Reflecting Upon A Time

This time of year is always very busy and even sometimes crazy. There is the hustle and bustle of shoppers, family in town and personally for me a large desire to reflect on this year and to prepare my mind for the next! With only a few days left in 2016, there seems to still be so much that I would like to do. My list of goals may not have been completed fully but I accept that since that's the beauty of creating challenges and goals for myself; it doesn't have to be perfect.

This year of 2016 has had so many emotions and trials that in the end it has really taught me a lot about life, myself and what really matters. This year there were many moments of solitude, soul searching, and learning about myself on a whole new level that wasn't familiar to me before. I think that's something that is normal as you go through your 20's, most likely one of if not the hardest time in your life. There is so much time for self- discovery during these years that is so very needed, yet painful and even lonely at times.

While I was in Rio this Summer, there were many hard moments that I experienced, internally. There were also really nice and enjoyable times, but a lot of them were also more internal. My last day in Rio, I had the hotel room to myself since my roommate had an earlier flight. I just enjoyed soaking everything in, and looking out the window and taking some alone time to myself before my long flights ahead.

If I could pick a month that stands out to me this year, it would most likely be August. There was so much variety and new experiences that collided with one another, challenging, exciting, inspiring, and fear paved the way. The month started with going to a coffee shop with my dearest and inspiring sister, and getting more into my Arabic studies. Learning more about this interesting and exotic language keeps motivating and challenging me to advance my knowledge in this Semitic language.

Close to the middle of August, I was lucky enough and able to go to San Salvador, El Salvador for my sweet sister and brother in law's wedding. I will never forget that day and I don't even think the details will fade my memory. The experience and feeling of being there was something incredible and easy to recreate in memory and feeling but hard to explain in words. The week after the wedding followed a spark in my mind, a necessity to create a blog, something to look forward to and write and share about my interest and passions. This also happened to be one of my hardest weeks of the year- full of anxiety and fear that led my mind and actions. The end of August only got better, and writing on Plum Tree began to become a regular thing, and the last rays of Summer were in due season as Autumn would soon be taking its course.

To be honest, each season this year was very hard and had its moments of pain, but I found that this pain only brought me to know and understand myself better and with this understanding came more appreciation and awareness of  the goodness and beauty around me. I don't have to even look very far to find a glimmer of it. The pain and the emotion throughout these four seasons helped with this beauty, and realizing that all emotion is beautiful.

I think there is still so much more to say about this year, and how 'new' and 'unpredictable' were the words that highlighted this year. But I think I will save it for another post, and leave my reflections and thoughts for another time:) Cheers to this wonderful, long yet short, interesting and surprising year of 2016!! Looking forward to all that's ahead...

Summer Books and October Color

Summer is becoming farther and farther in the background. While looking back, some days feel all clustered into one, over one hundred days smudged, in a good, bright and fun kind of way. Some things stick out more than others, and some days I miss more than others. I wanted to write about the books that I read and finished this past Summer. My goal was 12 and I reached 12, up until the last day, so that was exciting and rewarding.

I'll start from mid June to late September, when my Summer started and when it ended. A few of the books I had picked up prior but then finished them with a good and hard determined mind, and made the finish line. Others, I had picked up at the library and fell in love from the first page, became hooked and knew I wanted to finish it and see how it ends, but even better, to enjoy the journey.

This book was the first book I finished this summer. I hadn't read anything like it, and was even searching for more books that she had written, but so far no luck. This is a cooking memoir, Persian cooking and the author's expereince getting into cooking school- the same one as Julia Child. I liked this one, especially since I love cooking memoirs but also because I learned a few things about Persian/Iranian food and culture! 4 stars

I started this book Spring 2015, but I never finished it. I came back to it this Summer, and wanted to expereince the ending. This book is about a young woman experiencing the peace corps in Africa. It was so interesting to me, to expereince another world, expereince and culture, through her eyes. While reading, I couldn't help thinking about my friend who is doing the Peace Corps now in Ecuador, and all that she is expereincing. 3 stars

I was always aware of Frida Kalho. I only briefly knew about her and wanted to know more about her. This book gave a thorough view of her life, her struggles and journey through art. She is such a unique person, a creative and original soul. This book was very informative, and feel that I know more about her life and her art. 4 stars

I finally read and finished a Willa Cather book. This one I also picked up about 2 years ago, but never finished. This Summer, I was determined to give it a whack. What an interesting read. It goes back to another time, in another state, the hardships of life come into hand, and the dynamics of characters come into play. Cather makes the 1800's come to life, with her rich descriptions of scenery and emotions. I plan to read her other classic works! 4 stars

My sister picked up this book before me, read it and enjoyed it. I was convinced that I would like it too. It was such a quick read, engaging, interesting, yet suffereing was the main theme. I also got to learn more about Diana, the likeable Princess from all around the world. This book was not only about her life but it delved into her personal encounter with a life long friend, with the woman whom she nannied her son. I learned that Diana was a private person, she kept a lot of her pain to herself, so it was interesting to know that her friend didn't know much of her deep turmoils. 5 stars for me!

