Reflection 1

Summarising was the main theme of this semester for this class; although we started late, due to some technical problems, the class was able to catch up with the studies.

In the beginning we were asked to write two practice summaries about North African Bustards and Emirati police night patrols. Mr. Hedley (our instructor) taught us the techniques and the skills we had to use and learn in summarising; knowing the main idea is most important, then eliminating all the examples, figures and facts that hold low levels of importance to the purpose of the passage; summarising is simply about showing what the main message of the article is.
Later on we were asked to write two assessed summaries, one about desert milk and the other about desert survival.

Mr. Hedley ended our session by showing us how to use BibMe and explaining about the importance of accurate referencing when doing assignments.

It was a really interesting session we had; we learned a lot, it was interesting and very useful for future uses.

Houbara Bustards

North Africa Houbara Bustard's numbers have been decreasing rapidly the last few decades; poaching, over-hunting and destruction of their natural habitats were the main causes for that. Emirates center for wild life has been preventing extinction for those species. Every stage of the bird's lives is carefully managed in the center of Morocco; birds used for breeding are trained to be familiar with humans. The Enjil station processes samples to match females and males; a process done to ensure the genetic composition for the future. No birds are released during hunting season. The program has been working due to the increasing numbers of these birds. 

Desert milk, from farm to fridge

It's hard to believe that fresh milk can be provided everywhere and in every house in this hot desert, but Almarai did that. It was founded in 1977 and started with only 300 cows but now it keeps its herds in six super-farms. The milking happens 4 times a day and each cow produces about 13000 liters of milk a year, which is double the average of the european cows. Milk goes through the production process; it starts with homogenizing the raw milk then it is pasteurized at high temperature. The bottles are filled then held in a cold storage facility; after that the bottles are prepared for delivery. Some kinds of cow milk come in a can, evaporated or condensed but fresh milk is king on demand. 

Desert Survival

Finding food, water, shelter and surviving the sweltering summers wasn't easy in the deserts of the UAE. The Bedouin knew how to find water on their journeys. They knew where the wells were. They could also read clues on how to find water like following birds or finding places where wells can be dug. Wells would be named after the man who did the job. Bedouin would also desalinate water by using sheepskin, and sometimes they would drain a camel's body of its water or survive on milk from camels and goats. Bedouin also acclimatised to desert heat and tolerated greater dehydration than most. 

Desert horsemen keep the pace

Patrolling Al Awafi desert is a group of horsemen assisting the police in RAK. helping them by covering areas in the desert . Horsemen ride arabian horses and wear beige riding trousers, black boots and Kandoras around their waists , the horses have the police symbol on their saddles . The symbol is a falcon with 7 stars symbolizing the 7 Emirates. Al Awafi is a popular place and is often visited by many, some of the visitors unfortunately may try to scare the horses by making loud noises thats why the horses are highly trained to be still, strong and brave to be able to deal with problems and dangers. The horsemen help protect that place and keep it safe.