Objectives: To demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities, and to articulate an informed personal response and critically analyze works in the arts and humanities. Assignment: Read the readings and watch the films posted in Module 8. Students will write the Discussion Board 4 to demonstrate what they have learned about Islamic philosophy and literatures. The discussion must answer the following questions: 1) What observations and remarks can you make about Islamic literatures and philosophy? Demonstrate and show your observations and remarks by writing a one paragraph response of 7-10 sentences. 2) Explain the philosophy of any one Islamic thinker/philosopher. (One paragraph of 7-10 sentences; write specifically and include the thinker/philosopher's name, years of life, location, contributions, etc.). 3) Analyze a poem of your choice from the assigned poems. (One paragraph of 7-10 sentences). 4) List and explain one quote from the Quran. (One paragraph of 7-10 sentences; include the Quranic quote with chapter and verse numbers in your answer). 5) What lessons can we learn from the stories of the Arabian Nights? (One paragraph of 7-10 sentences). 6) Research, compare, and write about the Rihla (travel writings) of Ibn Jubayr to the Rihla of Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo or Zheng He (compare Ibn Jubayr's travel writings to ANY ONE of the other three listed travelers). You may also compare Ibn Jubayr to another explorer (Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, etc.), if you wish. Kahwati1 Claudia Kahwati Carlos Gonzalez ENC1101-2203-14285 24 April 2020 Dear Mr. Gonzalez: During the semester, it was very comfortable to use writing as a practice and as a new experience rather than just trying to pass a class. Practicing as an assignment was a tremendous impact in my writing since my first language is Spanish. This made the process of learning more interesting, but I believe yoga gives the magic touch to this class. You as a professor made the class became a safe place for students. I am a person who is stressed most of the time about everything in my life. It is amazing how the energy changed every time I was in class practicing yoga with my classmates. Moreover, the class felt like my comfort zone because I was able to relaxed. Even though I have been having rough days at my job or in my personal life, the class helped me improve my skills. I understood how important it is to notice and wonder in life. Learning English was one of my dreams, and I can finally say that I am thankful Prof. Gonzalez was part of it. I wanted to say thank you for being patience with my classmates and I. I really appreciate your help during the semester. I released my tension through my writing because it made me feel better every time. Since I started this class, I started a journal. Therefore, starting a journal was one of the most interesting things I have done this semester because I could communicate my th.

1. Objectives: To demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety
of works in the arts and humanities, and to articulate an
informed personal response and critically analyze works in the
arts and humanities.
Assignment: Read the readings and watch the films posted in
Module 8. Students will write the Discussion Board 4 to
demonstrate what they have learned about Islamic philosophy
and literatures. The discussion must answer the following
questions:
1) What observations and remarks can you make about Islamic
literatures and philosophy? Demonstrate and show your
observations and remarks by writing a one paragraph response
of 7-10 sentences.
2) Explain the philosophy of any one Islamic
thinker/philosopher. (One paragraph of 7-10 sentences;
write specifically and include the thinker/philosopher's name,
years of life, location, contributions, etc.).
3) Analyze a poem of your choice from the assigned poems.
(One paragraph of 7-10 sentences).
4) List and explain one quote from the Quran. (One paragraph
of 7-10 sentences; include the Quranic quote with chapter and
verse numbers in your answer).
5) What lessons can we learn from the stories of the Arabian
Nights? (One paragraph of 7-10 sentences).
6) Research, compare, and write about the Rihla (travel
writings) of Ibn Jubayr to the Rihla of Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo
or Zheng He (compare Ibn Jubayr's travel writings to ANY
ONE of the other three listed travelers). You may also compare
Ibn Jubayr to another explorer (Vasco da Gama, Christopher
Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, etc.), if you wish.

2. Kahwati1
Claudia Kahwati
Carlos Gonzalez
ENC1101-2203-14285
24 April 2020
Dear Mr. Gonzalez:
During the semester, it was very comfortable to use
writing as a practice and as a new experience rather than just
trying to pass a class. Practicing as an assignment was a
tremendous impact in my writing since my first language is
Spanish. This made the process of learning more interesting, but
I believe yoga gives the magic touch to this class. You as a
professor made the class became a safe place for students. I am
a person who is stressed most of the time about everything in
my life. It is amazing how the energy changed every time I was
in class practicing yoga with my classmates.
Moreover, the class felt like my comfort zone because I was
able to relaxed. Even though I have been having rough days at
my job or in my personal life, the class helped me improve my
skills. I understood how important it is to notice and wonder in
life. Learning English was one of my dreams, and I can finally
say that I am thankful Prof. Gonzalez was part of it. I wanted to
say thank you for being patience with my classmates and I. I
really appreciate your help during the semester. I released my
tension through my writing because it made me feel better every
time. Since I started this class, I started a journal. Therefore,
starting a journal was one of the most interesting things I have
done this semester because I could communicate my thoughts to
the world but actually to myself. Hopefully, all those students
who are going to take your class, they feel the same connection
I felt. This was an opportunity to express feelings, yet I fully
enjoyed my practices every week during the class. I really loved
this semester, and it is an unforgettable one.
Unexpectedly, I never thought a pandemic will spread all over

