parenting 101 #2 ;)

Roadside food in Istanbul as we trekked along the tramline. Turkey's famous for the coffee, hibiscus tea, gelatine icecreams that don't melt and of course their version of kebab/shaurmas, baklavas and a variety of mouth watering nut-filled sweets... but roadside food always excites me more for some reason :)

Reconstruction at the Hagia Sophia Museum, and below is the God of the Rivers, Poseidon. the fact that these sculptures and archaelogical restorations happen on an everyday basis and the painstaking way in which it is done inspired awe in us, a bunch of twenty something impatients ;)

The Cisterna Basilica has the capacity to store 100,000 tons of water but holds only a few feet of water lining the bottom today. The cistern is surrounded by a firebrick wall with a thickness of 4 metres (13 ft) and coated with a waterproofing mortar. The ceiling is supported by a forest of 336 marble columns. Located in the northwest corner of the cistern, the bases of two columns reuse blocks carved with the visage of Medusa. Tradition has it that the blocks are oriented sideways and inverted in order to negate the power of the Gorgons' gaze, however it is widely thought that they were placed sideways and upside down only to be the proper size to support their columns. (excerpt from wikipedia)


Me with my love for folklore, I'm swayed in the direction of the Gorgon story, though rationally thinking, physics would be a more important factor when considering the force of holding up the ceiling and pure pressure from the mass amount of water that used to be contained here.


My earlier post covered the more popular tourist destinations, these are just the knick knacks that slip in between but I want to remember 20 years down the road from now. This post is severely delayed I know, but I finally got the time to do it today, so here it is.. :)

Xmas

It's Christmas today here. I'm splat in Eastern Europe, in a country where the people are predominantly Orthodox Christians. For them Christmas is on Jan 7th :)

I was going through my bloglist and realised that stuff I read comes predominantly from Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India... There are the odd African and American blogs out there that I follow, but they're rare and few in number.. Just a random thought.

First snowfall during our first year

Istanbul and Me

Hi all :) Been some time since i read a decent blog, much less posted one. Been kinda preoccupied, my apologies. Nyways, here I am, 6 days into my winter hols, uploading a few pictures from our 3-day transit in Istanbul on the way home last summer. Just to add a dimension to it, am tacking on some feelings to each image.

An old tree in the Hagia Sophia Musuem. A lot of wonder and enthusiasm was poured into Ottoman relics and bejeweled daggers and teapots (yes, there was a ruby inlaid teapot), but just as much amazement and awe was found in this tree, hollow inside, yet still providing shade. 

When I see you with another, this is is how I feel. Like there's something gnawing at me from the inside out, but yet I stand there, unwilling and unable to move. Jealousy and Commitment.

A pup on the grounds of the Sultan Ahmet (Blue) Mosque. I come from a Muslim country and transiting in yet another Muslim country, I was touched to see the casual passerby feed stray dogs and cats alike. And shockingly, the stray looks almost like a pure breed Lab, don't you think?

Each moment spent with a loved one is like the moment the pup had, lying in the sun on the fluffy green green grass. A feeling of comfort and peace. Content :)

This is the replica of the candle chandeliers they had in the Hagia Sophia Cathedral. The Cathedral is easily one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen - even in the state of reconstruction it was in! Despite the 70 odd tourists in the same building complex, there was a calm about the area, unmatched in any other part of Istanbul.

Sharing small everyday things with a loved one switches on a myriad of bulbs in me, each one almost routine, but not a single mundane one unimportant. Many small things that matter to me, that keep me warm inside.

The curved domes of the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, the interior covered entirely by mosaic. Another intiguing thing is that this building has no corners, each angle is rounded. The prevailing hues of blue and gold gives it its alternative name - the Blue Mosque. And apparently it's considered sunnah for a Muslim to pray here. Aside from the central mosques in Mecca, this mosque is another one of the holy centres of Islam, or so a friend told me.

Beauty at a glance, but as we consider each slab of mosaic, we realise that's what we are. Just stone without others around us. And we realise that each of us contribute to make the bigger picture that much more alluring as we reach out to others. Humanity.

Blue sky with distant clouds, the deep blue sea. A view from the grounds surrounding the Hagia Sophia Museum. A warning to the wary, the grounds is extensive and it took us fairly fit individuals a full 10 hrs to complete it without break. There are benches around for people to sit and catch their breath, but we were on a  tight schedule and each wonder had us trotting form one to the next ceaselessly, like workaholics on amphetamine.

