by Natasha Tynes | Jun 17, 2006 | Books, Metro Daze, Shutterbug, Weblogs
I had the opportunity to meet Moroccan author Laila Lalami face-to-face the other day in Washington, and I must say that she is extremely admirable and more impressive in the flesh than in cyberspace. She was in Washington, DC this past Thursday to read some excerpts from her debut novel, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits (signed copies link), which I read several months back and liked very much. I enjoyed her reading immensely as I did the discussions that followed. Lalami eloquently managed to answer every question directed at her, the majority of which came from euroarabe.
One question someone asked was who she has in mind as her audience when she writes. Her reply was simply: "I write for myself. I am my ideal audience." I thought the answer was brilliant because as an aspiring fiction writer myself I tend to fall into the trap of thinking a great deal about my audience, something that can sometimes make me feel mentally impotent. I end up failing to jot down anything for fear of retribution from a certain individual or a group. I think I will try her method and think solely of myself when I write.
It was also fascinating for me to see the large amount of her blog readers who showed up at the event. She got a great deal of praise for her blog from the audience with one describing her site as "the best literary blog out there." Following the reading, I had a quick but pleasant chat with Laila in which we exchanged compliments and pleasantries and took a couple of pictures. The husband and I wrapped up the evening with a nice dinner in DuPont Circle with some wonderful friends, including Basboos, Leilouta and her husband, euroarabe, and another non-blogger friend of ours. All in all it was a perfect day in the city.
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 14, 2006 | Metro Daze, Shutterbug, Weblogs
Leilouta has already discussed the embarrassing incident of several days ago, exposing my footwear dilemma (and Hal’s shoe supply service), so I’m not going to dwell on it here, as I’ve yet to recover. Instead, I will focus this post on the wonderful time we had during our Metro area female Arab blogger meet-up here in the nation’s capital this past weekend.
Those who attended the meeting were Beisan, Hala, Leilouta and yours truly. We had a truly wonderful time, hitting it off as if we’d known each other for years. We talked mostly about blogs (of course), Arab politics (what else!) and life in the US. Joking about our different accents also dominated the discussions [can we really avoid that?].
Sometimes it really blows my mind when I think about the number of truly amazing people I’ve been fortunate enough to meet through this remarkable outlet called blogging. Life never ceases to amaze me.
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 13, 2006 | Books, Metro Daze
Laila Lalami, author of Hope and other Dangerous Pursuits and creator of the Moorish Girl blog will be in Washington, DC on Thursday to read from her debut novel. The event will take place at Olsson’s Bookstore in Dupont Circle at 7:00 PM.
For those of you who live in the DC metro area, make sure to mark your calendar. Lalami is very admirable. She is a wonderful example of a talented, smart and eloquent Arab woman.
by Natasha Tynes | May 30, 2006 | Everyday me!, Metro Daze, Sports
As someone who spent most of her life in Amman, I have never been much of an outdoorsy person. It is simple, Amman is not really designed for the outdoors. If you venture north or south you can get the chance to do some hiking here and there, but other than that the choices are pretty limited. As a result, I turned into someone who dreads outdoors sports activities largely because of my lack of experience and general overall clumsiness. The most exhausting outdoor endeavor I ever undertook in the out of doors was skiing in Farraya, Lebanon more than two years ago. Yes I had a great time, but the poor husband spent over four hours teaching me how to ski and I still didn’t really get it.
It took me forever to learn the basic steps of skiing and I had more than my share of falls. In addition, I made sure to inform everyone who was skiing in Farraya that day of my presence
by bumping into them and making them lose their balance and plunge directly into
the snow.
I must admit, though, I had a great time despite all the embarrassment I experienced. Yesterday marked another day of outdoor activity for me. As it happened to be the Memorial Day holiday, we decided to go to the Potomac River with our friend euroarabe.
This time the outdoors was canoeing — a first for me. I was relegated to the middle of the boat with the husband and eurorarabe occupying the back (or sternman) and the front (bowman) positions respectively. I have to admit, I did not have to do much rowing, as the bulk of the work was assigned primarily to the front and the back-end rowers. However, I did get hold of a paddle and decided to help out. I thought it was pretty impressive that I did not manage to flip the boat, as I’d been dreading. Somehow I managed to stay balanced, against all odds.
Cruising the Potomac River and looking over at the city of Washington was simply stunning. The weather was also perfect and everyone around us seemed to be enjoying their time on such a warm summer day. Would I do it again? In a heart beat.
by Natasha Tynes | May 8, 2006 | Metro Daze, Shutterbug
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The other day I was invited to attend the naturalization ceremony of my Moroccan friend. The event took place on the national mall in Washington DC. The most fascinating aspect of the ceremony for me was the tremendous diversity of people becoming US citizens that day. They really came from all over the globe: from Asia to Latin America to the Middle East. I heard Costa Rica, Paraguay, Morocco and Pakistan, among others. This was my up-close and personal experience with the melting pot that makes the United States of America. Neat! [Image enlarges on click]
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by Natasha Tynes | Mar 14, 2006 | Maryland Crabbiness, Metro Daze
We spent this past weekend with our dear friend Amal, who was in town for a few days. We met at DC’s breathtaking Union Station, where we sat, had lunch and talked like there was no tomorrow. While munching on pizza, we both came to the conclusion that life can at times surprise you, taking you places while you are just too busy to notice. We had met Amal during our Doha stint last year. So it was fascinating to realize that, at that moment, we were sitting in Washington, DC and having lunch in one of the most beautiful train stations in the country. "From Doha to Union Station," Amal giggled. "It should be the title of a book."
We did lots of touring in and around Maryland, taking Amal to the sailing city of Annapolis and then, after a wonderful lunch at Pusser’s, on to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Both cities were alive and buzzing with activity, although each had a distinctive vibe.
Amal is now on her way home to Lebanon, while we return to our daily routines. Nothing beats reuniting with a close friend! Amal is already dearly missed.
I had the opportunity to meet Moroccan author Laila Lalami face-to-face the other day in Washington, and I must say that she is extremely admirable and more impressive in the flesh than in cyberspace. She was in Washington, DC this past Thursday to read some excerpts from her debut novel, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits (signed copies link), which I read several months back and liked very much. I enjoyed her reading immensely as I did the discussions that followed. Lalami eloquently managed to answer every question directed at her, the majority of which came from euroarabe.
