cappuccinos & cobblestone

This blog is about all attributes of life that we find beautiful. Besides the obvious beauty in this world, we think human beings themselves and the highest abilities of their hearts and souls are undeniably among the most magnificent. To love them is to love ourselves, to trust in humanity is to trust in ourselves.

God: Dhul-Jalali wal-Ikram, the lord of majesty and bounty, and Al-Badi', the incomparable creator. He created this world only for us, for our benefit and for our enjoyment, to be appreciated and to flourish in it. I have been allowed to see a drop of the abundance of this temporary earth and and its people in the last several years of my youth. 

The astral few hours I spent in Essaouria, Morocco still haunt me, like I knew it would. I stared fervently, like how you try to memorize a dream you know will escape you in another half of a breath, at the North African translation of the Atlantic sea.  I stared at the shadowy image of old-world ships in the distance lingering near the white-washed fortress from Prophet Muhammad's time, said to be a previous visitor. Subhanallah (Glory to God) is the only word that my heart and lips and eyes kept whispering. Skinny sun-tanned silhouettes of boys playing in the water. French and Arabic half-shouts getting caught by the perfect wind. Maybe I had a tear or two. Yes, it really was that intense of a moment for me, but I will allow the reader to move on. You are welcome. 

Anyway, mostly by happenstance, I have ended up in many situations in different parts of the world with my family and friends--always marvelous, always with too little money (Let's eat fifty cent döner kebabs everyday in Turkey!), always expecting nothing (well, not nothing, maybe some free tea & coffee, free meals every now and again, and meeting some interesting characters here and there), but gaining much. Hospitality is personified in every step of my travels, whether in Puerto Rico or in Turkey, on land or on water.

The guiding reason, since entering adolescence of my choices in my education and career path, for both of us, has been to extend our skills and knowledge as far as we can to all in need and without borders. Finally, I got a chance to take my first medical mission trip in March of 2014 with Humanity First, and returned again in May (thank you co-workers for covering me) and after a failed plan to Europe, in June with a few best friends. Are three trips in four months excessive? No. Just look at the photos.

Church ruins in Antigua--my first few hours of the first trip

Beautiful wild vegetation everywhere

Antigua at night

Young indigenous Guatemalan girl waiting for her mother to be seen

Patients waiting for the doctor after getting their vital signs taken

Student volunteers from Michigan at the end of another good day seeing 600 patients!

Guatemalan tweens getting embarrassed.

Some sights around the camp in Alotenango.

Mi amor, Wilmer, mischievous but loving child who would hang out with my friend and I some days

Sweet girls

Boys after school

One of the student volunteers playing with a baby at the end of the day

Last few dentist patients of the day

Boys outside of the nearby church

A typical outdoor wood stove many of the poor indigenous people use to cook

Ain't she beautiful

Girls who received a water well to have easy access of clean drinking water in their backyard a year ago 

Extremely poor living conditions

A version of happiness

For the first trip, you can read a glimpse of my experience here, as well as from other volunteers. In summary, it was flippin' lovely. I highly encourage anyone who is able to go. Anyone can help, medical or otherwise! It is not something to be missed.

The following photos are from my second visit, which was just as wonderful in different ways. In this visit, there was a chance to see more of the beautiful country and I was with new and old friends. I also took my little brother, who thoroughly enjoyed it. Before we visited, a few of us worked on a maternal health program. Maternal health is an area that needs more attention in Guatemala, and being a worker in this field, I was very excited to help work on it. We took one day and invited thirty Guatemalan midwives to gather some research from them and to present an educational PowerPoint discussion. We learned a lot from each other and gained a better understanding of their needs. I'm smiling just thinking about it.

My little brother Adeel and I waiting for our shuttle boat at Lake Atitlan. He wants to return to Guatemala just to see this lake again. No filter.

At a dock in one of the villages.

Adeel loved the women's co-op. They showed us how they make thread and dye it.

My newly married friend and I just wandering around the Spanish Embassy.

Holding on for my dear life. 

Introducing ourselves at the start of the Maternal Research/Education Day in Sumpango, Guatemala

First we did research questionnaires

 The second part of the day was more of a teaching/comparing session.

The midwives :)

We ended the day with Pollo Campero, of course.

