Pennies From Heaven

Rain: comes from the Greek word ranis(meaning droplet). A liquid precipitation which falls from clouds in the sky.

Convectional, frontal, cyclonic and relief, it's all just rain. Right?

Different regions around the world receive rain with different attitudes. 
Arid areas around the globe greet rains with happiness, contrasting with the west temperate regions who receive rain with negative connotations as can be seen by the children's song 'Rain rain go away'.

Many cultures see rain as a sign from God. Ancient Egyptians and some Native American tribes have been using traditional rain dance ceremonies throughout the years in attempts to invoke rain for their harvests.

And He who sends down (from time to time) water from the sky in due measure, and We raise to life therewith a land that is dead. Even so will you be raised (from the dead) (Surat az -Zukhruf, 11)

Rain is mentioned in the Quraan on many occasions for it's presence on Earth and it's abundance in the heavens. Water has the power to revive and nourish dead land and make it thrive with beautiful crop once more.
We feed off the Earth's vegetation and groundwater sources, so as humans we depend on rain as a source for life.

But rain isn't always a good thing as we have seen in the recent Australian floods in Queensland.
About 1,200 homes have been evacuated, displacing thousands of people in different communities across Eastern Australia.

Acid rain also used to be a huge threat and had harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, soils and human health.

So what's the deal? I thought rain was 'a sign from God'?
If you think about it, acid rain and floods are caused by recent human activity. We are meddling with the system by polluting the atmosphere with sulfur and nitrogen compounds from fuel combustion.
Therefore, we only have ourselves to blame for the current disasters we are facing.


Personally, I love the rain. I find the scent of petrichor extremely pleasant and distinctive.
As my favorite 1950s song goes...

Every time it rains it rains pennies from heaven

So be sure to hold your umbrella upside down.

Signed,

Magical Underwear

Sounds silly right? Underwear that has magical powers- what nonsense.

But for followers of Mormonism, this is a slang term for their temple garments.

Just like all religious clothing through time, these under garments serve a purpose of

• protecting the wearer from the temptations and evils of the world
• acting as a reminder of personal covenants and promises made in the Mormon temple to God.

These garments are only to be worn by adults who have been through an endowment ceremony.
During this ordinance, the participants are made to take oaths which are designed to help them pass by the angels guarding the gates of heaven. Also, this ceremony is made to prepare them in becoming priests and priestesses in the afterlife.

Some anthropologists have said that the garments act as an 'absent clergy', seeing as the LSD church does not have a professional clergy. This also reinforces the idea of Mormons being priests in the afterlife.



It's crossed my mind many times before, There are similar things in all religions that act as a reminder of our promises to God.
So why are non-Muslims so offended by the hijab? Why are they so convinced that it's a method Muslim men use to oppress their women? It's all nonsense.

Mormons have magical underwear, Muslim women have the hijab, Jews have the yarmulke, and they all seem to signify the same thing; closeness to God.

It's probably just in our nature to disagree and not understand things that are foreign to us, but a little tolerance for things that really aren't that foreign would do us all a ton of good.


Signed,

Mauritania: Morbidly Obese is Beautiful

In a society that has labelled thin as attractive, it's refreshing to know that there are places where big is considered beautiful.

Mauritania, a sparsely populated country in West Africa, might be seen as a sanctuary for all big women around the world.
But for young local girls who are force fed to make them more attractive, it is more like a prison cell.
Girls as young as the age of 7 years old go through an ancient practice known as gavage.
They are forced to drink bowls of high-fat camel's milk and eat large amounts cos cos for months on end until they are significantly over-weight.

Twigs are used to pinch the girls when they are about to vomit to distract them of the urge. If vomiting occurs, it is force fed back to the girl.

This practice is seen by outsiders as torturous and inhumane, but to the locals it is a common tradition.

Why is it done? A big woman has eaten well as a child, this means her family was wealthy enough to support her. So in Mauritania, fat reflects wealth.

Many girls want to do this to increase their eligibility for marriage, but with globalization on the rise, girls are resorting to other methods to plump themselves up.