The want in us to seek greener pastures. The drive to go the distance and race along to an unknown destination. The stuff of dreams and that which fuels aspirations and consistent hardwork. Ambition. 

We had the chance to take the Bosphorus cruise and view the East and West banks of Istanbul. Surprisingly the cruise is government run and it costed 3 Lira - I think! I cant remember for sure now :P... 3 Lira is approximately 3USD, which works out to about 10bucks of my home currency. Not too steep a price for travelling students I feel :) Each cruise ship had floats lined up one the sides like this one and we saw the remnants of the old forts and watchtowers, the homes of the wealthy, lush greenery that later reminded me of Kerala a bit, and the famous Bosphorus bridge, a picture of which I think we and has to be somewhere in the collection of Istanbul pictures.

For a person afraid of open water, you make me want to jump into the cold waters anyway. Why? You make me feel safe and cared for, that's why. Security.

     The Hagia Sophia Cathedral and the Sultan Ahmet Mosque stand as symbols of religious renaissance in Istanbul. Also The Spice Bazaar, Central Bazaar, lighthouse, Caverna Basilica (which is eerily beautiful!), and the Hagia Sophia Museum are places not to be missed. 

     Will try to dig up some pictures and write another post some time :) 

     Oh and if you're at Istanbul, do walk along the tramline, use the tram with their cute red tokens, try their non-melting icecream, drink their apple tea, and don't forget to try their small ring shaped pastry with kas-kas on it. If you arent a travelling student on a  tight budget, Turkish tapestries and rugs should be on your wish list too :P 

     Turkey is worth the visit..! :)

Kaarthigai

It coincides with the 15th day of the Hindu month of Kaarthigai, when the moon is full and the Keerthika star is visible in the night skies, or something along those lines. The astrological part escapes me.
     Mum told me a week back but I forgot completely. Then BB called and it hit me that for the first time in 24 years I wouldnt be vegetarian on this day. A day many non Hindus think is Deepavali but is not, though some consider it an extension. It's a day where Lord Shiva made himself a single speck of light, hence why we worship the flame; a day where six small boys became One for the love of a Mother; a day I find more exciting than Deepavali, more so for it's lowkey home celebration scale.
     I miss running from porch to backyard and making my way up the staircase to the altar to light the little clay lamps we call agal vilakku with my siblings and parents. 

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     I miss the small prayer as my eyes take in the myriad of flower offerings at the table which serves as our altar at home.

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     I miss running around with a scrap of cloth to dab up oil spills despite the folded layer of paper we place meticulously under each lamp to prevent such things.
     What I would give to sit at home, all lights switched off and just watched the flickering lights in the still humid darkness of the warm tropics.
     What I would give for the small smiles we exchange as we genuflect on our efforts as a team.
     Strangely, I even miss collecting the used lamps and cleaning them up.
     Most of all, I miss celebrating it at home. The memory of last year's Kaarthigai at home is making me smile now, a welcome recluse from the previous 4 years of it practically not being celebrated here away from home. This year I brought the agal vilakku with me and will place one at the doorstep to my room when the sun sets at 4pm.
     Am looking forward to future Kaarthigais with my loved ones.
     Thank you BB, thank you Amma. Happy Kaarthigai to all who celebrate :) 

Bowling Philosophy

You know how we bowl side by side, one eye on the scoreboard as we squint down the bowling lane, wondering how many pins will fall to our superior skill? 


What do you think would happen if we stopped bending over and squinting down our respective lanes, and instead of swearing at the ball for 3 whole seconds, we took that time to smile at a fellow bowler, and laughed when the ball went into the drain? Or winked when a fellow bowler got a strike or a spare?


What if we stopped racing, tried not to think of only the final score? What if we bowled just for the fun of it and made friends along the way? 


What if we stopped scrutinising the other's playing technique and just nodded warmly as the other picked up a bowling ball next to us?


What if life was like bowling: its path the bowling lane, fellow bowlers the people we meet along the way, the bowling ball our efforts and work, the pins the returns we get, and the scoreboard our competitive nature? 


What if the act of bowling was bigger than the game? What if living was bigger than being alive?

