Who am I?

Me as a baby

My tomboy phase

horseback riding

driving a boat in Zell am See
used to live nearby as a kid

 Hey Everyone! I am Jasmin :) . Well where do I begin?I am 23 years old. My father is Egyptian and my mother is Austrian so I went back and forth a lot between the two countries. I was born here. When I was a toddler we went to Egypt and I visited pre-school there.

After pre-school I came back and went to elementary school here in Gratwein (nearby Graz) and in Saalfelden (Salzburg). Then I went back to Egypt with my father and lived there until I was almost 19.
In Egypt we lived in Cairo. There I went to a school with the Egyptian system but with everything taught in English. In my last 3 years in high school I went to an American school. I even did the SAT's and all that. After graduation I went to the German University in Cairo (GUC) and studied engineering for two years. When I was 18 I decided to come back to Austria.

trying my first beer (non-alcoholic)

visiting family in upper Egypt
farm land

When i lived in Egypt I would go to the pyramids, museums, the opera, play the flute, hang out with friends, go to Alexandria and eat traditional Egyptian food like fool, falafel, shawerma, cactus fruit, sugar cane juice, guava, Egyptian flat bread ( you can see one of my family members baking it).

far extended family member baking
traditional Egyptian bread

When I was a kid and still in Austria, I was a tomboy, super crazy, and active. I did a lot of sports like ballet, horseback riding, gymnastics, skateboarding, mountain biking, hiking etc. I even looked like a boy as you can see from my third picture :). I wanted to be a super hero, an astronaut, detective, and witch.

dad, cousin and uncle 2nd degree in
upper Egypt

When I was a kid, moving back and forth wasn't a problem, but when I came back to Austria in 2010 it was a cultural shock for me. Everything was completely different than I expected. I thought that since Austria is a first world country there wouldn't be racism and life would be easier, but unfortunately that wasn't what I experienced.

at the conservatoire in Cairo
with my dad great aunt and uncle
who are famous there

First when I came back my high school diploma wasn't accredited so I had to take exams to be able to go to university. I initially wanted to continue engineering in Leoben, Montan University, but I hated the university. That is why I decided to come to Graz and study translation English, German, and Arabic. Life started getting better.

Sunset at the Mediterranean sea where
we would go often

So what do I do now? Well of course go to university, and study. I also have to work a lot. I take part in the ESN Buddy Program, I work in the student union (ÖH), so if anyone is having troubles you can come to me ;) ; I work with refugees helping them have a normal life again, interpret for a human rights organization, and I am a radio show host.

showing friends from Aswan, Egypt
the pyramids before they immigrated
to Canada

Other than that I try to keep my social life alive. I also have a small dog Leia (like star wars princess leia), watch a lot of series and movies, read a lot, like to travel, do some art, got o concerts, sing, write poetry, cook, and bake (if you want to try one of my delicious cupcakes or other baked goodies come to our STV Brunch on the 25th of March).

my dad, aunt and I at high school graduation

at my old university in Egypt

my mom and I on my 19th birthday

my dog Leia bigger and fluffier now

my copper art that I made

a cake I made