Monica Seles, the world’s No. 1 tennis player visits Zayed University

Monica Seles came to Abu Dhabi and had a speech at Zayed University on March 6, 2014. She visited ZU as part of Mubadala’s Inspirational Women 2014 project to support healthy and active lifestyles.

She encouraged ZU student to be healthy and have active lifestyles, and she told them about her personal and vocation life.

Monica Seles was born on December 2, 1973, in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, to Hungarian parents. Her father taught her to play tennis in a parking lot when she was 5 years old. When she grew up, she became intent on beating her brother, who was No. 1 ranked junior tennis player in the country at the time. Her mother and her grandmother thought that girls shouldn’t spend so much time playing tennis.

She was only girl playing sports at school and the world’s youngest Yugoslavian tennis player. She was encouraged by her father and brother but her mother had the idea that tennis is not suitable for girls. “Thanks to my dad because he encouraged me,” said Ms. Seles

By the age of 13, Monica Seles started the career of playing tennis and she was the No. 1 junior tennis player in the world. At 16, she became the youngest person to win the French Open. At age 17, she was the youngest player at the time to ever rank No. 1 in the world.

Monica Seles was attacked in a match in 1993, a man stabbed her back with a knife.
After the attack she kept playing and teaching at tennis health centers. But after the deaths of her father and coach, she decided to retire.

 

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My Vacation

In every vacation I either travel or spend the whole vacation in Ras Al-Khaimah with my family. However, in the last vacation I stayed in Ras Alkhaimah.

My cousins and I spent the vacation in RAK, doing nothing other than sleeping, setting together and eating. At the end of the vacation we realized that our vacation will pass without doing something interesting. We decided to go to Dubai and spend the last two days of the vacation there.

In the first day, we went to the Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence, which is a promenade that hosts a variety of shops, restaurants and cafes. We spent really good time walking around and shopping.

In the second and last day of the vacation, we went to Dubai Mall and we saw to movies consecutively; Non Stop and Divergent, and both of them are great movies.

UAE Feature Story: Qasr al Hosn Festival

Qasr al Hosn Festival is a celebration of over 250 years of Qasr al Hosn’s history. It is a golden opportunity for the United Arab Emirates’ citizens, residents and tourists to watch and experience the heritage and culture of the country.

Visitors will view the UAE’s history through variety of interactive activities, including a world-class show reflecting themes inspired by the UAE’s history, interactive heritage and art workshops, celebrations highlighting Emirati skills and traditions, and historical tours and exhibitions.

The main attraction of the festival is the Cavalia at Qasr Al Hosn show; the theatrical equestrian production, featuring more than 40 highly-trained horses performing along with performers and musicians.

The festival will be divided into four main areas; Abu Dhabi Island and Fort area, Desert, Marine and Oasis.

The Abu Dhabi Island and Fort area that enable children and adults to discover different elements of the history including imitations of traditional Emirati schools and ‘Beit Al Zehba’ which is Bedouin wedding houses.

The Desert area will show visitors the Bedouin life by preforming the traditional Youla dance and teaching the visitors about the UAE’s rich Eco diversity and the efforts to preserve the endangered houbara birds.

The Marine section will emphasize the performs of fishing and pearl-diving, which were previously the main source of livelihood for Emiratis.

Finally, the Oasis will focus on the UAE’s natural life where guests will learn about the different medical uses of herbs and deserts plants.

 

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ZU Feature Story: Working as a florist at Zayed University

Marlyn Belila works at the flower shop in the ZU-AD Promenade. (Photo by Shaikha Alblooshi)

 

ABU DHABI—A florist carried by an unexpected destiny is rebuilding her life by working at Zayed University.

Marlyn Belila, 45, a Filipina widow with two children back home, is struggling to survive, but she is finding a way. She is currently working at Al Bustan Flower Shop in the Promenade of Zayed University’s Abu Dhabi campus.

A few years back, Mrs. Belila migrated to Europe after the death of her husband to earn money and survive. She worked in Germany as a sales person and met an Emirati man who gave her his number and invited her to work in the United Arab Emirates.

After several years, she decided to go back to her country to stay with her children. She used her study of flowers to start her own flower business in the Philippines. But unfortunately her business in the Philippines did not succeed.

She called the Emirati man who invited her to work in the United Arab Emirates. And he welcomed her to work at his home, as a baby sitter.

After a year, she found a better job opportunity related to what she studied. Mrs. Belila worked as a florist in Al Ain for seven years. Then she moved to another flower shop in Dubai for two years.

“Working in the UAE helped me a lot. With the money I got from the UAE, I built a house in the Philippines and my children completed their studies,” Belila said.

She is currently working at ZU’s flower shop.
“Working at ZU is nice because I’m dealing with friendly girls,” Belila said.

Mrs. Belila is a smiley and patient person.
“I use patience with life to make it easier. Smile and you will be happy,” Belila said.
She said that she is different than any other florist because she has a flower designing certificate and experience of 10 years in flower shops.

Mrs. Belila is happy with her life now. One of her children is working, and the other is studying at university. Although she is away from them, she is pleased with her destiny.

 

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