Friday April 27th 2018 Diary Entry
5:00am: I woke up restless after a very strange dream, but decided to close my eyes for a few minutes and drifted into another weird dream.
7:00am: I wake up forgetting that my daughter has picture day, and that I have to iron her dress and chose a teddy bear so that she can take it with her. My son, I realized is growing up so fast, tells me that he feels tired and that he would like a five-minute snooze!
7: 15am: I finish dressing and I preform my morning prayers as I really feel guilty that I am a few hours late in performing the morning prayer.
7:25am: My son and daughter are ready to go and we head out to our car, as I notice the sun and the wonderful spring morning outside. I wish it was like this every day.
7:45am: I drop of my kids off at daycare wishing them a wonderful day and I promise that we will eat ice cream for dinner.
8:00am: I arrive on campus, and I decide to get a Latte and two boiled eggs from The Bookmark Café in Bracken Library because I know that it will be a very long day. I have two classes of presentations and the end of the year Department celebration where I will be acknowledged as an excellent grad student. I’m really looking forward to this event.
8:50am: I head to class, with my latte and my notebook so that I can take notes on today’s student presentations. I’m contemplating how I haven’t talked to my family back home for a while and decide to do so when I’m done working for the day. It will be morning over there.
9:00 9:45am: In class students amaze me with their presentations and I think they really enjoyed working on them throughout the semester.
10:00am to 11am: I have office hours where I spend time grading and enjoying my cup of coffee.
11:00am-11:50: I have my second class of the day. Students are excited about their presentations and they tell me that they have enjoyed their projects for this class in their final reflection , which some students were doing in class.
11:50: 12:20: I go back home and spend some time reading for my dissertation and making revisions on one of my chapters.
12:20: 1:00pm: My mom calls me from back home telling me that they have a huge sand storm coming their way. I tell my mom that its probably normal for this time of year. I joke with my mother about driving and ask her if she has got her drivers license yet. I can’t imagine that we are the first generation to start driving back home. It took such a long time to get there, but I tell my mother that I think we are closer to being there, the place where I think woman can be treated equally back home. My sister also talks to me on the phone. She is in her last year of high school and she is excited about college. She tells me that she misses me immensely and that she can’t wait for me to come back home. I can’t wait either.
1:00pm- 3pm: I spend most of the time reading and writing on one of mu dissertation chapters. I’m so happy that I’m writing about something that I love and can identify with. I do feel alone sometimes and need someone to talk to about all the ideas in my head. I write them down in my note book so I don’t forget. I perform my midday prayer.
3:00pm- 4:00pm: I have some green tea and eat some dates before heading to the recognition ceremony.
4:00pm -6: 00pm: I am at the ceremony. I tell myself that It is so nice to see everyone. When it was my turn to be recognized I was so nervous, but once I got up there I loved the comments that the Professors made about me. It made me feel proud of myself and accomplishments, but I felt that I still have a lot more to give at the same time. I vowed that I would make a lot more progress this year and hopefully get my dissertation to be recognized as the best dissertation in graduate school.
6:00pm-7:00pm: I pick up the kids from daycare with my husband. They seem to be excited that the weather is getting warmer so I tell them that they can play in the backyard with their father while I prepare dinner for all of us. I perform my late afternoon prayer, then I go in the kitchen and decide to make Spaghetti with minced beef. I know that we all love them. I make my daughter some special pasta, because she has food allergies and can only eat rice pasta. We all sit together on the floor with our plates and eat, watching our favorite Arabic sitcom.
7:00pm-8:30pm: I decide to clean up and give my children a bath. Then I get them dressed and put them to bed, reading to them their newest book, Peppa Pig and Bedtime. I remember that I have to perform my early night prayer, and I pray in my room. My daughter giggles as I try to copy the British accent, because Peppa Pig is a British cartoon. I remind them to read the opening verse of the Quran, as I heard that memorization is better before bed time. I’m glad that my son is picking up some Arabic words. My daughter is also so good about learning Arabic.
9:00- 11:00: I sit with my husband drinking Arabic coffee and talk to him about one of his exams that he is supposed to take. He tells me that he is doing well reading and preparing for it. He leaves to be with his friends, and I spend some time reading for my dissertation again. I feel that it has been a long day and so I decide to sleep at 11:00pm. I’m glad that tomorrow is the weekend, where I can get to sleep in for just a few minutes after 7am!
