- Global Voices Community Blog - https://community.globalvoices.org -

And my Inbox would never be the same!

Categories: 10th Anniversary, Memories

Where to start? How to start? My first post, my first translation, my first encounter? So many things to tell ..

So in a way this post is a recollection of events not necessarily related with one another
I apologize is the [post is so disorganized and chaotic.. but then so its me in real life :)

I know it was a pure coincidence.
Before GV, I used to be more connected in Forums, local ones, but then I faced some real-life problems because of these forums and I swore never to have anything to do with Social networking again.

But then, I had previously taken an online Mook about Religion Journalism and one of my online classmates Sasa Milosevic… used to be a former GV contributor and would often links to his posts.

At that time as well, I was really bored at my previous job, i wasnt learning anything and I was looking desperatly for opportunities to change …
But I dont know what happened to the thousands of CVs i sent …

It was early Feb 2011
So I clicked on Sasa article and didnt even bother reading the article … rather immediately looked down where the jobs/ career/ contribute
Damn no paid jobs ! only calls to translate or write articles !
But then, for some reason, I just applied ! I think i was in a way attracted by the multilingual aspect ..
And as almost 70 % of Lebanese are polyglot … it was quite naturlich that I apply to both French & Arabic lingua :)
Claire was the first GVer to respond
and my translations were non-English posts or posts who werent yet translated into English
Back then, not only i wasnt familiar with Social media, blogging and Tweets (embedding and liking ohh my God the horror movie) … but my inbox as well used to be quite plain and dead as plain and dull as my days in my former job :)

And so i started with Updates now known as Quick Reads … In french i would do about 15 a day :) so we started joking about it and called it ”Brevite” i.e. the Updates disease :)

After that, I moved i started translating French into English, but also Spanish into English (to a lesser degree), Arabic to English …where undeliberately most posts happened to be about Mauritania …

Without knowing how, I also started with Rising Voices ! and then as GV author .. writing about (ironically) any country but Lebanon ! India, Algeria, Syria …

Claire however wasnt the first GV'er I met live …it was Gohary or Jewel like I call him when he came to Leb in July 2011

In October i also got to go to Tunis to the Arab Bloggers conference and there I met Claire …
little did I know when she first subjected me to the first mini-translation test , that she will become like a second mom to me… talkin to her on a daily basis even more than I contact some friends who only live one street away

And so little by little, I was added to these mailing lists or GV groups and my inbox started filling with interesting discussions, with live ones… with people who arent just a fake nick name, but folks who i can trust,
people who as soon as I know I am travelling to any destination … its enough for me to send: Any Gver in ???? and there will be one .. who you might meet for the first time yet feel as if you've known him for all your life :)

Now I have so many profiles on GV that I dont know which one to choose :)

By that time … few months after … i managed to change my job and to land a really interesting position with some travel
When Eddie approached me with a would you like to do GV meetup in Beirut …I was like No No No No

I am not the type who likes to be really committed or to hold responsibilities … and I dont want to decieve anyone ! or anyone more !
I make more noise in the group than actions … I wish I can write and translate as much posts as I answer the community emails !
NO NO NO NO
Eddie said ok but then he returned and said, in a way you have no choice …we want someone we can trust :)
That meant a lot to me … I dont trust my ownself Eddie
I hope I will be up to that trust
A bit less than one month …so lets see
I dont know what to add more :)

See that photo ? it's me and one another GVer …:) Can you guess who's who ?
Striking no :)

Who's Who :)

Who's Who :)