Don't Judge Me By This List =)

What I miss: Coldstones- like, insanely. Carl's Jr fries- silly but true, however, AUS has really good chips =) In-n-Out milk shakes Cheesecake Factory's amazingly big pastas CPK pizzas Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte- no Thanksgiving or Halloween OR the Fall season, so no Fall drink =( Huge cakes from Costco McDonald’s chicken nuggets and Iced Carmel Lattes….ah! (The Maccas nuggets here aren't the same for some reason, hm) Dinner out with Pasadena buddies like, everyday of the week =) Walking around Americana on an eventless Saturday night Strolling through Pasadena while eating Pinkberry, something I also miss eating Driving just for the sake of driving Playing Guitar Hero pass midnight because I’ve mastered a level Rock Band parties with my peeps! The silence of living in a residential area with no birds with weird bird calls sounding off every morning, afternoon and night. Watching movies on Surfthechannel and catching up on TV shows online when I have nothing to do (those sites are blocked on Temple property) Having a gym to go to with weights provided…need to tone up these arms! The news paper! Odd yes? I like reading the World News section and get my hands all black with ink iTunes and the free stuff I can get from them! (iTunes is blocked on property and even if it wasn’t, my account is US money…bumma). Forever21 and Ross, and Target! Where things are actually cheap! (Targets here are quite pricey actually) What I don’t miss: Being stuck in rush hour traffic at 5pm (a joy of not having a car to drive whenever) Not having anything to do way too often Getting lost driving anywhere pass Glendale even though I've been to the destination numerous times Political mania all day everyday Having to wash my car or pay for gas What I like here: Seeing the ocean in the far distance every time we drive to get groceries, actually, every time we leave the Temple property- I don’t think that can ever get old Getting left over Persian food after National Assembly meetings! Bless Simeen and Taji =) Being reliant on myself…to make food, to do laundry…wait, do I like that?! Tim Tams- the love of my life. Look it up, it's the best chocolate cookie in the world!! Max Brenners. Love it to the max! Best chocolate café like, ever. LA is missing out. Being able to go out dancing and getting in free! (that’s right, free fun, LA- catch up!) Chicken salt- it seriously makes all the difference on chips (fries), it makes it so savory. Yummmm. Cadbury chocolate. It’s the new See’s candy Meat pies!!!!! It’s simply divine I have moments where I realize I’m living in Australia, I’m on my own in another country and learning the ways of a different culture. I’m doing what I said I’ve always wanted to do. It’s a great feeling of joy and accomplishment! Wooooop!

The Awe of Connecting with History

Last week I worked a couple of days in Records and Archives. One of the tasks I was given was to go through old letters written to an early Australian Baha'i believer, Mrs. Irene Cover. The selection of letters I was going through started in the 1950's and I have to tell you, I'm getting good practice on how to read cursive writing. It's so difficult! I feel like I'm learning how to read English all over again! But it was really cool to to get little history lessons from the people who lived it.

So, just a little history before I get to the really cool part- Mrs. Irene Covers' husband was the one who gave Hand of the Cause of God Mr. Hyde-Dunne his first job in when he and his wife pioneered from the US to Australia in the year 1920. What it's meant by "Hand of the Cause of God" is that they were"individuals appointed by Bahá'u'lláh and charged with various duties, especially those of protecting and propagating His Faith." After His passing, Abdu'l-Baha was named the authorized interpreter of the Writings and to guide the believers in this new Faith, and referred to some "outstanding individuals" as Hand of the Cause. He gave that authority to His grandson Shoghi Effendi, (the Guardian, who was named the authorized interpreter of the Writings and to guide the Faith), for after His passing to appoint Hand of the Causes at his discretion. "In the period between the passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957 and the election of the Universal House of Justice (which is now our governing body) in 1963, the Hand of the Cause directed the affairs of the Faith in their capacity as Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth."

