How did creating your ePortfolio artefact develop you understanding of the Course Learning Outcomes, the Graduate Outcomes and your own learning experience during the course?
Sports and leisure was an interesting course, it was the only course where I felt I had total control about the subject I'm going to talk about which encourages creativity. At first, the title of the course was a bit misleading which I thought the course is going to talk specifically about sports and leisure activities which was not the case. This course gave me a better understanding in the way sports and leisure interact with our society, for example, The Club or The British Club was founded to provide a community for the expats which at that time was almost rare. Moreover, we explored how sports and leisure can change with generations especially with the evolution of the twentieth century and the discovery of oil. Also, this course incentivised both teamwork and independent learning, where as a group we had to do a project but as an independent we had to get creative without questions. In addition, we have explored how gender, race and age can affect participations in both leisure and sport. Lastly, we took the IOC MOOC courses which showed us the role of psychology in sports and the role of sports in the health of a nation, for example, fifty years ago the average life expectancy was exponentially lower compared to today, and sports was a major factor in that increase. Overall, I think this course was a unique course because it has offered a specific thing which is different to other English courses which is a high degree of freedom in our projects which I have found to be quite enjoyable.
Milh(Salt) or Mileha(Salty) this is what Abu Dhabi used to be called, life was simple back then as my grandfather told me, leisure was limited, sports in the form we know them today were almost non-existent, but there were few things that my grandfather used to spend his time.
To start with, Mo'jal, a form of a tag game, where there are two teams, two sides(holes) and a playground, if you get tagged you will go to the losing side, if you manage to escape the tagger you will go to the winning side, and each person in a hole counts as a point for the other team .
Secondly, Otheem lawah (Waving bone or Spinning bone), at the night there are two bones one for the first team and one for the second team, each time a team throws the bone to the north and the south, the team has to find the bone in the opposite side and for each bone they find they get a point.
Thirdly, Halaosa, a simple game where the two teams have to get the rocks from side to side, for each rock they score a point.
More and more, Sagla, a simple game where you have to throw a set of small rocks back of your hand if you fail to catch one of the small rocks, you lose the game. Also, a racing game where each team race against each other, if your team manage to get the object to the enemy team initial position you score.
These were children games, adults spend most of their time working or trading in souqs.
As for leisure time, there were not many things to do, so men usually gather and spend their time socializing which is an aspect in our culture.
Old stories or legends were interesting, an example would be a Umm Al Duwais or Bu Daryah. These were two Jinns who would appear at night for several reasons, for example, Umm al Duwais would knock on the door to lure children or men to eat them, or Bu Daryah would lure the children to the sea in order to drown them. This folklore was intended to scare off children, especially the sea which can be deadly to a small child.
In order to provide for his family, my grandfather had many jobs. To start with, the most well-known job was diving, pearl diving to be specific. People avoided this type of jobs because it was too dangerous but extremely rewarding. Secondly, he went to work in Qatar handling construction jobs, spending about 3 years there, which proves how difficult it was to get a living in their times.
Next, the generation of my father. My father witnessed the formation of the United Arab Emirates in 2/12/1971, and the economy skyrocketing due to oil. With the development that the UAE has seen, there were many things introduced in term of leisure and sports.
To start with, Cars and motorbikes were being imported to the UAE, most of the teenagers were driving without licenses, and cruising in the desert was a fun thing to do. Fishing transformed from a way of living to a hobby. Pearl diving is almost non-existent, locals do not have to take rough jobs like the used to, overall many industries, jobs or hobbies have changed drastically compared to older generations.
Next, entertainment in media. The first radio station was introduced in 1969 in the UAE. Radio played a big role back then, especially during the time of Gulf War were a chemical bomb was a catastrophic threat to the MENA region. Cinemas were being built in the country, and it was a huge contributor to the first impressions of foreign cultures in terms of leisure, essentially opening new doors to leisure time. Also, new sports were played every time, such as football, tennis or even cricket
Lastly, the internet which is another form of entertainment. The internet has revolutionized many sectors including entertainment, nowadays you don't have to go to the grocery to get your favorite newspaper or magazine or wait for it to get delivered, you can do all this while sitting on your couch with the power of the internet.
To end with, life was simple back then and mostly centered around working and making a living, now the discovery of oil has revolutionized leisure and sports, people back then used to play with bones, rocks and wood, nowadays we have stadiums, TV's and iPads.
