Gap year extended

What’s new?

First and foremost it is beautiful not having a purpose takes me back to school summer holidays.

Secondly shuls and md are of to Egypt for 5 weeks or so we though until they called the airline and found out that they are not in fact coming back on the 24th but the 28th the lucky little so and so.

Thirdly I finally went to see the careers advisor to discuss my masters ( or rather the lack of application) and she informed me that doing an MEd before my PGCE is not such a good idea especially as if am going to be working in a special school, the school will pay for my training.

Fourthly this means my masters saving are mine to do with as I wish! So being Naima here is the plan inshallah. Which since I am so flick (According to MD) will mean that you lot will have to keep me to them.

Learn to drive
Go Egypt (intensive Arabic course) XMAS time
Europe (City) hopping
Keeping the rest loose

Yippy yippy yippy… The gap year has been officially extended…

Bananas , laughter, holidays

Bananas contain an amino acid (Tryptophan) which is used in the body to make mood enhancing chemical serotonin! A banana anyone?

The power of laughter

“Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they will never cease to be amused"
Laughing release hormones which makes us HAPPY! Apparently there are laughter clubs popping up all over the UK.

Talking about Happiness

"Laughter needs no reason.
A smile needs no reason.
Love needs no reason.
Kindness needs no reason.
They are gifts for free -life’s true treasures."


Holidays
Today after a very long scouts AGM will be the beginning of my “official” summer holidays form work! What am I going to go with myself since my Arabic in Egypt plans have fallen through, Christmas period instead inshallah.

I am keeping my plans lose but this is what I will be up to

Weddings (summer eh, what’s wrong with getting married in the winter, spring, autumn??)
Reading (lots and lots of books)
Gallivanting (any suggestions)
House parties (Ifrah and my mum have my sister’s house to ourselves till September…)

There is no point to this blog except pointing out to a certain White African the lofty position of the humble fruit that is the banana and that am FREE for two weeks! Cue the pyjamas, the lie ins, the lazy days, the sleep overs (sigh sigh) utter bliss Alhamdulilah

Accountability

Yesterday I had to go to NEWPORT in Wales (never been to Wales so that was a plus) after having paid for my little brothers school trip to Granada we discovered that his passport was invalid and the nearest office which still had appointment was in Wales. I had to call work and change my working day so instead of sitting on my desk this Wednesday I spent it travelling. I spent over 6 hours on a train (I have to say the scenery was stunning) had to beg and plead for a day service, gave myself an ear ache because I could barely understand anyone. All that for the little rugrat who is not so little anymore, he is 14 years old now and almost taller then me.

Aside from that my accountant (Queen Nefetiti) has been giving me a painful ear bashing regularly about my finance or rather the lack of. Living with your self appointed accountant is difficult enough but when you share a room with her, Subhanallah.

So I have decided I am sick of being broke half away through the month and have handed my cash cards and cheque book over. I am having an expense sheet (or something of that nature) drawn up for me, so we can see what it is that I do with my money.

I am officially on a budget per week and if I run out I am on my own (theoretically that is, there are always the rest of siblings and my parents but NO I am going to overcome my spendthrift always. It’s an amana after all and the idea of having to account for every penny scares me witless because I know a large proportion of it would not have been spent in a beneficial way.

I don’t even know what I do with my money, I live at home, and I am not really a shopper, although I have a weakness or eating out and seeing the world. My current thinking is I have to fill in as much as possible now. Why I don’t know I can’t see my life changing but I am behaving like I am racing against a stop watch, almost as if I have to fit everything in before it’s too late. I am becoming deluded by the false believe in my own self sufficiency.

Back to a little joint decision making I think, you’re never too old for guidance and I need to give less priority to thrill seeking, I should really be dreaming about changing the world, improving my neighbourhood, seeking my parents pleasure, helping my loved ones, striving to better the ummah but all I am dreaming about is my next adventure!

A friday in Hungary

One of the Italian partners had a call from Italy informing him that his mother in law and father were both ill (bless him) so they had to leave early on the second day which meant that our Friday meeting was caught short to about 12pm instead of 4pm

Cue the sight seeing! Hayak being the ever resourceful woman that she is learnt from a conversation with Adam Raul that he was an international tour guide ( ideas, ideas) then he offered to spend the day with us being our guide cue the grins of gratitude).

But before we went sight seeing with Adam Raul the other Adam ( visually impaired) took us to the Hungarians partners office and while we lead us ( never been lead by a blind man before) he gave us an very well informed tour till we got to the building. Very surreal experience

We went sight seeing with Adam Raul he took us around Budapest and these are some of the sights we saw, absolutely beautiful



Buda castel The chain bridge Fisherman's Bastion

Just to make the experience really magical on the first night we arrived walked along the river Danube and pass the parliament building there was a little restaurant in which we sat in for about 3 hours recovering from the never ending walk. We met a Norwegian couple who gave us some advice about where to go and what to do. One of the place was a restaurant near the Buda Castle, they said I was a magical little place to go and the music there had been playing for over 25 years.

We were starving by 8pm and wondered into a restaurant near the Castle and to our delight there was a Romany band duo ( violin and drums), when I asked how long they had been playing for it was a long shot but when the waiter said 25 years I thought FANTASTIC.

I have never had a Romany gypsy play me a Hungarian folk song with a violin while Adam Raul sang for us. What an experience and a great way to complete a wonderful trip.

Hungary notes

Note: We left for Budapest slightly apprehensive, it didn’t help that neither of us are linguists and when you find out that Hungarian is like no other European language… lets just say we were more then prepared for getting lost. But alhamdulilah we were well taken care of, every time we though we didn’t know where we where going or were confused someone would pop out of the blue to help us. Be it the hotel staff, Adam Raul, Adam, the Libyan brother at the underground, the officer at the tram station, the host etc. It didn’t help matters that I broke something in every country we went through.

In Budapest I broke a beautiful long flute like glass that I was drinking from, the whole restaurant seemed to have stopped to look at me. In Amsterdam I was in a duty free shop (it didn’t help that I was carrying 3 bags on one shoulder) when I knocked over a kettle and broke that too! I stood there waiting to take responsibility for ages, no one seemed to care.