Even before I was born, I was taking strolling trips along the busy streets of Kuala-Lumpur and through the glittering alleys of KLCC mall in KL as my family was living and working in Kuala Lumpur.

I was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1999 and after a mere 20 days I returned to Kuala-Lumpur to explore the streets and alleys that once heard about them but now can see them every day.

I was the complete preoccupation of my mom. What calmed me down after a crying spell is a nice story read by mom in my nicely decorated bedroom.

Soon after Kuala-Lumpur, I moved with the family to Cairo, Egypt in 2000.

It was quite a change for my usual lifestyle as I had to get used to the colder weather and less strolls in the Mall but I guess I adapted well.

My life in Egypt did not last long as the family had to move again in 2001 to Dubai, but this time with a newly born sister Rachel, in April of 2001.

I found joy and jealousy in my sister. I liked to tease her but also play with her. I found her interesting at times especially when she was quiet.

As the age of two and half, I attended nursery school. Oh Boy, how much I cried the first few days!

After Settling in, I was ready to start school. At the age of three in 2002, I joined the Jumeriah Primary School (JPS) in Dubai, a British curriculum school recently opened in Dubai.

At School, teachers, assistants and staff were all nice to me as they claimed that I have a nice character.

I stayed in JPS till 2006. It was fun; I developed great friendships and participated in a lot of activities. Some of my friends are still communicating with me across the world till today.

“When I left the school to move to the Houston, USA, my classmates had a grand farewell party, a testimonial of my popularity and friendship” said my mom.

During the school years, one of the highlights of every year was the international day. As you may know Dubai is made up of mainly expatriate families from all walks of life living and working in Dubai. As appropriate, an international day event was organized in almost every school in Dubai. I enjoyed this day a lot and liked to participate.

Dressed in traditional Lebanese folklore costume, I roamed in the school waving the flag of Lebanon and tasting all the other culinary delights of the other nationalities offered during this event.

Dressed in traditional Lebanese folklore costume

In 2006, my family decided to camp in the desert, a night that I will never forget. I always ask my family for a next time… During these wonderful years in Dubai, I have participated in lots of activities such as trips to the desert. I loved riding the sand dunes in a 4×4 SUV with my dad. I loved the desert camping adventure too.

I enjoyed riding camels or holding falcons.

Every summer, the weather in Dubai became unbearable and the family decided to leave Dubai for two months vacation. This is when the fun begins for me.
I traveled West to the US, explored Seaworld, Disneyland and Universal studios

And I travelled north to Turkey in 2005 for a week long holiday with my cousins who lived in Lebanon and whom I love a lot.

But best of all is when I return to Lebanon for the summer to visit grandpa and grandma and play with my cousins. I love being in the mountains chasing sheeps and goats or riding ponies.

I still keep in touch with my long time friends in Lebanon like Michael and Andreas and I make the effort to visit and play with them every chance I have.

At Halloween, I would disguise myself in my best heroe figure at the time and enjoy the collection of the Halloween treats which I give away with lots of difficulties at the end of the party . (to Please Mom…)

And in winter, I get to ski. Skiing was a yearly ritual for our family. I started skiing when I was four. It was hard work for me but at the end of the long skiing day, I rewarded myself with a game of snowball fight with my sister and my friends.

Of course I do not forget the fireplace attraction and the roasting of the chestnuts and marshmallows.

In 2006, I moved with my family to Houston, and were enrolled in the French school of Houston ( AWTY). It was difficult at first, learning reading and writing French coming from a british school in Dubai. I had to double his efforts to catch up fast so I can succeed his school year.

It was not obvious but I did it, a testimonial of my perseverance and my intelligence as my first french teacher Mira puts it.

In fact I finished the first year with good ratings to the point that my parents decided to reward me with a well deserved vacation.

In 2007, we all went to ClubMed vacation in Ixtapa, Mexico. It was an experience that I never forget. At ClubMed, I let myself loose, I made lots of friends, I explored my limits physically and mentally. I also learnt how to swing on a trapeze and overcame my fears, a first for me.

At my eighth birthday party, all my classmates came to celebrate my birthday by the pool. Just two hours before the arrival of my friends, it started raining with thunders. I was worried sick . You could see tears in my eyes but my mind did not give up. I started preparing for plan B, in case the rain continued, how would I entertain all my guests?

Luckily, my prayers were answered, the rain stopped and we had a great birthday party.
My return gift to my friends was something a bit unusual as I decided to give back each of my friends a living fish in a bowl. The idea was that my friends would take care of the fish everyday as a symbol of caring for our friendship.

I hated writing but loved reading. Whether French or English, it was always the same problem. My handwriting is close to scribbling but my thoughts were well developed.

In February 2008, I returned with my family again to Dubai. I now left the French school in Houston to join this time , in the middle of the school year the American School of Dubai , learning the American curriculum.

I had little issue to integrate in the new school. I made quickly new friends but stayed in contact with my Houston friends.

For the school year 2008-2009, I had to set my learning objectives. One of which was to improve his writing skills. As I hated Writing before, I had to do something about it otherwise my school progression will be in Jeopardy.

To everyone astonishment including myself, I took seriously this challenge and started improving my writing.

Crazy Sea was this spout of energy that came out one day and pushed me to write a short 500 word story for a contest. It came out just great. Read more..

Dad loved the story so much he decided to illustrate it and publish it.

Crazy Sea has received raving reviews from my friends and teachers and that encouraged me to start subsequent stories.

At home, I chose a different style of bedroom, a style that would allow me to lounge and read at my leisure or play some games with friends when time permits.
This was the result.

I celebrated nineth birthday on Aug 27th 2008 and had lots of fun in the Encounter Zone in Dubai.

My latest memorable vacation was the winter holidays of 2008 where I went with the family to ClubMed in Peisy Vallandry – in the French Alps. During this vacation, I tested the limit of freedom and what comes with it in terms of responsibility. I was pretty much independent, from morning to evening, skiing with friends and taking care of my daily chores. I had a ball.

I am currently working on Graffiti kids, a 2000 word mystery story, Read More..