another great man died yesterday. he is sheikh zayed bin sultan al nahyan. he was the president, or in the emirate's monarchial case, he was the king. and a very kind king i'll say. he is known to be a great father and a very generous person. just think, UAE is one of the most richest country in the world, and his government doesn't even ask for a measly cent of tax from the rising number of expats like us. and i know that he is known to have lots of adopted sons and daughters whom he generously supplies financial fees, specially education fees. and i know that he is also a religious man (of course, he's a muslim). even though UAE has been a mix-match of races and beliefs and religions for the past 20 years, still, it remained a "muslim country". the list of the good things about zayed will continue but i have to cut it short. i know that he will be remembered not for the massive oil production his country is known of, nor the great cities and buildings that arose through an unbelievable short period of time. he will be remembered as a wise king. a wise king that even though he is still clinging to the very conserative muslim way, he is still liberated in a lot of way-because he embraced expats like us, and gave us the opportunity to earn and have a good and peaceful life. i hope that his death will not change the rules that he has established. and i pray that whoever will takeover the king's throne will be as kind and as merciful as the king himself. may his soul rest in peace. we will miss you, sheikh zayed bin sultan al nahyan.
yesterday i was whining and ranting nonstop about 2nd semester. i was raging like crazy and talking like it was the worst problem of my life. tonight, while i was contemplating on sheikh zayed's death, i thought, wow, there are greater problems in this world indeed. other expats could lose their job, or even worse, all of the expats could be kicked off the emirates (because some of zayed's sons are known to hate expats and wants the country to be an all-muslim country only). i wish everything will turn out to be okay. Lord, i lift all of this tou your hands. i know there was a reason for this and i know that this is just another test for all of us...
now its 9.30pm and i have to go home and sleep. i need to wake up early tomorrow and go to school with a smile on my face, because i've just realised that im blessed because im still alive, and that spending 8 hours in school wouldnt hurt. till my next blog! (",)