Soneto LXV

Matilde, dónde estás? Noté, hacia abajo, 

entre corbata y corazón, arriba, 

cierta melancolía intercostal: 

era que tú de pronto eras ausente. 

Matilde, where are you? Down here I noticed,

under my necktie and just above my heart,

a certain pang of grief between the ribs,

you were gone that quickly.

Pablo Neruda

-AB

soneto xvii

No te amo como si fueras rosa de sal, topacio

o flecha de claveles que propagan el fuego:

te amo como se aman ciertas cosas oscuras,

secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma.

Te amo como la planta que no florece y lleva

dentro de sí, escondida, la luz de aquellas flores,

y gracias a tu amor vive oscuro en mi cuerpo

el apretado aroma que ascendió de la tierra.

Te amo sin saber como, ni cuándo, ni de donde, 

te amo directamente sin problemas ni orgullo:

así te amo porque no sé amar de otra manera,

sino así de este modo en que no soy ni eres,

tan cerca que tu mano sobre mi pecho es mía,

tan cerca que se cierran tus ojos con mi sueño

 ---------------------------------------------

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,

or the arrow of the carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,

in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms

but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;

thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,

risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Pablo Neruda

Cavatina & Quenepas

 if I touch

near the fire

the impalpable ash

or the wrinkled body of the log,

everything carries me to you,

as if everything that exists,

aromas, light, metals,

were little boats

that sail

toward those isles of yours
 that wait for me. - Pablo Neruda

Well, hello beloveds. AWOL bloggers here. I have run out of good reasons for our lack of posts except school, which is just an aged excuse at this point. So let's just look past it, shall we?

A few weeks ago, the two of us fulfilled our desire of traveling together by going to Puerto Rico and Guatemala with a group of some of our favorite people and friends. We spent most of our time in Puerto Rico in Old San Juan, which your eyes could never tire of. Every hour is warm, colorful, and filled with music. Also, can I just say that being in any place with native spanish speakers during the World Cup is an experience in itself?? We watched a number of games in small cafes and really loved the camaraderie/pretending we were all rooting for the same team. Anila and I also have recently been reading a lot of poetry by the Chilean Pablo Neruda...his intensity, somewhat tormented but vastly beautiful words are, in fact, everything we love in good poetry. Safe to say that we read a lot of his poems to our friends on this trip in both spanish and english, even if met with the occasional eye roll. We did it anyway.

Old San Juan, PR

Fort Cristobal

Verde Mesa - one of the most magical dinners we have ever had. The decor was something out of Alice in Wonderland, sans the acid trip feel. The flavors in our dinner was so fresh and married each other so well, my goodness. Felt like a dream.

 

Quenepas/Spanish Limes. We were, of course, very excited to try this new fruit which tasted a bit like sour candy.  

The guitarist, Felix Rodriguez, at restaurant Aji Dulce, decided to leave his post and come sit at our table and play for us for about two hours. Can't say that we didn't hope he would. He was exquisitely talented, a "master guitarist" as he called himself. Played some beautiful pieces that I had never heard before, 'Cavatina' being my favorite. It's from the 1978 movie, The Deer Hunter, and it is something that will give you peace, sadness, and chills all at once.

Ponce, PR. Kimono Cardigan:Forever 21

Ponce, PR.

endless color paired with beautiful cobblestone

How pretty are the streets at night??

Flamenco singer; Voice that carried its own soul.

Ruins of the old spanish fort

One should go to Old San Juan just to see all the beautiful doors.

“By hook or by crook, I hope that you will possess yourselves of money enough to travel and to idle, to contemplate the future or the past of the world, to dream over books and loiter at street corners and let the line of thought dip deep into the stream”

Besos,
S

sukoon

The arabic word for serenity is sukoon. Ramadan is a month that is usually been one of peace and serenity for your body and soul. We hope that all of our readers are having an incredibly blessed and peaceful month. We also hope that it is one filled with deep remembrance, especially of the oppressed and voiceless all over the world. Places that are not able to find peace and serenity, whether that be due to political conflict, starvation, poor health, etc.