I had wanted to read and finish this book for so long! Although it took a few months, I finally finished it! Wow, what a treasure. Some of it was dense, but overall very interesting. This was my spiritual reading for a while, and there were a lot parts that I gained some deeper understanding about St. Josemaria's life, as well as the history of that time. 5 stars!

This book I had found through a blog, a language blog- even better! I can't take the priveldge of finding this interesting read, my sister did again actually. But I read the book, it was a pretty thick book, maybe close to 400 pages. I read this one in the middle of August, when I had long days to read a good, enticing read. I liked this book, yet didn't love it. I thought it was interesting but felt that she gave up on studying Chinese and Arabic, and kind of delved more into Spanish. Her goal was to study in the country of that language, and luckily her husband is pretty chill, because he kind of just went along for the ride and she went with it, her ideas leading her through it all. 3 stars

I recieved this book as a Christmas gift this past year. Again, I started it but didn't dig deep enough to pave my way through this one. I always knew I wanted to read it, just not now I thought. But I eventually got around to it, and enjoyed it. It was a simple cooking book, talking about various forms of cookig and food. This author has another book, a sequel to this one. I plan to read that one, when I feel ready to pick it up again. 3.5 stars

I had heard about her, and people had read this book. I knew that I had to go back and finish this, again one of those books that I put down for a while, but then felt called to continue on. Her story is very interesting, and you really feel that you get to know and understand her. She's such a unique person, she really shares her story, and am glad I decided to finish this one. I also learned more about Ballet. 4 stars

When I think of reading this Summer, my mind goes back to this one. I really liked this one. I checked it out once, and didn't touch it, but felt compelled to give it a shot. I was hooked once I started. From the prologe, I knew it would be a good one. I'm also the type of person who really likes maps in books. I'm a visual person, so I guess that's why I enjoy viewing maps and seeing the distance and relationships between various geographical structures. I really enjoyed the process of reading this book, and learned more about the places she went. I am thouroughly interested in Middle Eastern, Central Asian, and Asian countries, and her journeys went to some of these countries. I was peeled to the page. 5 stars

I read this one directly after Noodle Road, which is actually the prequel to this one. I can say that I didn't like this one as much. It was good, but not as interesting to me as Noodle Road was. Serve the People has to do with her studies of Chinese cooking while she studies in China. I think she is a great writer, so I knew I had to keep reading! 3 stars

And lastly, this one. A quickk yet very informative read! I learned a lot about myself ( an introvert), as well as fellow non-introverts, or extroverts. This one was way easier to read and more enjoyable than the book, Quiet in my opinion. I liked this author's realizations, writing style and information given. I hope she has more books! 5 stars

Now onto other books! I hope to finish 15 by the end of this year, and hopefully 8 of them during this Fall season. Sometimes I just want to snuggle up woith a book and read all day, at the library, a cafe or on a nice bench in some park where there are nice,beautiful trees.

My Mom got this for me when I got my wisdom teeth out this past Summer. I finally started coloring in it during my long break at school. Something nice to do other than reading a textbook!

I like these directions! It's soothing just reading them:)

105 days of Summer

A qiuck shot while walking to Santa Cruz beach. Love those flowers, and the radiant sunshine!

Berkely wall art

A yellow building in Gloria, Rio

Summer is coming to a close, and it's always bittersweet looking back on it. I've counted the days off of required reading, studying for tests and waking up and getting dressed on time for a full day, or rather, rushing to get out of the door. But those days have been behind me for a while, though they are on the horizo to be here soon once again, very soon. 105 days. One hundred and five days of Summer. It feels like a long time, and granted it was. I feel that I soaked up every day, as best as I could. Although Fall is my favorite season, I think Summer is my favorite time of year. I wanted to reflect on this Summer of 2016, of all that happened and that I wanted to accomplsih and do. Overall, I feel pretty proud of myself and glad I could squeeze some things in last minute.

