My Many Hobbies as a Child

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My Many Hobbies as a Child Prof. Reima Al-Jarf Thirty years ago, there were very few schools in Saudi Arabia. Since my father wanted me and my brothers to get a good education, he sent the three of us to Jordan.

There, we lived with my grandparents, uncles and aunts in the city of Ramallah, 16 kms far from Jerusalem. On the second day of my arrival, I went to school. Everything was strange and new for me: the streets, the building, the school, the people, even the children.

I was a stranger among my fellow children. I felt as if I was coming from another planet: my dialect, clothes and appearance were different. The curios children used to gather around me, touch my hair, clothes, and bracelets, ask me questions, laugh at me, or grab my sandwich.

Having never been exposed to immediate contact with so many children and being originally a very shy and sensitive child, I responded in a very passive way. I always kept silent, ran away from them, sometimes cried or withdrew. Their attitude towards me made me feel that I was different, made me try to avoid them and hence I grew up to be aloof, lonely ... more. less.

and introverted. The fact of being the best student in my class and the only child who did not live with her parents enhanced my feeling of being different. Although I had a lot of potential and talents, I never tried to participate in the school activities or parties because I was very shy. At home, I was passive and introverted too. Nobody paid attention to me. Attention was directed towards my younger brother who was only two years old and who was always crying and asking for mother. Even my older brother who was 6 years older than me had his own interests and activities, so he always beat me up whenever I followed him and wanted to play with him. I spent my time practicing my countless hobbies alone and secretly. I played with the daughters of our neighbor's who were about my age and who were in a different school. We always played school and I was the teacher. I always showed them my hobbies and exchanged ideas with them.

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