3. the world, and the transition was shocking for most people. It
was difficult to adapt to online classes, but I took advantage out
of the current situation. I had the opportunity to spend more
time with my family, and I had more time to study for my
classes. Before the pandemic started, I never thought I would
have cardiovascular problems. I have always been healthy since
I am allergic to many things. Since we are in quarantine, I had
appointments through video calls with my cardiologist to check
my progress. It has been the weirdest semester I have ever had,
but I have enjoyed every moment.
It has been such a long time since I have felt so passionate
about my classes. I was looking for a clue to inspire myself and
to become a better writer. I have a full-time job, and I am a full-
time student. Additionally, I am a volunteer at Baptist Health
Hospital, and I have my own radio show with my mom. To be
honest, I consider getting an A in this class is a prove to myself
because I have achieved my goal for the class and for the
semester. It was not easy to get good grades while I was doing
many things at the same time. However, I did my best, and I
opened myself to new things in my life. I worked hard to
developed myself and learned new skills. This class, specially
Prof. Gonzalez made a big impact on my writing. I do not
remember enjoying so much a class as I did with your class.
Thank you for everything, and I hope you spread to others love
as you did in this semester full of difficult times.
Best Regards,
Claudia Kahwati.
Kahwati 1
Claudia Kahwati
Carlos Gonzalez
ENC1101-2203-14285
24 April 2020

4. Forbidden Love
“I am sorry to bother you. Can you please send me a
picture of my check out?” He said on a text message that late
night.
“My pleasure, I will send it to you right now.” I was working at
a restaurant as a new employee, and I met him there. I did not
know he had my phone number at that moment.
For the first time, I was working at a restaurant, so I did not
have enough knowledge. I had to go through training. Honestly,
I felt passionate about my new job, and I love working at this
restaurant. Since the general manager liked my development, I
had the opportunity to learn new skills. It is a very popular
Cuban restaurant. I worked as a dispatcher, and he worked as a
driver. It has been a year and four months since I started
working there.
For a year, He and I had plenty of moments together as friends
and as coworkers, but our connection was beyond our
imagination. We were always treating each other differently,
and every moment together was unique. We used to make eye
contact many times during work; not only as coworkers but
also, we had a special treatment or relationship from other
coworkers. Every day as we worked together, we had an
opportunity to get to know each other. While I was taking
orders with customers, he was delivering customer’s food.
Moreover, he used to try to touch my hands as he was helping
me to organize tickets for orders. Once I started working at the
restaurant, it was an impact on my life. I never thought love was
right in front of me, and I did not believe in love. One day, I
noticed a sign from him. My manager told me to be a driver for
the rest of the shift because we were very busy at the restaurant.
I got a call while I was driving to deliver my last order.
“Hey, they have told me that you are delivering orders. Are you
ok? Where are you at right now? If you need help making a
route for more than one order, let me know. I am glad you
finally had the opportunity to deliver personally to customers
because it is an amazing experience” That was Emilio. He

5. sounded very excited about the idea of me delivering to
customers. He knows how much I wanted to experience this
journey.
"Hi Emilio, I am about to deliver my last order in Dadeland. I
believe there are more orders at the restaurant. Thank you for
offering your help. I will think about it. I am enjoying this
opportunity. Who told you I was delivering orders?" I was
shocked because I never thought he was going to call me. He
was always serious and professional with other people at the
restaurant, but for some reason, he was always smiling and
enjoying the moment with me.
"Someone told me at the restaurant. I was curious about where
you were because I did not see you there. I will see you soon for
the closing at the restaurant. Give me a call if you have any
questions. Good luck, Claudia.”
As we finished our shift, he started talking to me more, so we
started texting each other. He felt comfortable with me as we
began to share our interests. A couple of months passed by, and
we started talking more. Yet, there was a time where everything
actually started. I let him show me how to make routes without
a GPS, but I had to spend a day with him. The first day we spent
together, we almost kissed when I left. Since then, we were
always more nervous when we saw each other.
“The other day, I know something happened. I am not sure if it
was accidental on both sides, or we really wanted it to happen.”
Emilio said to me on a text message that late night when I was
driving to go home.
“It was accidental, but I believe we both wanted it to happen," I
said.
Two days after, he wanted to see me. It was my day off, so we
met at the parking lot. We talked, we laugh, and we shared our
feelings. I gave him a companion while he was delivering, and
we both worked as a team in order to do as many orders as we
could. We knew we had a mutual crush since I started working
there. We fell for each other, and we found love.
One day, we got out of our job at the same time, so we decided

