Spain: Primera Parte

It's a beautiful and cozy Sunday morning where I am and I thought I'd seize the opportunity to share about my recent trip to Spain last December :) It was painful to have to look through the photos again and relive the memories that took place when I was there as this recent trip was quite possibly my most memorable and enjoyable trip thus far. I suppose it's easy to claim that about each trip, but seeing as this was my first trip into Europe (England not included) I have to say that Spain did not disappoint.

I thought I'd just share a lil' bit about my interest and obsession with Spain (& travelling) before I delve any further into the details of my trip. I love travelling to various parts of the world and am lucky enough to have that opportunity in the first place. When it comes to having a "dream destination", Europe has always been in the top spot for decades. Whilst each country and place has it's unique historical and cultural value, Europe in particular has always remained the most interesting to me due to it's history that dates way back into the Arabic period as well as the diverse cultures that are present. I realise that my impression and romanticised view of Europe could very well have been influenced by the media and my obsessive bingeing of travel shows around Europe, nonetheless it's always been a dream to walk and roam around their streets to soak in the atmosphere.

Now my interest and love for Spain in particular developed after having enrolled in Islamic Studies modules in University. There was a history module I took that taught me about Spain's rich history from the Arabian times to it's current context. I'd only ever seen in my textbooks the pictures of the architecture and I've always found it to be fascinating. You see, Spain was ruled by both the Islamic and Christian civilisations. In other words, you'd imagine that the buildings and places of interest and worship would have varied greatly between the two. That said, Spain today contains the remnants of it's history and the buildings are a good mix of both the civilisations that once ruled it. I'm no professional when it comes to history or architecture, but I can tell you in layman's terms that the streets of Spain emanates a feeling of grandeur :)

My family and I spent around a week in Spain, and we visited a total of three cities: Barcelona, Granada and Cordoba. We spent five days in Barcelona, three in Granada and spent one day in Cordoba. The cities themselves varied largely in the vibes they exuded. Barcelona was the modern bustling metropolitan city with museums, universities and high-rises buildings. Granada was slightly slower-paced with a slightly more rustic feel to it with lower-rised buildings and older architecture that dates back centuries. Cordoba on the other hand felt slightly more middle-eastern with the trees that lined the city and the design of the buildings and shop surrounding it. Then again I never really had the opportunity to explore Cordoba in its entirety so I may be wrong in this. What was most striking was the density for all three cities. Barcelona has a population of more than 1 million whereas both Granada and Cordoba have slightly more than 200 000 people. I suppose you can only imagine how much slower-paced life felt in Granada as opposed to Barcelona. I loved all three cities, but it is without a doubt that Granada holds a special place in my heart :)

Ah then, I apologise for having you read through this entire essay. I'll stop with the talking and share the photos with you now :) I should warn you first that this is going to be very picture heavy, so I do hope you bear with the loading for a while!

We spent the first night in Barcelona before flying off to Granada the next morning. The apartment we stayed at was situated at the perfect spot. It was right in the heart of La Ramblas, and it was within walking distance to several convenient stores and tourist information booths. There was a station less than five minutes away and there was shopping to be done everywhere! The fact that it was situated so ideally meant that we could roam around till late at night and still feel safe walking home. Though I should mention that the latest we ever stayed out was 8.30pm. We were usually so exhausted by then and would head to bed early to recharge for the next day.

Fruits from the local market. They were so fresh and yummy!!!

The next morning, we flew off via domestic to Granada!! We took Vueling Airlines, a Spanish low-cost airline. Tickets weren't expensive seeing as they were supposedly a "budget" airline but the service and the standard of the aircraft was very good in my books. It was a one and a half hour flight to Granada from Barcelona, but I had a very comfortable flight there and would recommend this to anyone who wishes to travel around Spain via aircraft :)

The view from our apartment in Granada. 

The mighty Al-Alhambra :)

I was most anticipating my trip to Granada from the onset because of this beauty above. I had to write a whole essay on the Alhambra and research on it's history for my course, so it was only expected that I was highly excited to see it in person!

I realise I never took photos of the places we stayed at... I'm not sure why this never occurred to me but it's such a pity I forgot to do so!! We stayed at a house in Granada - I suppose you can consider it an apartment because one building has several different rooms within it. We were given the topmost floor seeing as there were five of us, and were we lucky!! Our room was huge. There were two bedrooms altogether, a living room and a kitchen. We were lucky to have our own balcony as well! But above all, as if by fate or kismet that the heavens above knew about my love for the Alhambra, we were given this spectacular view of the majestic beauty itself. I slept in the living room (there were three sofa beds in the living room) and slept and woke up to the view of the Alhambra for three whole days. A good night's rest indeed!! :)

Night view of the Alhambra :)

We spent our first day in Granada roaming about the streets and taking in the atmosphere. I was itching to go to the Alhambra, but my dad had already booked tickets for the tour on our third day in Granada. So I had to wait patiently till then. Even so, the place still exuded a strange and almost magical feel from afar. You have to believe me when I say that I could hardly contain my excitement.

