Well let me start off by apologizing for how late this is, unfortunately got carried away by an exam. But back to who I am: my name is Amira, and I’m a rising junior from Dearborn Heights, Michigan. When I’m not in Ann Arbor, I’m usually back home because it’s so close (and my mom loves to see me). That comes as a surprise to some people, especially because I’m pretty sure going home every weekend stops being normal after your freshman year. Personally, I enjoy getting away from Ann Arbor and spending time with my family. Has it impacted by already-bad study habits? Occasionally…
(Here’s my mom, two brothers, and I. My dad wasn’t around for this picture!)
Speaking of studying, one of the subjects I study here is Comparative Literature. Usually when I say that, people give me a bit of a quizzical look and then I have to explain that it’s essentially studying literature in two languages. I’ve chosen to study Arabic and English. In all honesty, I decided to major in complit as an excuse to read because I never get to do it in my free time anymore! This summer, I plan on reading more after my class ends. On my list are: Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston, Palestine’s Children by Ghassan Kanafani, 32 Stories by Adrian Tomine (this one’s a comic collection), and my subscription to Poetry magazine when it finally gets here. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!!
Besides reading, I also like to watch movies when I have the time. One of my favorite things to do in Ann Arbor is to watch movies at the Michigan Theater, especially when they play silent movies because the organ there is amazing. My mom and I love to go to the movie theater to watch whatever Bollywood movie she thinks looks entertaining (sometimes we’ll go see Pakistani movies but those are harder to come by), and usually it’ll end with us complaining about whatever plot inconsistency really bothered us. We also watch movies at home; recently I just watched the Indian film Pakeezah with her that I really enjoyed!! It’s from the 1970s and I loved both the visuals and the songs. Another film I recently saw which has become a favorite is the Japanese film Late Autumn. Again, the visuals are sooo beautiful and the plot line about a mother-daughter relationship and the changes that come as children grow up really struck a chord with me (I’m sure you’ll be noticing a pattern here about a certain important person in my life). Other than that, I also like to watch older Hollywood movies, probably because of how extravagant/dramatic they are.
Here are some clips/visuals from Pakeezah and Late Autumn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaninAxPOh0
