Unity is where it's at

Yo. So I've tutored almost every book of the Ruhi Sequence this past week. There's been an intensive going on at the Radio/Institute with 35 youth from Coupa, the Esmeraldas, and Guyaquil. I ran the evening programs (with my broken Spanish... it was, interesting) and tutored whenever I was needed. And I was needed a lot! This is all on top of teaching at the school everyday. YES SERVICE.

Anyway, it was loads of fun and I'm exhausted and maybe just maybe a tiny bit sick.

But.... HAPPY AYYAM-I-HA WORLD!!!! Missing my family, my William Sear's 'Happy Ayyam-i-ha' CD, decorating the house, waiting for the Ayyam-i-ha Bear to come around and hide my presents leaving clues, the love and joy from my parents/siblings, making new pockets, and just the spirit of Ayyam-i-ha!

However, this year is different in such a great, wonderful way. I get to celebrate Ayyam-i-ha with my family here. Tomorrow at school we're having a little program. They asked me to sing... so I'm singing with my student Julian who will pay the guitar and the piano to accompany me. The theme? Love and Unity. Here's the line up.

1. Blackbird - The Beatles. It's about the emancipation of African Americans. About how they would escape through black tunnels into the north to be free from the south. To me, it's an example of the world's yearn to be united. For all people's of the earth to live in harmony with out the superiorities and inferiorities of race, wealth, or knowledge.

2. Fidelity - Regina Spektor. It's a love song. It's about a girl who's taken so long to love, to fall in love. And she finally breaks her heart... not in the way that it's boo hoo probresita me broken, but broken of its protection, of her doubts, of her fears. She's finally opened her heart and has finally loved.

3. Amame - Leonor Dely. This is the Spanish version of the Hidden Word 'O Son of Man! Love Me that I may love thee, if thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee, know this o servant" by Baha'u'llah. For my friends out there who have no clue what a Hidden Word is or who Baha'u'llah is...  I'm a Baha'i. It's my religion, my faith. And Baha'u'llah taught this religion to the world, to us. The Hidden Words is a book of Baha'u'llah's writings, his advise, his Words. But the main purpose of the Baha'i Faith is to unify the world, to unify all peoples, all countries, all mankind. But this process of unity starts with love, love for every individual, for all peoples. But also, love for God. And that's what this Hidden Word is about. Love for God.

BAM. Let's hope my voice decides to stay despite the fact that I'm maybe just maybe a little sick. Don't freak Mom.

Coming to Ecuador was the best decision I've ever made

It's kinda depressing when the only emails you get in a day are mass-emails from your university's major advisor. Especially when you're not even technically in university. But that's ok. Because today was the English Spelling Bee and my student won! Represent woo

On a more thoughtful note...
Remember these posts?
Estaba enfermo
Alaska vs Arizona
Yeah, that was me wanting to go home.

And this is me wanting to stay here forever.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

I decided I wanted to go to South America during December of 2007. I remember feeling that deep longing in the root of my heart to go, to go, to go. To do it, to do it, to do it! It was so strong that sometimes I couldn't sleep. I'd fantasize about being here. Learning the language, being with new people, serving and doing something active with my beliefs. I don't think I've ever felt anything as strong as the pull, the longing, the wish to come here.

And guess what?
I did it.

More star wars

I LOVE IT. Dad, you will too. Click fo' mo'!

Volition

"All that which ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as result of your own volition." - Baha'u'llah

"It does not take much effort to swim in a river in the direction of the current, but to swim upstream is hard work. In the same way, it is easy to let things just happen, but to lead a noble life requires enormous effort and energy and, therefore, volition."

John Mayer - War of My Life

Mmm. Yes.

H2O & Heart Surgery

http://www.abc.net.au/science/lcs/heart.htm
I LOVE the heart. Seriously, FAVORITE LINK EVER.
---
COOL. Found here

Like my name's Darth Vader

Thoughts

1. I'm excited for the Fast
2. I'm almost afraid to leave Ecuador
3. "Regard not thyself. Look to the Abhá Kingdom so that the confirmations may reach thee. Education requires absolute concentration and wholehearted commitment as to attract the divine confirmations. Do not consider the attraction of the divine bounty to be proportionate to your capabilities and talents. Rely upon the heaven of mercy and generosity and be confident. Be confident." - 'Abdú'l-Bahá. (thank you Shamzicle)
4. We've been toilet paper-less for two days now.
5. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB COX

GLORIOUS DAY HAPPY DAY

1. School started at 9:40am for me. I slept in until 8 :)
2. I patched up things with my market man. Apparently he was asking around for us, thinking we went back to the States!!! SO SWEET
3. I walked into Kindergarden and literally every student ran up to me saying "GOOD MORNING MARYAM" and hugged me around my legs because they're so small and so cute.
4. I taught Modules of Deduction in high school and everyone understood it.
5. Jordan SENT ME A MICROPHONE HOLY COW I'M SO EXCITED. Ukulele cover coming soon. AHHHH. I received it today. I was giggling with happiness at the postal office. The security guard was looking at me funny. But vateva, I'M SO HAPPY
6. I spent two hours hunting down a mouse in my friend, Julian's, house.
7. We had a good 3 hour jam out session. He's teaching me piano jazz theory. I'm teaching him English. It works.
8. I skyped with the majority of my main men today. Hi Farnoosh, Sahab, Wesley, Taylor, Paul, and James. Wink wink. I dare anyone to ask me how many boyfriends I have.
9. I helped out a random taxi driver today. He asked me to help him on his pronunciation to say "do you want to go to the lake" HAHA so funny. So, I wrote down various phrases for him that should help him when he encuentra gringas like me (but with lower spanish speaking skills).
10. I tutored Book 5 and we finished the 2nd Unit. FINALLY

***

woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow

thisisglamorous

Choices, decisions, and rap.