Aaaand that's where I'll stop for now!! I still have so many more photos and details to share with you about my trip! I'll save the rest of the details for the next time :) I hope you enjoyed these photos that I've shared thus far and I look forward to uploading the next few!

Hope you've had a lovely weekend :)
xx.

Photo Credits: myself.

The walls in my head.

Source: Pinterest

Work gives me the opportunity to inspire teenagers and others around me. Likewise, I too am inspired by them. 

I don't want to disclose too much about what I do at work exactly because I don't know what i'm allowed to mention. But I suppose it would be alright for me to say that a part (this is just a small part of it) of what we share include life skills as well as overcoming the voices inside our heads that prevent us from achieving our dreams. 

A particular segment about dreams recently came up one day and it made me reflect about my life and the dreams that I once had. What happened to those dreams? Rather, I realised that I no longer allowed myself to dream. It was as if dreaming of a good future was almost forbidden because I did not think I deserved it. Why do I allow myself to treat me so harshly? 

It all started when my colleague shared a story of his way back when he was in high school. A teacher had asked him to fold a piece of paper into eight equal rectangles. Upon doing so, she then instructed him to tear out 1 full rectangle and half of the rectangle next to it from the piece of paper (the rectangle was to be torn from the outermost corner of the paper). Each rectangle represented ten years. As my colleague was 15 back then, he had torn off 15 of the supposedly 80 years of his life from that piece of paper. His teacher then instructed him to write down what he hoped to achieve within each decade in the respective rectangles. In other words, things like "graduate from University", "get married", etc. He didn't need to be specific with the age, he only had to write it down in the appropriate rectangle. 

This story triggered something within me. Age to me after all has been nothing but a number. The reality though, is that age catches up to you. I don't mean in terms of how you look or how your joints start giving in though. To me, the term annotates the amount of responsibility I will have to take with not only my life but my family. There will come a day where I will eventually end up being the one taking care of my parents even when I'm married, and it's important that I have a stable enough income to provide for them. 

That aside, it made me realise that I've only taken up two out of the eight rectangles in that entire piece of paper. There are still several more rectangles for me to fill up and achieve the dreams that I have always wanted. Why did I confine myself within the walls of my head that told myself it was impossible to achieve greater and better things? 

"Life is not a race but a marathon."

It's not about how fast you get to the end point but the journey you make to get there. The answer was always there but I chose to cloud that with my own beliefs. Without realising it I chose to see that I had already failed to achieve anything great in life. I only saw things going downhill from here.

...what a terrible thought :( 

That said, I've allowed myself to dream again and I know that there are several opportunities for me out there. I have to take everything a step at a time. After all, it always takes time doesn't it? :) I have a dream for what I want to be in the working world once I graduate and start working full time. As it is now, I know that it will take several years before I get there but I am willing to make my way there slowly. God willing, should this be the right path for me, I only pray that it go smoothly. 

With that I would just like to end off by encouraging everyone out there to get rid of the voices around you that bring you down. Get rid of people who are negative voices in your life but most importantly, get rid of your negative voice. You are worth so much more and life has so much more in store waiting for you. Don't cloud yourself with lies. Choose positivity! :) 

With love, xx.

Oddball.

Atop the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

My first month of January has proven to be rather exhausting. I'm not working full-time, yet I'm somewhat burnt from all the travelling I have been doing from it. I've somehow managed to fall sick again and resting at home reminds me of my recent holiday to Spain last December. I have yet to blog proper about my trip - and will do in due time - but Spain definitely was a trip worth remembering. If I could just board a plane and skip off on a holiday again...

That said, I decided to blog about something a student told me one day whilst I was at work. 

My job scope basically involves interaction with students (mostly high school) and a common question asked is "Do you have a boyfriend?". This question comes from both sexes and I usually have a lot of fun twisting my answers and making it difficult for them to guess muahuahuahuahua. So recently I retorted with a "Do you think I have a boyfriend?". To which their response goes "Yes I think so, you are pretty and therefore you definitely must have a boyfriend."

This response left me baffled and for the first time since I've ever been asked this question I was speechless.

I guess what went running through my mind was the mindset of this 16-year old. Granted, back then at that age I too thought that all pretty people were destined to get married and have a partner. To say that I wasn't pleased with her compliment would be a lie, she flattered me definitely. Yet it has made me realise just how much I have matured since then.

Back then, I would have judged and rated a person's likeness based on their appearance. The more attractive you were, the higher my regard for you. Today I've come to learnt that no matter how attractive you may appear to be, a rubbish personality won't bring you anywhere. I don't believe that there are people out there with ugly personalities. I do believe that we are each made up of flaws and imperfections.

After having spent a moment thinking through, I came back with a response. "Well, say someone is pretty but if you realise that he has a bad personality you won't see him to be handsome any longer right?". I'm not quite sure if that actually was a response or if it was me asking myself a question. Either ways it got her thinking and I hope I didn't ruin her teenage hood in any way.

