MY DAD AND I
A REFLECTION OF
TWO GENERATIONS
YOUSSEF ZOHDI
GRADE 7A
ENGLISH PROJECT – SEMESTER 1
Monday , January 17th, 2022
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
“Life Events – Childhood”
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1.
Youssef - When and where were you born? Did your parents tell you anything about the
day you were born?
Dad - I was born on October 1st, 1975 in the district of Mohandessin. I remember by
parents telling me that my birth was an easy and quick one and that I was a happy baby.
2.
Youssef – Where did you grow up? Can you describe the neighborhood you grew up in?
Dad - I grew up in Kuwait where my father worked as a doctor. The neighborhood we lived
in was a compound for doctors only. It was small and nice. Families knew and visited each
other while the children played together.
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3.
Youssef –How were your grandparents? What do you remember about them? At what point
in your life did your grandparents die?
Dad – My grandparents were lovely, warm, kind and very generous to their kids,
grandchildren and everyone around them. From my father’s side, both my grandparents died
when I was very young and I do not remember them very well. From my mother’s side, my
grandmother died when I was three years old. She was a lovely woman from all the stories I
heard about her. My grandfather was an amazing, loving, caring strong man. He died at the
age of 85 years old during my last year of university.
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4.
Youssef – Were you an easy or difficult child? What was your favorite meal? What did you do
for fun? What were your favorite toys? Did you ever have a secret place or a favorite hiding
place?
Dad: As a child, I would say I was somewhat difficult. I liked to play all the time, moved a lot
and jumped from one place to another. This disturbed my parents because they were worried
that I might hurt myself and they wanted me to study all the time. My favorite meal was pasta
and chicken pane like most children. I also enjoyed burgers and pizza. I enjoyed riding my
bicycle. My favorite toys were small racing cars or cars with remote controls. My secret place
was a large storage room where I hid all my toys and fixed by bicycle.
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5.
Youssef – Which school did you go to and where? Were you a good student? What
was your favorite and least favorite subject? Who was your favorite teacher and why?
Did you have a lot of friends and where did you go out with them?
Dad: I went to the Universal American School in Kuwait. I was a smart student but I
did not study much because I was distracted by playing. My favorite subject was
always Math and my least favorite were Physics and Chemistry. My favorite teacher
was my English teacher. She prepared a lot of class activities for us and we had story
reading time every day after lunch.
I was a social boy and I had many friends. At that time, there were no clubs in Kuwait,
so we either played in the compound or at each others houses.
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6.
Youssef – Did you watch cartoons? What was your favorite cartoon? When did you
usually watch them? Did you have any video games to play?
Dad: Yes, I loved cartoons. My favorite cartoons were Tom and Jerry and Pink Panther.
I usually watched cartoons as I was having my lunch after getting back from school
before doing my homework and on the weekends. I did not have video games. The
only thing I played was something called “Atari”.
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7.
Youssef – Did you have a mobile in school? When did you get your first mobile and
did everyone in the family have one? Did you use the mobile to google information
and play games?
Dad: No, I did not have a mobile in school. At the time, the only telephones
available were the regular telephone sets at home. I had my first mobile when I was
in university and I was the only one in the family that had a mobile. All my family
used it whenever any of them was to be going it. I used my mobile to make and
receive calls only. I was also not able to play games on it or google information.
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8.
Youssef – Did you have a computer and a laptop at home and school? If not, when
did you get your first desktop and laptop?
Dad: No, I did not have a desktop nor laptop in school. At school, we started having a
computer lab when I was in high school. I got my first computer desktop at home
when I was finishing university and my first laptop after I starting working.
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
“Life Events – Adulthood”
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9.
Youssef – Which university did you go to? What did you study and how did you do decide
what you wanted to study? Why didn’t you study Medicine like your father.
Dad: I studied at the American University in Cairo. I majored in Business Administration. I
decided this major because I always did well in Math. I did not study Medicine like my father
because I did not enjoy science and did not want to be in university for seven years.
10.
Youssef – How did you get your news information?
Dad: At the time, I got the news from reading the newspapers or watching the national T.V.
news. Just a few years back, I started getting everything from the different applications on my
smart phone.
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11.
Youssef –What makes you proud of me?
Dad: I am proud of you seeing you grow into a good young gentleman. You are a smart, kind, and
generous young person who loves, cares and helps everyone around him. I am proud of you
going through the school, year after year doing well at your studies and activities.
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
“Life Events – Identity”
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12.
Youssef – How am I like you and how am I different from you?
Dad: We both like Math as subjects and we enjoy playing video games like Fortnite during
our break times. We are both good at IT things. We both like swimming and tennis. We
enjoy going on motorbike rides. We enjoy the same food. Most important, we both like to
smile. You are also a huge fan of soccer while I am not.
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
“Life Events –The Present”
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13.
Youssef – How is nowadays different from the old days?
Dad: The old days were simple. A lot of things took longer to finish because there were no
computers. Nowadays, computers and new technologies made things faster. Many things
can be finished using smart phones and computers. Life seems to be moving fast.
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
“Life Events –Aging”
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14.
Youssef – As you are getting older, what is important for you?
Dad: As I am getting older, it is important that I continue to work hard in order to guarantee
a good education and life for you. At the same time, I try to balance my time as much as I
can between work and family time in order to build memorable times together.
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
“Life Events –Life Lessons
and Legacies”
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15.
Youssef – What tradition have you picked up from your parents or grandparents and
continue to nowadays?
Dad: Since my grandfather’s time, Fridays was always an important day for the family. He
gathered all generations at his place to spend time and have dinner together. My parents
have continued this tradition and I am doing my best to continue this after my parents in
order to keep the family together.
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REFLECTION PARAGRAPH
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Generations have always had differences and similarities. They continue to be linked.
From the interview with my father, we both seemed to have the same interests as
children. We both went to American International schools, enjoyed the same toys,
liked the same subjects at school and enjoyed the same kind of food. Family time
was always important for him and I.
There are many differences between the generation of my father and mine. We both
grew up in different countries. There were not too many options for him to go out
with his friends. The biggest difference is in technology. My father’s generation did
not have the advanced technologies that my generation has today. He had no
computers, mobiles or video games as a child.
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THANK YOU
and
Hope You Enjoyed my
Presentation and Photos
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