Many women resort to buying black market appetite-enhancing drugs on the street, most of which are designed for camels and cows.


So although Oprah Winfrey might have featured Mauritania as a place where all plump women should go, she really did sugar coat the tradition of gavage.

Sadly, it still seems like the world is still thriving for beauty in extremities.
What ever happened to 'just be healthy'?

Signed,

Source: Oprah's opinion
Source: BBC covering gavage in Mauritania

Virginity: Fact or Fiction?

Both my religion and my culture have made it very clear that virginity is something to be prized and protected until a woman is wed.
Now, coming from a society that keeps a good eye on their well-raised children, we don't hear of many scandals in Oman. Out here in Jordan? It's a whole different world.

Some families in the Middle East go to the extent of taking the bride to a gynecologist prior to the wedding to make sure everything is 'sealed shut'.

But nowadays with things like hymen restoration surgeries and black market products to fake maiden's blood, How can anybody be so sure?

Also, a girl could have done everything else imaginable except intercourse, and there would be no evidence. But a girl who explored herself would be accused of fornication and could lose her chances of getting married.


No, I'm not going on about this because I'm sick of the double standard, women being oppressed etc.
I am glad my mother has instilled morals that made me realize my self worth; because of this I value myself too much to 'give myself away' to someone who hasn't made the commitment of proposing and starting a life with me.

Why though? Why is it that society would shun the woman with a self-broken hymen and praise the woman who kept hers intact but had other relations with men?


 And to all the mislead girls out there, I hope you find your way.


Signed,

Think you're a 'man'?

Think you're worthy of proposing to a woman? Think you are manly enough to provide for your family?

According to the highland tribes of Papua New Guinea a boy is not considered a man until he goes through a brutal ritual.

The ritual is aimed at cleansing and purifying these men of womanly filth that was passed down to them during childbirth. Only after they have been purified of this dirt, they can be considered brave men.
It is believed that a mother's blood remains in the child, until this ritual is undertaken.

The participants must:-

• shove several feet of pit pit cane down their throats in order to empty their stomachs
• ram sharp reeds up their nostrils
• and lastly, they must allow the elders of the tribes to shoot little arrows at their tongues, leaving them with deep wounds.

This entire initiation is carried out by the streams in the highlands in order to let the gushes of blood and vomit drift away from the tribes living area.
Sounds awful aye? That ain't all of it.

In order to fully be considered part of the community, these boys must receive cuts all over their bodies.
When healed, these cuts form bumps all over the body and look somewhat like an alligator's back.

So tell me, think you're a man?

Signed,




Not in the mood tonight? Shed some tears.

Researchers at  the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel have finished a study that claims women's tears contain an odorless chemical that directly affects a man's libido.

The men who took part in the study were given tissues soaked in women's tears and were asked if they felt a drop in their sexual arousal levels.
They were also given salt-water soaked tissues at a separate time and asked again.

17 out of 24 men responded with a drop in sexual libido and testosterone levels after sniffing the first tissue samples.
They found a woman's face less alluring after a whiff of the tear-filled tissues.

Funny aye? A man doesn't even have to know a woman was crying, the scent of tears on her face will trigger subconscious signals to the male's brain that immediately 'turn him off'.

I try my utmost best to not cry in front of people, now I have to spray my face with perfume to not scare the men away when I'm done? Not fair.

So girls, be sure to wash your face after a sobbing session- You don't want men being subconsciously turned off by your scent now, do you?

Signed,



Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12138280

-Intro

Why hello there,
Rawnaq Al-Gheithy, the pleasure is all mine.

A young Omani who likes to keep an eye on the news, laugh and be around loved ones.
I've been blessed with the opportunity of living abroad to experience life outside of my culture- and I'm about to be thrown back into it.
(162 days till i move back, and counting)

I have decided to take a gap year between highschool and university. Blogging seems like a good way of directing my thoughts during that period of time- while I try to discover myself and figure out what i want to do with my life.

I'm going to be sharing my opinions on things that tick me off, current events, and some of my personal writings.
So stick around
Read about a girl's stand on things, we'll do it over coffee.

Signed,