Now that I've come to the end of this post I'm beginning to question why I brought this incident up in the first place. Either ways that statement struck a chord somewhere, and I know for sure I won't be forgetting that girl anytime soon.

xx.

p.s. What are your thoughts? Do share, I'd love to know :)

When to stay quiet.

Source: Pinterest

As a self-righteous person, you'll very often find me standing up for myself. That said, I humbly accept that I am wrong when the situation calls for it. I mean, you can't be correct all the time right? 

I find it easier to stand up for myself and the things I believe in when there are statistics to prove my point. It's so easy to point to a chart or a study and say "Here, this is not a true reflection of the entire population, but it comes close enough." It's not so easy on the other hand when it comes to matters of the heart and gets personal. 

Have you ever been placed in a situation where you're either getting reprimanded or are in an argument and the person you're conversing with is one who points out things about you that he / she believes to be true? I mean, the truth is that sometimes the third perspective is a lot more accurate than the first. Hey, some people don't notice their flaws until someone points it out to them right? But what if you've already reached the point where you're confident and honest with yourself about your flaws and the problems you're going through? In other words, on the other line there are strings of sentences being made and put out about the kind of person you are whereas inside you know that isn't true. 

This has happened to me a lot and I am sure it has happened to some of you too. I find myself several times in a situation where I'm with someone else who has so confidently concluded my character (said judgment obviously clashing with my personal understanding) that I always end up battling with myself if it is wise to stand up for myself. I'm not going to lie, several times I have always wanted to. In fact, I have never been so sure of myself today than I was before. My assurance of the kind of person I have grown to be has seen me keeping quiet when I'm faced with such situations. 

I guess you really do find comfort in the truth. 

Essentially, what I've come to realise is that there's no need to correct someone who thinks otherwise of the kind of person who believe yourself to be. I'll be clear of one thing, I know that I am not as kind and nice a person as people make me out to be. Similarly, I am also aware that I am not as mean and rude as people make me out to be as well. So long as I know who I am inside, no matter how harsh the judgments may turn out to be (at least those that I am aware of) I know that there is no point in standing up for myself in such trivial matters. 

... unless it's a matter of life or death then I suppose it'll be important to make my point. 

So before you say something next time to retaliate to someone's statement, think twice. Does their statement bear some truth to which you agree to? Is it important for you to prove them wrong? Will things drastically change unless you prove them otherwise? 

Have you ever experienced something like this before? I'd love to know. 

Love yourself, xx.

It's done.

I've done what I said I needed to do in the previous post. There are many thoughts going on through my head now, but I am happy that I did what I did. The outcome could have been a lot worse than what happened, but whatever the case I am happy that it is over.

I just felt that I needed to let it out here for the few of you who visit this page. At this moment I need to gather my thoughts and face the music of what is yet to come. 

xx.

A New Year

Source: weheartit

Happy New Year everyone! I think by now every last corner of the Earth has welcomed 2015 - & hopefully with a bang. I spent the night at my grandmother's on New Year's Eve, and it was splendid because we got to hear and catch a wee bit of the fireworks from her place. I can't believe it's already 2015, how fast a year has gone by.

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for having neglected this space for too long. With the recent events that have taken place in the world, I really felt the need to disconnect myself from the internet for a couple of weeks to spend some time with my family and loved ones. This year has seen far too many tragedies and far too many lives have been lost. My heart only goes out to the families and loved ones of the victims involved. The world is praying for your peace, and may you eventually receive the closure that you need. 

Secondly, i've been caught up with some personal issues that have affected me emotionally and physically. It's not devastating news, but I am only human and I have carried out a huge mistake considered a sin in my books. I don't know why I'm typing this out on the internet, but I have been troubled by this for the past two months and it's eating me up alive. I have resolved to step forward and make things right, and I am praying that things go okay. I know they will, but it is the storm that I know I will have to face that frightens me. But it's alright, I know it's the right thing to do and even though it's not an easy thing to face up to, it's still something that simply has to be done. Don't worry about me though, it's not a fatal issue or anything. 

... talk about starting the new year right and with a bang. Ha ha.

Speaking of which, I haven't had the time to write down my resolutions for this year. Even though resolutions fail 99% of the time, writing it down is still a tradition everyone does. They say writing things down on paper makes it credible and turns it into a promise almost that you've made to yourself to complete. But... since I lose the pieces of paper I scribble my resolutions on each year I guess that promise disappears? Ha ha ha.

Either ways, I have certain resolutions I've set out for myself. But at the moment the first thing I need to do is resolve the issue that's eating my brains out alive. 

I won't promise a post next week because I don't know if I can keep that, but I promise it will come up once I've settled everything that needs to be done. I hope you guys aren't in as sticky a situation as I am in and are having a more enjoyable and amazing New Years Day! 

Till then, xx.