One Year Old

This is my blog and today it turns one :) A collection of random events expressed by pictures, words, stories, music, sayings... I moved here exactly one year ago and it has been a journey I'll remember because every post reflects a stage i went through, how i viewed the world around me. Thanks to all of you who've dropped by and added that much more life to Connections :)

                                                    That was one mouth-watering cheesecake...!
Have a nice day, all! :)

Movement

I was browsing through my D and a few pictures caught my eye. Without realizing what it was that made me open each file, I had 6 pictures minimized onto my taskbar, each one showing movement.

So I grouped them chronologically and found each one represented one year, except for the last two… weird, huh? Anyway, here they are :)

2005-06

First snow fight ever. Everyone’s moving and the picture’s blurry due to poor focusing, but I like the way everyone’s in a different position. Talk about a literal cold war :P

 2006-07

It was a tradition when we lived together during our orientation period to celebrate each birthday with a bang. One of the ickier traditions involves covering the birthday boy/girl from head to toe with flour and eggs.

This was when a friend cracked an egg and flung it at the birthday boy. Hehe… it made Ki duck for cover and the hovering egg overhead looks pretty unbelievable! Cool, eh? ;)

2007-08

During our outing to Yalta, Herb was trying for a star jump off a ledge, but it ended up looking like this! Maybe it was the Nike shoes...? Just do it! ;)

2008-09

I love this shot, which unfortunately I did not take :P I like the way the two at the side are closing in on the ball, eyes upward at the opponent and how the guy in the centre in taking a leap toward the ball, attempting to kick it midair. The energy in the shot is kind of incredible, I think.

2009

The quiet ones are usually up to something... If his eyes were visible, I’m sure they’d be sparkling with mischief! Notice the way the snowball is breaking off at the edges as Nav bounced it up and down in his gloved hand.

2010

A few weekends ago, at Saki. We lined up in a row and tried to toss the beach rocks back into the water. The winner was the one who tossed it out furthest, and the one who won it incidentally shares my name, except that hers is spelt with an E, as in to l-o-s-h-e-n-i :)

Can you see the blur of the pellets in the air before us? 

She shared with us later that the rock should be flat and fit comfortably into one’s palm for the best momentum and apparently we need to throw it with a flick of the wrist upwards, but by that time we had already managed to bury her in the sand and we couldn't hear anymore rock throwing tips... Hehe! :)

All About The Footwear

Feet are such interesting things. They judge a woman by the length of her second toe, a man by the breadth of his feet, poems and songs are inspired by the rosy pink feet of newborns. I find the things covering them just as fascinating, don’t you?

Take flip-flops for example. There are flowered, plain, star-bedazzled, smooth, the studded-pokey-type-which-improves-blood-circulation… then there are branded, market-bought, hand-me-downs, ‘borrowed’ from family or friends and so many more. I can almost imagine the character of the person by the flip flops that they wear. Like this:

Fun loving, relaxed, a bit of an order freak. But then again, I know whose feet those belong to!;)

Then there are pretty fits. Flats, heels, clogs, closed shoes, shoes open at the front, pointy toes, rounded toes, Roman sandals, sensible strap-ons, with buckle, bowed and patterned.

I find these pair of flats below pretty and amusing. At one glance I thought “Ah, pretty.” But just when I was going to turn away, the patterned detail caught my eye and I thought “Cool, it’s got attitude as well. Punk attitude!” And that pair of shoes alone almost changed my opinion of the person wearing them.

Football sneakers definitely are worth the mention too. I like the way they mould to the feet and the little studs at the base, giving the person wearing them that much more push off force. I’m not too big into football myself, but I find sneakers with football socks a nice sight. A bit strange, I know!

These were pretty much our standard pair of shoes in first year, when we hadn’t yet realised that in a four-season climate, we have got to have at least 4 pairs of shoes/slippers. Either that or our toes might get frost bite or we’d have sweaty athlete’s foot in warmer weather. Maybe that was a bit too much information? Hehe… sneakers are used pretty much in autumn or only when we go jogging nowadays, but sometimes I still slip into them for there’s nothing much else as comfortable as a pair of old sneakers, now is there?

Go ahead, click on it and read the scribbled message to get a picture of how weird uni life can get over here!

And my most faithful footwear – slippers! Not to be confused with flip-flops which have a bit more dignity, slippers are worn everywhere and may be worn with socks when the central heating has been turned off. Also useful on rainy days and when visiting the wet market.

