Bejad's post on the Arabic "Friends Reunited"

Hello everyone,

I miss you so much, I last saw you in high school, and after school I went to Tech College to study mechanical engineering. As you know, my college wasn't so easy, nevertheless I managed to get a scholarship from it. I studied some lovely subjects such as maths and physics; they were so hard but I liked them because I had good teachers. Then I decided to go the UK, but my brother told me the USA was better than the UK.

After that, I visited my brother in the USA to learn English for 3 months, because he was studying civil engineering there. I was lucky because I got a lot of experience of different cultures: before I studied, I had a problem with English, but after that course I could speak English. However, I did not like that country, I didn't know why, but it was wonderful, also most people like it and go to work there.

Then, I decided to study in the UK. But I worried about it - I thought it would be like the USA. Afterwards, I studied English again for 8 months. Then I chose Bristol University because it is famous, when I was studying I met some people from all over the world, learned some words from some other languages as well. I think the English is easier than other languages but of course Arabic is the easiest language for me.

Finally, I graduated from Bristol and had big party around Bristol with my friends. Really it was an amazing time, and I came back home to work here. I preferred to work for a private company but my friend advised me to take a government job because more it's more secure and the pay is better. Nevertheless, as you can see, I am a manager for the biggest international company in Kuwait.

See you soon ...

Bejad

A change in my life (used to do / be used to doing)

My life completely changed when I came to the United Kingdom. For example, before I came to Bristol I was not used to learning English, but now I'm getting used to it.

Also, I didn't used to wear jeans, but now I'm used to wearing them. In addition, I used to have a car, however, now I use the bus for transport.

Moreover, I'm not used to calling my family, because I used to live with them in the same house. However, I'm used to calling them every week to ask if they are fine or not.

Finally, I was not used to eating English food, but now I'm getting used to it.

by Ebrahim

A change in society (used to do / be used to doing)

In 1997, the mobile phone market increased rapidly in Korea. Mobiles were very expensive and were used by the rich.

Since 1997, the Korean government has supported the mobile phone business. When mobiles were popular, I used to have a pager, I didn't used to want to have a mobile, because I had to take calls from my parents.

However, my father gave a mobile phone to me when I entered the university, and said, "If you don't take my calls, I'll kill you."

Nowadays, I'm used to using my mobile everyday. It is the most important weapon in my job.

by Kay

A change in my life (used to do / be used to doing)

I come from a small village with only 500 inhabitants and I went to Paris for my studies, so I was not used to living in a big city.

I used to eat with my family and my mother used to prepare meals for me. After I moved, I had to get used to preparing my lunch. Now, I'm used to cooking by myself.

Moreover, Paris is a noisy place, even at night and I was used to sleeping in a quiet area.

I used to go to school by bus when I was young but now I am used to taking the subway.

I think that Paris is not a good place for me because people are used to running for everything. I used to feel better at my parents' house.


by Pierre-Henri

You cannot measure success by money

Nowadays, everyone has his own style. Many people, when they see others who wear new clothes, they think that they are rich. Of course they need money to buy new clothes. But I disagree that people measure success by money.

It is true that rich people always wear new suits and they have nice style. Also they have big houses and beautiful cars. For instance, in the UK when my friends see sports cars they told me the person driving this car must have a lot of money.

In my opinion, we cannot measure success by money because there are many people whose salary is not more than £1000 monthly. But they wear new clothes, because they like to change their style every season. On the other hand there are a lot of rich people who do not care about their appearance. A good example is, in the UK when we sit in the Arabic cafe we always see a man who wears a normal suit and he sits with anyone, and jokes with anyone. But we were surprised when the waiter told us this man is lawyer and his salary was more than hundred thousand pounds per year.

In conclusion, I don't believe that the style of people reflects their position. Everyone has his own style, whether they are rich or poor.


by: Ebrahim Alhebsi

You can measure success by money.

This is a complex issue, because people have different views about success.

I can see both sides of the argument about success. It is often said that many rich people are not happy, so we can not measure success by money. I agree that there is some common ground between success and happiness. However they are not equal, just similar.

In my opinion, if you have enough money you can care for your family well. However, if you do not have enough money, maybe you can have some arguments with your family, because it is not easy to get what you need.

In conclusion, it is difficult to decide on this issue. I believe, money will help your success and happiness.

by Kay

Governments have a duty to look after people who are sick or unemployed

Usually governments have a duty to look after their citizens especially in the field of health and unemployment. Actually this is complex issue because you cannot satisfy everyone but we are talking here about basic needs.

However, we need jobs and medical insurance to cover health needs. I think the government should work on this more than other things and provide the citizens medical insurance and jobs because these are very important for them and they can affect how the government looks after them.

So, some people will maybe disagree with me because the responsibility for unemployment lies not only with the government but also the private sector and I agree with this. In my opinion, the government should work on forcing the private sector to create jobs and ensuring everyone with a job in the private sector has medical insurance.

In conclusion, I believe that health and jobs are the number one priority in life for everyone and keeps society stable.


by Ahmed