Last night, someone told me a story about The Báb.

In school, as all the other children ran out to the playgrounds to play, a young Siyyid 'Alí Muhammad (The Báb) would walk past the playground, alone, until he found a nice tree to sit under. Instead of playing, he would spend his time under that tree... praying.

Baha'u'llah advices us to live in a state of prayer.

Now, I don't think that's to say to go live up in the mountains and live your life as a monk, because I believe that change in the world, change for the better, is a unified process. And that can't happen on a mountain top isolated from society. But, I do admire monks and their detachment to worldly things.

For me, it means... what the heck am I doing on facebook waisting my time reading other people's self absorbed statuses and pictures of frivolous things that don't really have any sort of positive influence on my life when I could be doing something better???

I'm weak. I don't have the power to stay off facebook. Self-control is lacking there. So, I decided to deactivate it. So... it's gone.

I'm going to try to be like The Báb. While the rest of the world goes to their playground, I'm going to find my tree and make my time meaningful, especially while I'm here in Ecuador. But that's not to say that if you have a facebook, you're waisting your time. A kid playing on a playground is innocent, part of life at that age. And I'm not at all trying to elevate myself or say that what I'm doing is goodly or oooo look at me, I have the lady balls to delete my facebook. No. For some people, facebook isn't as distracting as it is to me. So, power to you! You keep on liking and wall-posting and friend adding.

Personally, I hope I find a mango tree.

***
Macklemore - Wings


Brother Ali - Us

Felíz Día del Amor y Amistdad!

Happy day of love and friendship! I love that they call it that here. So tight. I mean, if we all celebrated it like that (of love and friendship) there's more of a chance that I wouldn't have been valentineless all these years! Har har, I'm a lonely hag! Just kidding.

So, I have an amazing Mom who would make my Valentines Day special every year. She'd write love notes for us to wake up to the next day on the bathroom mirrors in red lipstick. Usually with some kiss marks as well. Looking back at it, that must've been a bit strange kissing a mirror. I mean it would be like kissing yourself............ weird.

But she'd also leave boxes of chocolates and valentines cards for us at the breakfast table. How sweet is that?

Then of course, my dad would come home from work with flowers and goodies for my mom (which we'd usually end up eating anyway) and our parents would be all mushy and gross and we'd go "EWWWWWW" and giggle and make faces of disgust. I mean COME ON, I think it should be a crime for parents to show PDA*, even on Valentines Day. Jus sayin.

Sigh. I do miss my family.
<3

*Edited. Used to be PDF. Thanks Jess :P

J CREW

J Crew
How I love you
What I would do
To have you
As my shoe
And forever be my boo

YEAH! Clouds, boots, mountains, horse. YEAH!

Yeojin Bae

Omg.
http://www.yeojinbae.com/latest-collection

What's my name

One of the greatest things about being surrounded by Spanish-speakers is that they actually pronounce my name correctly.

Every time I hear my name, my heart spreads its little myocyte wings and flutters with joy.

I mean, in choir last year, I was known for my name (wow, someone known for their name? never) and its pronunciation difficulty. I'd walk into rehearsal and rounds of mAryam/maryAm/mAryAm/marrrrrrrrrrrrrrryam would commence as they tried to pronounce it properly, haunting my dreams and relinquishing my hopes of a normal life. Just kidding, it wasn't that dramatic. But it's really chill having a pronounceable name.

Hypochondriac quote of the week:

"Oh man, my asthma is really bad right now" - Me

"Do you even have asthma?" - Valerie

"Technically... no." - Me

Inspiration of the week:

Person of the week: my brother.

Worms

I was peacefully pealing potato skin from my potatoes tonight when I found a worm, warmly snuggled in a crevasse of my future papa frita.

I thought they liked apples.
Excuse me while I go vomit.


And, I like these songs. (sorry Mom about the language. Just skip the first one, or fine the clean version)

MIA

So I've kinda been MIA recently. Which, honestly, I'm kinda happy about.

I've been trying to spend less and less time on the computer. It's so amazing. Apparently there's this entire world outside of my 13" macbook. Go figure.

So, here's what's been going on.

1. This week has been futbol crazy week. The school's been having tournaments between the grades. I played on the first day... the profesoras vs. the mamas. I was a mama. I really suck at futbol. But I'm actually getting good at the foot trick stuff thanks to my pro friend Mauro!

2. I've been avoiding my market man because I haven't gone to buy things from him in almost three weeks. I'm pretty sure he hates me (us) now. One time I actually backtracked to avoid walking by his store. There goes my free pieces of bread. Sigh.

3. Spoiler alert for Bayan... stop reading and skip to #4. So I've been passing around an "te extrañamos" card in cuarto de basica. Everyday I walk in and Martín and Dylan ask me where Bayan is and when he's coming back. EVERY DAY. So I decided to put together a little "we miss you and we love you" card for the amazing Bayan. Dylan wrote the following: "Ben para que replecarse a Maryam" which through the spelling errors and the different language and all means "come so that you can replace Maryam." I swear, they love me.

4. Valerie's parents sent her a huge load of children's books. In English. And Kendy, my 4 year old neighbor, LOOOOOOOOVES them all. He also insists we read them in English. My Mom would absolutely love this boy.

5. I come home June 5th.

6. I see Bosch in my future.