                                       

Yin and Yang? :)

I don’t have a picture of a set of heels, or men’s formal lace up shoes, but they’re definitely on my list of important footwear as well. sWait. You do realise that I don’t actually have a list named ‘Important Footwear’, right? Right. Just thought I should confirm that with you…

Anyway, this is my official 50^th post, and I wanted to be all serious, then I thought to hell with it and whipped up this frivolous post on shoes ;) Have a nice day, all!

Saki Beach

It's Friday afternoon here and we just survived another major exam. The next 2 days are gonna be so hectic with tournaments and so many other things lined up I thought I'd post some pictures from our beach-BBQ-outing while I can. So, here goes...

We got there early and the water hadn't warmed up yet. Being the level headed adults that we are, we did this:

We ran screaming into the water and splashed around like a herd of hippos during the dry season, and had about as much fun :)

Then, our hunger set in and we got down to serious business. We ate. We barbequed. We sat and stared at the beautiful water, and marvelled at the sunlight glinting off its surface.We talked. And we ate some more. 

                           

Then we played touch rugby and volleyball till we got a bit bored and decided it was time for some torture. We caught a couple of our friends and buried them in the sand. The sand was warm on the surface and cool as we dug deeper. I particularly like this picture below: the hot afternoon sun cast our faces in shadows, brought out the deeper green of the sea and made the sky a heavenly blue - but I should just let you judge for yourself :) That's K in the sand by the way..

                             

We had to leave just before sunset, and though we didn't get a picture of the setting sun, we did manage to get this. The two boys in the picture add some character to it, I think.

                          

But I've always loved the sky meeting the sea and the sea meeting the shoreline ever since I was little.We are hoping to visit more places these next 6 weeks and maybe there'll be more amazing memories I can collect. We'll see...

Victory Day Weekend

We had a long awaited 3-day weekend. It happened to coincide with Mothers' Day :)... seeing as how the weather was becoming warmer, we hired a marshutka  and went down to Saki Beach, about 30 minutes away from Evpatoria which I mentioned here and here.

We had good food : satay, chicken, kuah kacang, sandwiches, drinks to quench our thirst... The beach was very near the railway tracks but I suspect it may be abandoned because in our 6 hours there we neither saw nor heard a single train, but the spot made for a memorable picture for us girls :) I'll leave us all unnamed for the sake of anonymity, yeah?

The water was too cold to swim in intially but we did that running away from the waves thing that we urbanites are so fond of. The water was beautiful, the little pebbles underfoot were pokey and prickly...
I've never seen such GREEN waters in person before. All other seasides I've been to have been blue. I like the greenness though... :D

A beach wouldn't be a beach without flip-flops and grainy sand. 

We had it all - the food, the beach, the sand, salty water and good company. Will definitely post more pictures soon, Saki Beach deserves more than one blogpost!!

spectrum

A shot taken just off Cairo. I like the shy sun and single cloud above the home, and the dark silhouettes.

The first rainbow we saw here, on the birthday of R... I don't have this view anymore. My room has an awesome-mer view now with spectacular sunsets, nightskies and green trees! Yep, spring is officially here, folks, and I LOVE it :)

Too tired to blog in words, but will definitely get around to it soon, aite?

Anyone watched 'How to train a dragon' yet? Kinda kiddie, I know, but thoroughly enjoyable... :D

2009

Calm Waters

As opposed to Alexandria, these waters exuded a sense of calm when we 'met' them. And at the risk of sounding biased, I enjoy these pictures more than Alexandria. The emotions one feels when looking at them are less like that of a rampaging boar's ;)

This is a shot of the Red Sea, that time we visited Egypt. It was taken right before we went snorkelling. I love the different shades of blue, showing the different depths and the possibility of corals. It was also the only time I've seen dolphins, albeit from far, but I DID see them nonetheless. 

And this is of the Nile, the marshy parts of it. I posted a similar picture here.

Another of the Nile, my favourite one by far. This shot was taken mere moments before the previous picture.

 

My last picture on Egyptian waters, ok? :) This is a shot out of a window of the hotel we stayed in, in Cairo. Reminded me of a jetty at home except that our port cities don't usually have such tall buildings that are visible here  in the background.

