence to adjust to a world unfamiliar to you. I'm sure you're going to be amazing in your engineering career, as well as your brother. I love being immersed in different cultures and learning more. I would love to try your favorite dish as well as how you prepare it. Best of luck to you!
Hi Duoaa! I hope you like living here in the US. I can't imagine the challenges you must have had transitioning to living in a different country. How nice that you and your brother have the same major. I'm sure that must make it easier for the both of you to have a study buddy right there. Chemical engineering sounds like a challenging career choice, but I'm sure it is rewarding as well. Hope you are having a great semester.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you Duoaa! I’m glad to hear that you are enjoying OU and living in the US! I’m sure that chemical engineering is a very hard major so that is great that your brother is there to help you out and experience it with you. Best of luck to you in your future engineering career, I’m sure you will do great!
ReplyDeleteThat’s really cool that you’re from Syria. Chemical Engineering is hard major though, I’m really impressed. I want to travel a lot in my future job (whatever that may be) but engineering is not something I feel like I could do well. Math and math adjacent subjects are not my strong points at all. It’s cool that you’re going to school with your brother and that you’re in the same program. I’ve never had the same class as any of my siblings but it would be interesting I assume.
ReplyDeleteHey Duoaa,
ReplyDeleteI am back for the Week 14 Blog Comments. I just want to say again that you did such a great job with your Portfolio Project, it was very fun and enjoyable to read throughout the semester. I hope everything is going good with all of your classes and are going to finish this strong this semester. Good luck on Finals and enjoy your Summer!