Remenbering the sacred days of June feels like a long time ago, the beginning and onset of Summer, and looking back on all that happened. It started out with my trip to Rio de Janerio, Brazil. My first trip to South America, and better yet, my first trip out of the country! What a great expereince for two long but short weeks, with classmates and peers. I would say the theme of the trip was self discovery and interpersonal reflections, sometimes happening in my hotel room, sometimes while riding the metro, or even while eating a delicious Brazilian meal and people watching on the streets. I felt I learned so much about myself in a crash course style. My 24th birthday was celebrated during the trip, embracing a new age and new people around me. It was a personal birthday, another one with out close family members, or even well known and kinder spirited friends, but it was still special, in its own way I guess. Sometimes birthdays are a nice and perfect time for reflection, and I feel I got a good amount of that.

Some summers, such as this one had simple moments that had great value and that were precious to me. Day trips, eating out, good and quality time spent with sisters and my mom, but also a balance of business and schedules but also close to more than enough of free time and leisure, making lists of ideas, thoughts, reflections, goals, and reading like the book worm I am. I guess all of the things introverts like to do:). Anyone out there agree with me?

Not just being able to go abroad to Rio, but also to be able to go to my sister's wedding, in San Salvador, El Salvador in mid August felt like a dream. A place I had heard about a good amount and now I finally could experince it myself, and be that loving support for my sister and brother-in-law. To see the different yet beautiful world of El Salvador, to take in the humidity, the loud thunder and huge raindrops and more than delicious food that even still makes my mouth water. Paposas, can't get enough of them! And to celebrate the happiness of my close friend and sister, and to see her marry the love of her life. I don't speak Spanish but I could still take everything in just as well, enjoying the moment.

How much I love them, and love this pic!

I think some great goals that I had for myself this summer included become a literacy volunteer at the library, which I have already done training for and will soon help an adult with reading and writing! Another goal of mine was to finish 12 books! This kind of seemed like a lofty goal at first but then a feasible challenge that was more enjoyable than daunting. I did finish 12 books, and am excited to share them with you soon! A place I wanted go to was also crossed off the list, going to a cafe in Berkeley. Of course, I would be happy with any cafe in Berkeley, but I decided to go to not just any cafe, but one that had special memories to it, like going back in time and remembering them all again. Cafe Roma is the name, and I had fond times with other liked minded girls, and being able to spend some time in Berkeley made me miss those days, going on 4 years ago. Being able to experince the creative urbaness and chaotic artistry of this city was a nice change. I like cafes since they bring that creative energy back to life and also can slow down time although time seems to go by pretty quickly also. 

Some other pictures that I think highlights this summer, going to Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, bookstores, the library, cafes (not sure how many times Starbucks was used this summer), long runs and walks and taking in all my surrondings and the nice cool summer air with the glowing orange sunset and bright, dancing moon smiling back at me, reading on the front porch with the majestic dusk sky stealing my attention from the pages of my book to its beauty. Sleeping in and late night reads, calming me and putting me into a deep sleep. Studying Chinese. Studying Arabic, but also wondering about other languages too, and perhaps being interested in too many things at once?!! Finding books at the library too easily and clothes at conseinment stores too quickly. Walks and bike rides at Sycamore Grove. Having good discussions with good people and thankful for them. Having a powerful and real yearning to meet good friends and to make the most of Autumn and this time of year. Getting more and more into cooking and trying out new and exotic dishes. Finding new songs that inspire me and bring me back to good moments every time and re- listening to already known ones. Taking a dance exercise class, and wanting to try to fit into my schedule again, though it seems unlikely. Re- learning how to sew with my mom, and enjoying the process. Tutoring my students and enjoying every minute, and also grateful that I have this opportunity to teach them and help them not just with Enlgish but a lot more. Trying a fig and a moon cake for the first time. The moon cake is in honor of the Chinese celebration of Mid- Autumn Festival. And also starting this blog, Plum Tree. So glad I did!

Half Moon Bay

A full moon! Happy Mid- Autumn Festival

The nice view from one of my student's window

An outfit I seemed to wear a few days in a row this summer! Ha

A nice lunch with my Mom, quality time can never seem to add up to enough!

Overall, I feel very grateful for this summer of 2016! So much has happened, been learned, accomplished and enjoyed, Memories, memories, good good memories. As my Uncle would say, "This is good, this is very good." And so it is.