This is the beachside in Evpatoria, also bordering on the Black Sea which I mentioned when I talked about the Bear Mountain (Medved Gara). We went here for a weekend two years back - I think. Look closely enough and you might spot a ship on the far horizon. Oh, and the water was freezing!! (Maybe that was because we went there towards the ending of autumn, being the heroes that we are :p)

And this deep blue is of my home. It's off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The convoy of fishing boats you can see is a norm. The fishermen go out together for safety from the weather, and pirates... Aaarrr! :)

except real life pirates aren't this cute :)

Earth

It took me some time to admit that this place could be almost as good as home. These helped over the years:

We moved in, four unknown people who had nothing whatsoever in common with each other, except for love of the seat on the windowsill which overlooked this bit of earth. As crammed up as it may seem, the tops of the green firs had us smiling and chattering away, nursing mugs of steaming chai (tea). We had black tea, green tea, milk tea, fruity tea, hibiscus tea, camomile tea, earlgrey tea, english breakfast tea, Turkish tea,tea with lemon slices.... you name it, and we might have tried it.

Weirdly (or maybe not) a lot of the tea here comes from Ceylon and India. And the coffee mixes from Indonesia and Brazil. Did I hear you say globalisation? ;)

Do you see the rocky peninsular-ish outcrop? That's Medved Gara. Medved means bear and Gara means mountain. Apparently an enormous bear wandered the Earth long ago and finally felt such an unquenchable thirst that he had to stop for a drink. And he happened to be by the Black Sea, just on the outskirts of Port Yalta. Well, he bent over, bum in the air and all, and began drinking from the saltiest sea in the world. No wonder his thirst has not been quenched yet!

He was still there a few months back when I took this picture :)

And my last picture for today is of the mountains and gentle rolling hills leading to the Red Caves, so named, for their rusty colour (high iron deposits). The Red Caves area has a beautiful waterfall and little gurgling brooks and streams surrounded by lush greenery and tree saplings. We had to walk an hour from the marshutka (shuttle-van/public bus?) stop to get there, but it was worth it.

The Red Caves are unadulterated and peaceful, a perfect place to be after a crazy schedule.We enjoyed the hike up the hills and the slipping and splashing along the cold cold cold stream beds very much!

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It's funny how we worked so hard during school, A-levels and the equivalents to get an education here, away from home, then now we work so hard to get back home. Maybe it's got something to do with where the heart is? ;)

Whatever it is, the earth here may be beautiful, but my motivation to do better each day is for my bit of earth halfway around the globe, somewhere along the Equator.

Home. That's. Where. I. Want. To. Be. :)

Woopsie. I hope KFC doesn't sue me for plagiarising their catchphrase :S

Alexandria

       The first view we got of the Mediterranean Sea, and her gathering might. Choppy waves, and chaos. That's what I initially thought.The churning froth from the heaving waters had us awestruck for where I come from, the waves are more subdued  - though no less beautiful!
       Disembarking from the van we were hit by the salty tang of the sea, and cold spittle rained on us from even 3 plus metres away. 

       Then we got closer to the water's edge. The fine spray and the way the droplets danced and shimmered as wave upon wave pounded on the cemented walls around the periphery of the city left us breathless. Breathless from her majestic power and also because we were running for cover!
Note : Running for cover was a futile attempt because we all got drenched anyway :P
       The pounding of the waves was rhythmic and almost orchestrated, and the thunder of the waves drowned out all thought from us. 

       We waited a full 2 hours and more to watch the receding waves. That platform you see in the picture above had been submerged underwater the first time we got to there. 
       We could finally hear each other speak again but none of us did much talking  for some reason.

       This was our parting shot as we left to go to the library (No, not the original library by Alexander the Great, that one got sunk long ago!) 
       I love the shoreline formed by the crests of the waves, that huge white curve upon the sand.
       I genuinely believe that if I had been an atheist, I would have succumbed to animistic beliefs after that day, for the sea truly seemed to have a soul of her own. The sea having a soul thing was much talked about after our trip, when our tongue-tied-ness had worn off, but one thing we all agreed on was this: never had any of us seen any other body of water with such character, such attitude before!
       And our translator assured us that she was like this every single day. Such immense power, it was a trifle scary. 
Yeah, we had a translator :), since the only decent word we knew collectively in Arabic was 'shukrat', which means thank you... and that wouldn't have gotten us very far!