6. to spend some time together. We stayed at the parking lot, and
we spent an hour together. I did not know he had a birthday
reunion the same day. He had to leave, and I saw on his phone
many calls from the same person. I left him, so he could go to
his reunion. We have been together for one month.
"Hi Emilio, I just got home. I hope to see you tomorrow at
work. I enjoyed spending some time with you today."
“Hi Claudia, thank you for letting me know. I will text you
when I get home after my reunion.” I waited until he texted me
again, so I could know if he got home safely.
“Claudia! I just got home, te amo (I love you)” That was not the
first time he said it to me, but apparently he was with his wife.
She read what he wrote to me, and he texted to me about what
happened later that night. I didn’t respond back because I was
sleepy. The following day, we talked about it, and he was a
hundred percent sure about wanting a relationship with me. We
have been having feelings for each other since I started working
at the restaurant.
He and his wife started having fights, and Emilio and I tried to
break up what we had. Going through this with him was
devastating to me. Once we broke up, we would always come
back together. There were some different things between us,
yes. He is fourteen years older than me. I am nineteen, and he is
thirty-three. We had was something we have never felt before.
Chemistry, we had a connection which we have never felt
before.
However, no one knew about us except his best friend (his dad),
and my second-best friend Leticia after my mom. My mom did
not even know. I wanted to let her know about what I was going
through. It is difficult to tell my mom about my situation.
Because I like a married guy with a little daughter, I did not
know a way to tell my story to her. I have never kept a secret to
my mom. I had the necessity to tell her, but I could not do it.
Keeping the secret from her was burning me inside. At least, I
had a friend to talk about it. I am grateful to have Leticia in my
life because she is the only person I can trust. Not telling me

7. what I was going through was a terrible sensation for me.
Emilio used to be more nervous than me while we were
working. He was very jealous even about other guys at the same
restaurant. He respected me, and he made me feel like the one
and only. I was always thinking about him, the moments we had
together, and my heart knew its way since I met him. I love
him, and he loves me, but it was not that simple.
“I have never been this happy and sure about myself before. I
am able to make decisions without doubting myself at any
moment. I found true love and chemistry with you. I have never
loved anyone like this. I want a future with you, but the only
barrier we have is my legal status in this country.” Emilio said.
We are both from Venezuela, and we are legally here because of
asylum. He has Spanish citizenship, which means if he and his
wife get divorced, they will go back to Venezuela, and I will
never see him again. There is no way he can stay in the US
having a citizenship from another country. If we stayed
together, we will never have the opportunity to see each other in
this country. No matter how big our love was, we were both
thinking about his little daughter. This was not the moment for
us to be together, so we have decided to stay apart. I thought
about his daughter as if she was mine too. I would love to be
able to give her a beautiful life, and I love her as she was my
daughter.
“It is a forbidden love, and there is where we want to go. The
chances are in front of us, but it is complicated to make a
decision. I love you, Emilio, and I do not want our story to end
like this. I cannot imagine life without you." I said.
“You are a gift from heaven, an angel. Even though I am
married, I have never experienced true love. It is impossible to
stop talking or seeing each other, and we have never been apart
since we met for one year and four months ago. I love you,
Hermosa (Beautiful)! I will fight for us because this is our
beginning.” Emilio said.
Unexpectedly, a week after we were told to stay in
quarantine because of a current pandemic. It was already

8. difficult to see each other because his wife knew about us. If we
wanted to see each other, we had to planned everything.
Therefore, my mom never knew about our love, and I am
keeping the secret from her. Once things are formal, I will feel
free to tell her everything with details. I feel drowned because I
cannot tell her anything about us. We are still together, but we
do not know what is coming for us in the near future. We are
not giving upon us, and we know our paths crossed for a reason.
If our love is meant to be, our paths will stay crossed. We love
each other, and we will always do. He brought joy in my life; I
found out who I really am. I used to be insecure about myself,
he made me feel complete, and more importantly, he
demonstrated to me what true love is. Even though we said we
had to stay apart, we could not stop talking or seeing each
other. For us, it is impossible to stop loving each other, and we
have been struggling, crying, suffering. God gave me the
opportunity to find love when I actually thought true love did
not exist. I did not expect perfection from him. I will always
love him and stand by him even through the worst of times. Our
future is unpredictable, and if there is not a happy ending, at
least I loved him with every beat of my heart.