From Cairo... with love!

Dearest - the two of you reading this! You know very well who you are :)

Last night it was a night to remember. First of all I spent the evening talking to different people in Tahrir Square in Cairo (it's okay you can breathe out. I am not going to blog politics for you!)

I went on the carriage, stood up and looked up. Hands laying on the seat in front of me, the horse galloping away, my hair blowing with the wind... and so were on the bridge and crossed the Nile. The colours were beautiful, the water was amazing, the sky with the moon was spectacular. I managed engrave something on a rock... you never know if I ever return it might be there. love travelling, seeing different cultures and undergoing different experience. Every city you visit, it leaves with you something unique, it gives you a certain feel and it brings to your mind certain thoughts. I love the entire experience even if it is not always the most luxuries.

Overall it was an evening that you often see in one of those 'and they lived happily ever after' movies. Even though Egypt still has many chapters to finish before they live happily ever after.


Lots of love
Saza - Cairo. 

Right Now I dream of...

Dear Sweet Reader,

Right now...

I dream of a walk on the shores of the ocean.
I wish for my feet to sink in sand...
I wish to see the shades of yellow and orange sinking far behind the ripples...

In this dream I imagine the baby wave washing away the trail of my feet.

With each wave every step is cleared,

In this dream I am not alone.

I am with the sky,
I am with the birds,

I am with the sound of waves,
I am with the gentle breeze,

I am the bird.
I am the wave.
I am the breeze.

My heart is as deep as this ocean,
My thoughts as colourful as this sky,

My  dreams all of a sudden have wings,
My wounds and fears are washing away..,

Just like the wave that washed away every step I take in the sand.

---
In few hours time I am off to the airport to take part in a meeting taking place in Egypt. So, the next entry will be signed off from Cairo.

The 14th.

Dearest ...

It is late. I have had a very long day.
Life is good.

Many interesting things happened today. Had a seven-hour meeting on youth in Iraq. I will tell you about it tomorrow.

Just wanted to say I love the 14th of every month. Something unique and special always has to happen on the 14th, today was no different.

Saza - Happy 14th.

"I'm done" - With love!

Dear Kulka & Amicus, since you're the only two out there reading I am going to dedicate this to both of you,
About two hours ago (after refreshing the page ever since this morning) I managed to get my results online.

Today, on November 12th, 2012 I became an official graduate, MA in Diplomacy (with some great marks). The first people to know about this were the people who were with me this entire journey, and I couldn't go to sleep without passing the news to you as well. I feel proud, because while many see this as something simple and easy for me it was a huge challenge because it was more than just studies and essays. For me, there were life time changes, I felt like someone who could not swim but was thrown in the middle of the ocean. But you know what? I felt like there were great dolphins in that ocean.... I dedicated my dissertation to these individuals.


Saza - Very thankful.

100 things I love.

100 things I love

Dearest, sweetest reader... (both of you out there- you know who you are!)

Today wasn't a perfect day. In fact, it was a bad day. So I decided that I will challenge myself with writing a list of 100 things that I love (in nor particular order)

