Exciting News

We had some great news recently: Sena was accepted to Yale for pursuing her Masters of Environmental Management. She was also awarded enough scholarships and funding to be able to attend. We're super excited and proud of her. She'll be leaving her job in Washington DC and moving to New Haven to pursue this degree in late summer.

This is her in her DC apartment (literally across the street from the Russian embassy).

Meanwhile, Aiyana is doing really well at McGill and is almost done with her first year. I think that she's really enjoying being there: the atmosphere, the people she met and friends she made, and the challenging academic environment. She's pretty much studying all the time, but she's doing so with friends, and she's also seeing the results in that she's learned so much already.

The other great thing about her being in Montreal is that I also have been going there much more often, which I am enjoying, and also affords me the opportunity to see my parents more.

This is her walking in front of the engineering building where I spent so much time and have so many good memories from.

And this is Aiyana and her very good friend Meixi who also studies at McGill and came to spend Christmas break with us.

Peace

"I don't need a reason for what I've become "

Leonard Cohen's "You want it darker" has been given me solace through recent tribulations. 

Soul friend

More to come maybe 

Connecting the dots

I remember one day in 2019:

 I was a teaching assistant at EO Smith. It was just something I was trying partly on a whim, after the slow and painful realization that farming was probably not going to be sustainable as a long term occupation, at this point in my life.

I was helping another teacher in his intro to science classroom. One day after school I went to Starbucks across the street and, while having my coffee, thought about how I've always really liked physics, in school and outside of school, and how I would like to teach it. That idea took shape more and more, and over the next few months, I decided to take the physics exam and qualify as a potential physics teacher. Then, after passing the exam, I went through an intense official training to get my pedagogy skills. 

Long story short, here I am, 4 years later, teaching physics, a completion of that initial vision. I took this picture sitting at Starbucks this week after school, on a beautiful afternoon, correcting some labs. Same place as 4 years ago, I felt very much connected to that initial seed of inspiration and glad that I followed it. 

I don't want to make it sound like it's all been a bed of roses getting here, because it hasn't. But I do want to acknowledge that I am really enjoying where I am right now, and I am grateful that that original vision materialized.

Aiyana moved into her residence at McGill this weekend

It's been quite a weekend, moving Aiyana in. Very emotional at times. She's doing well, already meeting other nice students, going out, enjoying the city, and making friends. I'm fluctuating between being really excited for her and being heartbroken. The house feels so empty coming back to. It's really weird. I'm numb.

I know I'll get used to it eventually, but right now it's a hard transition.

Here are some pictures:

Aiyana and Ed walked right by the engineering buildings where I spent so much time and have so many great memories from, on their way to her residence.

The iconic McGill walkway, with the arts building in the background, where she'll probably be spending much time this year studying international development.

Her building is really nice, right on Sherbrooke Street, and within minutes from McGill and all of downtown.

I almost burst into tears when I walked into my room after driving back home and saw her little horse from when she was small, one of her favorite toys, on my bed.

I'm glad for Aiyana, and for my parents, who will get to see her much more often now. I'll be going to Montreal more often as well to see all of them.

Meanwhile, I'll keep myself busy with school and trying to support Sena and Aiyana as much as possible from far away.

Peace

Really enjoying my cousin's visit

We're really enjoying the visit of my cousin and her family from Germany. It's really fun to talk to her and her kids, who are all grown up and very interesting. I'm so glad that Sena and Aiyana are getting to meet their cousins from different countries (Germany and France this year, Romania last year). It's refreshing and mind opening to spend time with people whose daily contexts are different than our own.

Peace

Reeling

This trip to Spain was so amazing, and now that I'm back, I feel like I'm reeling from it all. It was not easy, as it is never easy to travel with others, especially those we are close to, with conflicts arising inevitably; but it was amazing and so, so beautiful.

I've learned so much, about history and the interplay of the three religions, Islam, Jewish and Christian, and how what happened in Andalusia in the middle ages shaped so much of our world today.

I'm so amazed, not only by the realizations and connections I've made on this trip, but by the sheer physical beauty of the landscape and architecture, there to see and experience today, as a beacon from times long gone.

Just like Istanbul last year, this trip burst my little bubble of self centered worries, annoyances and complaints, and opened me up again to the truth that the world is big and beautiful and so interesting; that there's so much to learn and experience, and that despite everything, there's so much beauty and goodness out there.

I'm so grateful! I'm sure that before too long, I'll get stuck in my bubble again, but before that happens, I'll do my best to keep myself open.

A few more pictures:

Sunset in Toledo, from our apartment.

The best shawarma and fattouche....

Monasterio San Juan de los Reyes 

My reading list after this trip is totally out of control...

Peace

Toledo, Spain

Falling asleep and waking up in Toledo .

The world breaks our heart, and consoles us with its incomprehensible beauty and mystery.

Alhambra - part 2

I really love Persian and Arabic gardens. They are beautiful and mysterious and evoke a feeling of peace, tranquility and harmony. 

Alhambra, Granada - part 1

Yesterday, we visited the Alhambra palace and gardens in Granada. This was my second time seeing this jewel of a place (I was here back in 1997).

Reading about the history of Granada, learning more about its culture, architecture, garden design, I feel overwhelmed with gratitude at how amazing our world really is, and how lucky I am to have this opportunity to witness it.

Ronda, Spain

This is Ronda, Spain, a place loved by Hemingway, and which inspired his "For whom the bell tolls" and other works. We visited it yesterday, and it was spectacular.

Peace