About Me

Majors: Middle Eastern Studies, Arabic
Minor: International Economic Development
Future dreams/ambitions: To work with refugees in
Palestine or Afghanistan, and try to make some sort
of a difference in people's lives. It is my greatest hope
that we will see peace in the entire region of the Middle
East; after all, it is the cradle of civilization, and their
history should never be forgotten.

About me...
I was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, but only lived there for a month before my family came to the United States. It is a bit peculiar; I have two other sisters, and we were each born in different countries: Sri Lanka, England, and the U.S. My mother and father met and studied in England. At that time my father worked for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), working as a technolgy expert in the Middle East. He always speaks fondly of the "Middle East," and I think my immense love and curiosity for the region's people and culture was instilled by my father. One of my dearest childhood memories was listening to my parents and their friends debate over politics; my father chooses to obtain most of his knowledge from foreign newspapers and his friends abroad. As a staunch supporter of Palestine and the Palestinian right to return to their land, my father still encourages me to read about the Israelis' outlook and beliefs, and how they justify their actions. Through my fifteen years or so of schooling, no one has taught me more than my parents, and I am forever indebted to them.

Interests:
I absolutely love to travel. I believe it broaden's people's perceptions of the world surrounding them, and I am fortunate I have been given the chances to travel to many places abroad. The first time I have been outside of the country was when I was in 8th grade or so; I spent two months in Australia visiting my family. In 11th grade I traveled with my father on his business trips to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. I have also been to Mexico, and last summer I had the best time of my life in Damascus, Syria, studying Arabic. I made a weekend trip with friends to Lebanon, four days before the Israeli-Lebanon war erupted. Unfortunately after that, we were told to return ASAP, and there were very few flights out of Syria at that time. I took a bus to Istanbul, Turkey, (which is a BEAUTIFUL city) spent a day there, and flew back to the U.S. I desperately wanted to visit Jerusalem and the occupied territories, but as some of you might know, if you attempt to enter Syria with an Israeli stamp on your passport, you will not be allowed in. That summer Gaza City was also bombed by Israel, so it wouldn't have been possible regardless. This summer I hope to teach English in Bosnia...:)
On a small sidenote: I truly wish everyone had the money/time to travel these days, so I wouldn't have to hear comments such as, "Do they have roads in Sri Lanka? What color are the skies there?" "I was watching the news....and I'm not sure if it happened in Iraq, or Baghdad."
I'm speechless.

Anyways, I am extremely excited to work with the students in our class and with Amy. I know everyone will have a lot of insight to bring as we touch upon sensitive issues. I would just like to issue a disclaimer: the plight of the Palestinians is a topic that is extremely close to my heart. I have no familial ties to Palestine, or the "Middle East" for that matter, but to see the injustices they face makes me extremely emotional. In class, there is much I would like to say, but I get overwhelmed and the words don't seem to come out right at times. So I apologize for this; speaking CLEARLY without getting emotional is something I definitely need to improve upon. I hope I don't come across as "crazy." I just feel (as I am sure most of you do) very strongly about these situations. Please bear this in mind; I am trying work on this:)