1. I love going on picnics with the family
2. I love doing community work with my close friends
3. I love looking through old draws, boxes and pictures.
4. I love Kurdish folklore
5. I love walking under the rain, on the sand by the shores,
6. I love snow fights
7. I love being up high and seeing a great view below
8. I love traveling to places that I haven't been before
9. I love experiencing and learning about different cultures
10. I love having a vase always full of flowers and roses
11. I love winter from behind the window
12. I love doing scrap booking, even though I don't have an artistic side
13. I love praying and reading Quran
14. I love reading non fiction books
15. I love evenings at home when no one is doing anything and we're all in front of the TV
16. I love working with youth
17. I love listening to people express themselves
18. I love my pen pal in India
19. I love the life time sisters I have found through my blog
20. I love the way I still have contact with my childhood friend even though continents separate us
21. I love being part of people's weddings and graduations. Feels like their happiest moments in life
22. I love my green tea when I am very stressed or very angry or very upset
23. I love eating dolma with all my relatives
24. I love it when my brother sits down and talks about how our future will be
25. I love celebrating special dates that are important in my life
26. I love dates that look nice (weird I know) but numbers like 12/12/2012, 20/02/2020 make me happy
27. I love listening to old songs, including Um Kalthoum and Abdel Halim
28. I love looking at the moon at night
29. I love photography and taking pictures
30. I love my father's eyes when they are happy and proud
31. I love pens with a good grip
32. I love diaries and fancy, out of the ordinary note books
33. I love putting on candles and lamps at night
34. I love the smell of newly printed books (weird. I know)
35. I love it when people dedicate things to me- paintings, drawings, books, songs, poems!
36. I love gummy bears, mentos and Ice Cream
37. I love collecting memories, like a leaf or a rock after a memorable walk etc..
38. I love dating things that I collect or I have that are important to me
39. I love the way people make the time to comment on a blog
40. I love sleeping that extra five minutes after the alarm rings in the morning
41. I love drinking chai (tea) from an istikan (a small glass only for drinking tea)
42. I love going to waterfalls hidden between mountains
43. I love people who are adventurous
44. I love the feeling of working hard towards something I really love
45. I love collecting quotes
46. I love highlighting and writing on sticky notes of all colours, shapes and sizes (while I am studying)
47. I love sitting on the floor between library shelves (another weird one. I know)
48. I love getting hand written letters or cards
49. I love long train journeys (only if I have a window seat)
50. I love leaving the house and seeing my neighbour's kids outside waving to me
51. I love the feeling of going to sleep after submitting a big assignment
52. I love mugs that have interesting writing on them
53. I love being on the passenger seat when driving at night with gentle music
54. I love going to work and finding something on the desk
55. I love houses that are decorated during special occasions like Christmas
56. I love antique shops
57. I love the sound of walking on autumn leaves
58. I love painting things that I call "abstract art" but all it is, is a mess
59. I love trying new things
60. I love walking over bridges
61. I love people who are open about their feelings and thoughts
62. I love simple gifts with thought into it, even better if hand made
63. I love surprises
64. I love Twitter
65. I love things that are personalized, either with dates or initials
66. I love working for vulnerable people
67. I love being cared for by those I love (some like to call this attention)
68. I love all the colours
69. I love big hand bags that can fit in everything (and are usually twice my weight and almost my height)
70. I love it when I gain a few kilos
71. I love watching new born babies
72. I love watching the behind the scenes of movies
73. I love Thursday afternoons
74. I love Sunday mornings
75. I love butterflies in any garden
76. I love being in the company of people, but at times I like to be alone
77. I love New Years Eve and writing New Year Resolutions
78. I love my BlackBerry, which still is the first one I ever bought
79. I love cooking and then realizing that it is actually edible
80. I love supporting Manchester United, for the sake of my loved ones
81. I love face to face talks with people
82. I love the Kurdish dahol w zurna 
83. I love knowing that I have made someone happy
84. I love BBQ get-together (even though I don't like eating meat)
85. I love listening to inspiring people talk (No. Even better, I love meeting them)
86. I love a room with lots of book shelves
87. I love writing in my diary
88. I love dolphins, and horses
89. I love how great people can be so simple
90. I love wearing my hoodie with my name written at the back
91. I love my father's tasbih
92. I love sitting around a camp fire
93. I love the sound of baang in the morning and in the evening (call for prayers from the mosque)
94. I love  watching news channels
95. I love it how I am so bad with technology,  and there's always someone making fun of me
96. I love having fancy, different and unique book marks
97. I love walking through old areas of my city
98. I love working with people for people
99. I love the feeling of achieving a goal I had set myself
100. I love the 14th of every month!


By the time I was half way through writing number 90, the thing that bothered me today was solved.

Here is your challenge, next time you feel down list 100 things you love.

Saza- smiling.

Love yourself

special.

Dearest anonymous readers...

Every night I have something to think of while I am reading my book in bed, until my eyes dose and I fall asleep.

Don't get me wrong. I love these thoughts. Inside my petite body, and behind my smile are thoughts as high as mountains and as deep as oceans.

How is it that no one knows what's going on inside our minds and hearts but us? Sometimes I wish people knew how I thought and what I felt. It would make life so much easier I think. I wish they knew it without me having to say it. Simple as that. Maybe this is because I know of my good intentions, or maybe it is because I don't like explaining myself, or maybe I don't like being misunderstood.

This reminds me of one of the training I did for youth, we spoke about loving yourself and who you are. I was preaching that, but for nights on end I questioned whether I actually practice it. After so long, I did come to a conclusion.

I love myself because of the way I think. The way I see the world.  The way I see people. The love and respect I have for individuals, places and things. I love myself for every time I set myself a goal I go through a lot of hardship to reach it, I love myself for being a dreamer, a believer... I love myself for I have managed to surround myself with the greatest friends. You too, think of it. And come to love yourself. But don't love selfishly.

Saza- Hope I gave you something to think about tonight!

Friday Update

Baby B, sending aunty pictures from Beirut!

Dearest reader - I know I had two readers, though I am not sure if you two are still following or not.

Update of things in Erbil now. Well, there is work being done on a youth project that I have been dedicated to for such a long time, it is taking lots of hours but I am loving it and the result is amazing!! That's one.

On a social level, it is hard to believe that I am already an aunty to two  beautiful kids and early next year there are going to be three more little newborns coming into life--please note I only have one brother, but these little ones belong to my closest friends, so I think I honestly deserve to be referred to as an aunty!!! No arguing!! It is amazing how much happiness a little child can bring into the world, even though one is in Lebanon, one in India, one in Australia and two in Erbil. Still, an aunty I am. Follow one of the to-be mums on Diaper Diary Tales!

November is going to be hectic. I have a few weddings to attend, a few trainings to do and a trip to ........! I will leave that one as a surprise!

I love Fridays. Everyone is at home, we have our meals together, friends and relatives sometimes join us and I get time to do things I couldn't during the week. Though I have made myself a promise that I stay home all day on Fridays. Wish you, my dearest reader, a brilliant Friday and a fantastic weekend!

Saza- Happy!!