Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Oneteenatatime
Oneteenatatime
Yes, dialogue sessions. The reason why is that they are very good people and we have much in
common.
What was the most important thing you learned?
I want to tell them dont judge people until you know them better, and dont hate anyone
because of his government or people.
Safia Abdel Hamid Yousef, 16, Cairo, Egypt
What surprised you most? That they [the American teens] are not that different than me.
What do you have in common?
A person in my bunk and I both sing in school.
How are you different?
Religious issues. Like saying Islam promotes violence.
Did you change your mind about any issue?
Yes, that I need to be more open-minded. My bunkmates are very good friends and we will keep
in touch.
What was the most important thing you learned?
Live life to the fullest. Dont generalize and give everyone a chance.
Autumn Reeves, 16, Kennedale
What surprised you most?
I expected most of the Arab girls to wear head coverings, but only a few wear the hijab and only
because they choose to. Not all of the Arabs are Muslims. One girl in my bunk from Jordan is
Christian.
At the beginning, most of the Middle Eastern teens were quiet. But as camp progressed they
came out of their shells.
Did you change your mind about any issue?
When I first came to camp I was somewhat nervous that other campers might force me to
change my views, but most Arabs and Americans accepted my points of view and respected
them.
What was the most important thing you learned?
All of the Arab delegations have become close friends of mine. There is no question as to
whether we will keep in touch. Its going to happen. Either e-mail or video conferencing will help
us.
George Brown, 15, Fort Worth
What surprised you most?
All the Arab teens command the English language so easily.
What do you have in common?
Arab teens listen to a lot of hip-hop music and have a lot of the same values, like love your
family, respect your friends and talking to each other is good.
How are you different?
I am not that religious and praying seven times a day is new to me.
Did you change your mind about any issue?
I did change an opinion on life. When my friend Makhmoud was trying to teach me Arabic, he
taught me how to say, I am doing good. I asked him, How do you say I am doing bad? He
said that in Islam he believes that as long as you are alive, you are never having a bad day.