Baghdad is the city where I was born. My birthplace was pretty similar to the picture of old Baghdad (on the left). Iraq is the country where Baghdad is the capital. It is an interesting country because of the history it has. What adds to the beauty are the sudden upheavals and changes that can be seen in politics only. People are the same, always suffering because of the oil. To put it in a different way , in an ironical way, Iraq is located on a lake of oil and this made its people poor!! Sometimes, people call Iraq  a hot spot. It is true because it is boiling politically, economically and sociologically.
I finished my BA in English language and literature from Baghdad University in 1989. After serving two  obligatory  years in the army from 1989-1991 I was accepted to do my Masters in English. I finished my MA in 1993.  I worked in Iraq for short time as the whole country was like a big “beautiful” prison made by the unprecedented dictator Saddam for all Iraqis.
In 1994 I left Iraq for Yemen to start my long journey.

I worked in Yemen for three years from 1994-1997 as an ESL teacher. Actually my work was for Sana’a University. Yemen was a turning point in my life. It is a country of interesting contradictions that constitute the Yemeni society. The country is beautiful. People are very friendly. Nature in Yemen is a bliss. But fundamentalism is a problem there! Another problem is the “qat”, green  leaves people chew every day after their main meals. It makes people talk a lot!! It is illegal outside Yemen. After Yemen, I decided to go to Moscow,Russia where I had stayed for nine years  before I immigrate to Canada in 2006.

Moscow, what a beautiful city! Addictive like wine, one would love to drink every night. The nine years I spent in Moscow from 1997-2006 was a controversial period in my life. I worked there as an ESL teacher  in different private schools and colleges.The greatest thing I had in Moscow, beside learning Russian, is meeting my two friends from Britain: David and Simon. They were ( and still are ) ESL teachers. Simon is really addicted to Moscow. He is still there or as he said ” I am stuck”. David left Moscow before it was too late. He teaches ESL in the one of the gulf states.
I can write pages and pages about Moscow but unfortunately I can’t do it here as this eportfolio is mainly to highlight the use of technology and its applications in our lives.
Ah, I forgot to say that I met my wife there in Moscow. We have been living in Vancouver since 2006. We have two beautiful penguins, I mean children. Both were born in Vancouver.
We love Vancouver!