In all, 50 were chosen by Bahá'u'lláh, referred to as such by Abdu'l-Bahá, or appointed by Shoghi Effendi. The last of which passed away in 2007. It was a lifelong duty and honor to be appointed as a Hand of the Cause, and a rarity, too, it seems to me. They had such a responsibility and an ocean of knowledge; they dedicated their time and energy, because of their love of the Faith and Baha'u'llah, in promoting the Faith and protecting the Faith, a job that is invaluable, and a dedication I wish to have. I've had the honor of meeting 3 in my life time- Mr. Ali-Muhammad Varqa when I was about 10 in Israel, and the Guardian's wife Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum when I was 1 year old, and Mr. Collis Featherstone when I was about 2, both when they visited Taiwan on separate occasions.

Anyway, so the cool story that relates to all this!! I came across this letter that was written to Mrs. Cover by Hand of the Cause Mr. Abu’l-Qasim Faizi, stating that as a token of appreciation of her work in the Faith, he was enclosing in the letter a gift of thanks- it was a handkerchief with which his wife, some years ago while visiting the house of the Bab in Shiraz, Iran, used to wipe the door in which The Bab declared His mission in 1844- that He was the next Manifestation of the new prophetic cycle, and the forerunner to the Promised one who would bring a new Faith into the world. The room in which the Bab declared no longer exists- it, along with the house, was torn down by the people at the instigation of the clergy.

The fact that I could read the letter (dated early 1950's) hand written by Mr. Faizi, and virtually touch the handkerchief that dusted the room where the Bab declared His message...it was so surreal....It took me a little while to grasp the significance of what my gloved hands were holding, and when it finally kinda dawned on me, I still couldn't completely grasp the awe of it all. Even a week later, I don't think my brain has completely processed it!

And a couple of weeks ago at the regular Sunday prayer service that is held in the House of Worship, the son of the only Hand of the Cause appointed from Africa Mr. Enoch Olinga, attended. It was so cool to witness. He's in his old age and many people were greeting him, I felt like it was just fine for me to observe; it was very special to have someone so close to Baha'i history to be in my vicinity.

My soul's got all filled up with spirituality, and yesterday my spirit was filled with joy for we had a Halloween party!!! So, Australia doesn't celebrate Halloween, that much I get, but people were saying how they thought Halloween was fake since the only time they saw it was in movies! Hahaha, oh Australia, how isolated you are. The friends here used the opportunity of having 3 North American youth to experience Halloween. Now, I'm not a big Halloween person at all- did the whole dress up and trick-or-treat thing twice and got over it; attempted to be excited about Halloween in high school but just couldn't be bothered with planning an outfit and executing it. But for some reason I got really into it this year and was very excited for the occasion! The party was a blast, I had loads of fun- they had games and music and lots of food (though not enough candy!), and most everyone was dressed up which is always more fun! I'll post some pictures soon and you'll see my joyous costume =) I think Halloween parties are the way to go...who needs free candy anyway?! (My friend's probably gana kill me cuz she's been trying to get me to do Halloween things for about 9 years- you know who you are ;D )

-let me know if you want more information about the administration of the Faith!!-

I'm in a Pickle....

Well, my 3rd month is coming up tomorrow, wow, where has the time gone? I go through days of thinking “my service time is almost over, better cram everything in!” And other times I think I'm doing nothing and that I have loads of time. These peaks and valleys are hard to simmer down and make one emotion. I wanted to kinda have a feel of what I would like to do by the 3rd month, in regards to going somewhere else or staying in Sydney, but with my emotions going high and low every other week, it's hard to say where I stand on the subject.

My options are these: 1) Staying in Sydney- I'm already trained, I can get involved wholly without worrying about leaving soon, and it would probably be less stressful. 2) I'm considering Australia's Northern Territory- it would be more rural, I would get to see the outback and work with the Indigenous culture, and I would be more involved in “in the field” work, like childrens classes, junior youth empowerment classes, Ruhi book trainings. It seems it would be a good medium between Sydney and my other option, 3) Cambodia. It's a country that is thriving and the Faith is growing rapidly. The work I would be doing would be in the field, really seeing the fruits of the classes we're giving.

My fears: 1) Money. It's always a concern for me, and to spend more money now, especially with some family stuff going on, probably wouldn't be smart. 2) Stress. Do I really want to plan a trip, figure out my money, accommodation, day-to-day activities? Do I want to start at square 1 yet again? 3) How can I best utilize my time away from home and to have an enriching Year of Service experience? And do I want to know the answer to this question?

