OHS Life in Egypt, Noah Mohamed
Pixel Journal's interview with OHSer Noah Mohamed, about life in Egypt.
Pixel Journal: Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Noah Mohamed: I’m a junior at the Stanford Online High School, and this is my third year here. I have been an international student for two years now, starting sophomore year in Dubai and then moving to Egypt half way through the year, which is where I currently reside. During freshman year, I lived in Minnesota, USA. For sophomore year, my parents decided to move our family to Dubai, and eventually Egypt, in order for us to gain experience with other cultures and to experience our heritage as a family of Egyptians.
PJ: Why did you join the OHS?
NM: My family has always loved traveling, however, when my mother, siblings, and I used to pack up to go visit my father who works in Dubai, I tended to miss some crucial school days, which negatively affected my schoolwork. Going into high school, my parents and I thought it best to choose a school that could both give me a rigorous curriculum that challenges me, and give me flexible hours so that when I travel I don’t fall so behind. That's when we found the Stanford OHS, and from there on I have enjoyed every second of the school.
PJ: What are the main difficulties with being an international student?
NM: Although I do love the OHS, it’s not without its faults. Due to time zones, 12 pm PST is 10 pm in Egypt time. This means that every class I have is late at night, my latest ending at 12:45 am. This type of schedule completely flips what a normal day would look like for somebody. I do all my daily activities in the morning, and by 4 pm my time, I start working on homework and school. I’m often up until 2 am, or even 3 am, finishing assignments or studying. However, I don’t wake up until about 10 am, so I am not sleep deprived. I also tend to miss many of the formal OHS meetings, and if there’s one that I really need to attend, I almost always have to stay up later than I would have anticipated. Due to this schedule, I find it very hard to get any work done when there’s still daylight, as I’ve grown accustomed to working at night.
PJ: Any tips for other international students at OHS? Do you have any advice for prospective students that may have trouble balancing their classes with time zone differences?
NM: It’s always important to budget your time well. Make sure to utilize the time that both you and your instructors are awake and available for, and do this by getting work done before classes and using the time in between classes to ask questions. For most international students, they have a large portion of their daytime where they’re awake and their instructors are not, so use the time that they are to ask any questions. Also, make sure to get enough sleep. A sleepy class is hard to remember, and not worth the extra hour of study time. As always, balance your life around your time.
PJ: What has been your favorite course thus far, at the ohs? Why?
NM: My favorite course at the OHS would have to be DFRL, which I am currently taking. I’ve always really liked the philosophy of freedom and politics, and this course offers that subject material and more. Also, my instructor Dr. Christina Drogalis does a wonderful job making the course engaging and interesting. The philosophy of freedom is something that interests me in particular because of my transition from the USA to Egypt, two countries with very different views on freedom.
PJ: You mentioned that you used to live in Minnesota and now in Egypt, what are the major differences that you find between the two places?
NM: Well, the weather has been a big difference. Here in Egypt, we don’t get snow, and we rarely even get rain. Instead of snow, we have sand. I personally like the cold, so this isn’t ideal but I’m surviving. One thing that I like about Egypt is the sense of family all of the citizens have. Wherever you go in Egypt, if you treat people fairly, they will go out of their way to do the same for you. There’s a sense of Egyptian pride that’s so strong it’s borderline patriotic narcissism, but even so, it creates a heartwarming feel to the entire country that I just haven’t found elsewhere.