Back to school, little girl!
What I like the most about being in school is that most of the times it makes me feel young.
There is less than a week left until school starts. Back to school, baby!
You would think that after going back to school 22 times, I should be used to it. It shouldn’t make any difference, especially because I have spent all the summer in school, working on a paper. But that’s not the case.
I am nervous and excited as I was 10 or 20 years ago. Unbelievable! I feel like a child again. I have made a list of the things I should do and prepare before September 1’st. I have spent all day today deep cleaning the house. I will reorganize all my drawers and my closet tomorrow. I want to make sure that everything is clean and where it is supposed to be for the next four months.
And I think about next week. About the new people who are coming to school this year. About my friends, whether we will have the same courses or not. About my thesis that I will seriously start working on, this semester. And about the course that I will TA for. About the new undergrad students that I’ll get to know, and torture for the next four months!! And about the instructors of that course who will probably torture me and them together!!
And it’s all so exciting. I am glad that I like my school and I like what I am doing here. It makes a whole lot difference.
It’s the little girl in me in charge these days. She is the one who used to want to have new backpack or new shoes for school. Who used to spend hours organising and reorganizing her new books and notebooks in her new backpack. Who used to go to sleep the night before the first day of school, thinking about her friends and teachers, excited about the new school year.
And I’ll let her be in charge for a few days. And I’ll enjoy it all, while I can.
Just sharing!
Some bad things, or rather unexpected unpleasant things, has happened to some of my friends in the past couple of months.
And it makes me sad. Very sad.
And it makes me wonder. about a lot of things. In my life and theirs.
It’s all very confusing and complicated and sad and disappointing for me. I can’t imagine how they must be feeling about it all.
I am not ready to talk about them yet. And I know that you, my readers, will understand. I just had to share my feelings here, as it is, and will always be, the main purpose of this blog for me.
And to my friends: Love and support is all that I can offer you now. I am here for you, if you need me.
Languages and relationships
A friend of mine, a Canadian guy who has recently broken up with his Persian girlfriend, came to me today and asked me to translate a Persian sentence that had come to his mind from nowhere. He asked:” What does “doostet daram” mean?” I told him that it means “I love you.” He didn’t really tell me how he knew that sentence, but I can imagine that his girlfriend might have said it to him so many times that it is now stuck in his mind forever. How romantic!!
I have always been fascinated by the couples that are not from the same country and have different native languages.
In the simple cases, one of them can speak the other one’s language and that’s how they communicate, such as my friend who speaks Persian and English and is seeing another friend of mine who speaks English.
In the most extreme cases, they can only communicate in a third language. For example, my uncle is a Persian man who lives in Spain and can speak Persian, Spanish and English. He has a Finnish wife, who speaks Finnish, English and Spanish. They have a 3 year old boy who can speak Finnish and English and understands Persian! How messed up is that?!
What is the role of language in a relationship? Is it harder for these couples to understand each other? There can be a lot of misunderstandings between couples who speak the same language, let alone speaking different languages. I get frustrated sometimes, when I can’t find the right word to express myself in school or anywhere else. Can they express themselves and their needs easily enough?
Or maybe it’s just a lot easier for them. Anything that comes up, any misunderstanding or problem that happens, they blame it on language issues, ignore it and move on.
What do you think?
Biking in the city brought back memories
Last weekend we went out to get some food for lunch, when we accidentally ran into three of our friends from school who were going to eat at the same place. They had come with their bikes. After lunch, we went to waterfront for an afternoon walk. (Well, we walked, but those poor guys had to carry their bikes all the way!!) My friend offered me her bike for a short ride. At first I hesitated, but then I went for it.
I hadn’t ridden a bike for about 5 years. Oh, my goodness! I had forgotten how good it felt. The feeling of floating in the air, with a breeze on my face, …. It was awesome.
And it brought back memories… lots of memories.
Memories of 5,6 years ago, biking with my sisters and my fiance at the time, in Chitgar park…, excited about my relationship with him…, couldn’t wait to start a new life together….
Memories of 15 years ago, biking with my best friend in a square near our houses…. How happy and carefree we were, how curious we were about people, especially boys!! We were looking forward to seeing what future had for us….
Memories of 20 years ago, in a small alley where our house was, biking back and forth in the alley…, my father trying to teach me to take right U-turns. (I was only able to turn left and refused to try otherwise!)
.
.
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We are going to buy bikes and we are determined to use them this summer.
Lessons in a divorce
One of my best friends is getting a divorce. This came to me as a shock because I knew how much she and her husband loved each other. I also knew what they have been through together during their six years of marriage.
My friend is a brilliant engineer, a great writer, and a romantic woman. She is also very very optimistic. Even these days, when she is very sad, she is the one who gives us hope and energy. She never stopped looking forward to the future. She has big plans and wonderful dreams. Her only concern is that she can’t share them with the person she loves. In the middle of all that is going on in her life, she can still enjoy drinking cold water in the heat, talk about the book that she is reading, and be upset when her favorite soccer team lost last night.
Wow! That is something I don’t think I can ever do. I should learn from her. I should learn to look at the big picture, to try to find out what other great things life has for me. I shouldn’t let small problems or challenges overwhelm me.
Although I am very sad about what happened to my friend and I can’t stop thinking about her, I am glad for her. I am glad that she has the strength to face this problem. I wish her all the luck in the world. I can’t wait to witness her success in her personal and professional life.
To my friend, I love you.