 May we all be guided to find more love, kindness, and generosity for all of humanity.

maya

The sun has come.
The mist has gone.
We see in the distance
Our long way home.
I was always yours to have.
You were always mine.
We have loved each other in and out of time.
When the first stone looked up at the blazing sun
And the first tree struggled up from the forest floor
I had always loved you more.
You freed your braids
Gave your hair to the breeze.
It hummed like a hive of honey bees.
I reached in the mass for the sweet honey comb there
God, how I love your hair.
You saw me bludgeoned by circumstance.
Lost, injured, hurt by chance.
I screamed to the heavens
Loudly screamed
Trying to change our nightmares into dreams
The sun has come.
The mist has gone.
We see in the distance our long way home.
I was always yours to have.
You were always mine.
We have loved each other
in and out
in and out
in and out of time

Maya Angelou

dirty snow & silk

This winter is so overly aged now, I think it is even tired of its own wrinkly face. The snow is finally melting, in all its dirty glory. However, in the meanwhile, I have ferociously entered an area of apparel that is made to protect oneself from the extremest elements, should one be abandoned at the summit of the Himalayas. I purchased two main lifesaver articles of outerwear: Sorel boots (mine are Sorel 1964) and a thick, hand-knit, half wool scarf. I looked everywhere online for a long, over-sized, fringless, and chunky wool scarf to no avail. Then, a wonderful lady on Etsy knitted it for me. It is beyond cozy and lovely. As for the boots, I saw a pair like them on a girl in New York and thought to myself, "those are so ugly, they're cute, I want them". They are a heavy duty boot company from Canada and (of course, those snow-hoarders). I now purposely walk through snow pile-ups like a boss.

I have too much amour for this wool, silk, and mohair Zara coat with lapels and belt, which is now out of stock, but can be found on Ebay.

Last week was Philly Fashion Week. There were different runway shows and event all week for all genres of fashion. I have a somewhat odd infatuation for menswear (Hey, my future man, please be quite ready to not entirely choose your own wardrobe, shukran) but my friend and I decided that a ladies Muslimah fashion show was probably more relevant, and it would be nice to support my sisters in their small businesses of promoting modest clothing, hijabs, and formal accessories for weddings, Eids, etc. Therefore, we happily attended the International Modesty Runway Show. There is so much talent among my sisters. I am fairly certain I could not sew entire collections of dresses so superbly. My friend bought a very pretty black dress from Nyala of www.nylii.com. She sells modest, modern, American pieces. We really enjoyed ourselves. I am so excited to attend the International Muslimah Fashion show in Hershey on March 20-23!

                                               

Our favorite part of the event was just to see the diversity of our Ummah. There were so many beautiful Muslim sisters from all backgrounds, let us always support each other, protect each other, serve our fellow human beings together, and actually become a unified Ummah. Ameen.

-A

french damask & leather gloves

"Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know." - John Keats 

Hello, near-perfect afternoon. I would, of course, prefer a fine french cappuccino myself but you do you, Keats. Anila and I quite literally have spent hours talking about fruit and warm weather. As in sitting down and discussing our favorite fruits in all their glory. It's not strange- we just feel very strongly about good coffee, good fruit, and warmth. Especially during days of dismal weather, like that we've been having for the past too many months. Seriously- these cold temperatures have long lost their charm and appeal for me. Anila & Tas came to visit me in my current Southern residence a few weekends ago. I'm sure they were hoping for slightly warmer temperatures but unfortunately, we have never been so lucky with weather anytime we meet. Anila brings the rain and the cold, I'm convinced.

We did however, get a chance to visit the Maymont Mansion - once owned by Richmond royalty and beautifully decorated with furniture and tastes from all over the world. I was particularly fond of the ladies tea room, wallpapered with original french damask fabric in a subtle, dusty pink color. The room was accented with furniture characteristic of the French Regence style in deep oaks and gold.

STUNNING, omg.

Dining room

Library- very Italian

We also visited the Maymont gardens at the estate which are absolutely stunning and doesn't even feel like you're in a city. Unfortunately, it was ridiculously cold that day and we were barely able to stand outside fore more than a few minutes. Lucky for us, just enough to get these pics. 

Pink Oversized coat: "Lofty"
Loafers: Jones New York

Orange-Red Coat: Old Navy 

Black leather bag: Aldo
Black Leather gloves: Dillard's

Camel Coat: H&M
Red leather gloves:

  Other Winter Outfits

Beige blouse: H&M
Mint Bubble necklace: Forever21
Faux Fur vest: Marshall's
Brown Leather Boots: Macy's

Hopefully warm weather soon! 

-S