My solutions:...well, not many...that I've thought of anyway. I'm going to pray. I'm going to read over messages from the Universal House of Justice that outlines what the Baha'is should be doing now to best teach and promote the Faith, and see where I fit in. And I might talk to a couple supervisors here at the Temple. I also need details. I can't make a decision without details. I need to know what I would be doing if I go to NT, I need to know what I would be doing if I got to Cambodia, as well as where I would stay, how will I be supported (if at all)...etc.

Part of me is scared to find out these answers. Will I be ready to take on the responsibility if the answer is to go to NT or Cambodia? Will I be willing to follow through? I don't want to apply for positions and then pull out, leaving the organizers hanging, and me looking bad and not prepared. I think that has a lot to do with it....not wanting to know, because if I know, I will have to plan and I will have to follow through. Scary. Scary to have to take initiative and put trust in the fact that you will be ok in the end, even if it's not the most logical decision at the time.

I've Got the Travel Bug

Finally! I have some adequate time to catch you up on my activities here in the Southern Hemisphere!! Sitting here in the cozy warm living room with a nice hot cup of jasmine tea with rain pouring down outside, I will attempt to cram all my stories into one post :)

Wow have I had experiences these past 2 weeks....so many that I've been hesitating to write since I know that once I start I usually can't stop. Where to start? Where did I leave OFF?!

My mom and a dear friend of the family, Judi, who's really like an aunt to me, took a trip down under to visit me. During that time we took a road-trip to Australia's capital city, Canberra, for a weekend, and then went and explored New Zealand, the best way possible, for about 5 days. I originally thought my mom's visit came to soon (I am only 2 months into my service time), but it ended up being the perfect time for her to come. I needed space and needed to get out, and for various other reasons, it was on-the-dot timing.

Canberra was absolutely gorgeous. Mom and I drove down, took about 3 hours, in the reallyyyyy cute car they rented (Judi was already there). The drive was just to die for- so much greenery and so serene. Mom was freaking out most of the time, nervous that we would hit a random kangaroo that would jump out from the forest haha. Nothing happened, just in case you're wondering :) The highway use to be a lake, from what I've heard, so it was lush (but not an intense lush, like New Zealand would be) and there was a lot of farmland- it was kind of like driving from LA to Fresno, which is mostly farmland in the middle, but all dry and all ugly- this was all wet and all beautiful. When we got to the town, I said to Mom, “Well...I feel like I'm in Orange County....” Stayed with a fantastically nice family who knew Judi from when she was pioneering in South Africa in the 70's-80's. It's so great to see my mom and Judi have these friends all over the world whom they met when they were in a distant country serving the Faith. I feel like, with the Faith, you always have a connection, and you're relationship is always moving forward, where as relationships from school or clubs come and go since it's just a period of time. It's nice to see that friendships formed 30 years ago can continue and progress.

The second day in Canberra, the family took us to the Canberra Baha'i Centre where we saw wild kangaroos! There were 30 or more just hanging around, and some people were saying that they're so use to humans that they get close to the Centre and you can actually pet them. I'm not going to take their word for it. But it was really awesome to see them hopping about :) Then we were taken to the annual Floriade event, a flower/tulip festival in the city. Gorgeous. Flowers everywhere. I went picture crazy hahaha. The landscape of Canberra is very symmetrical- I was told- organized, which is probably why I liked it hahaha. The family also took us to Embassy Row, where you can see every country's embassy- it was so cool! It was like Disneyland's “It's a Small World” but in life form! All the buildings' architecture reflected that country's culture and style. So awesome to see. America's was embarrassing to the max! Took up, like, 3 blocks, smack dab in the middle of the whole lot; big, loud, and so unnecessary. Helloooo, you don't have to be the center of attraction all the time! Lordy lord. Anyway, the trip was overall very relaxing and fun. Oh! On our way home we stopped at a wildlife zoo and petted koalas and kangaroos!! It was really cool. I was pretty hesitant to go close since, they are wild and I didn't want to get eaten. When I went up to pet the koala (in the below picture), he stopped eating his Eucalyptus leaves and turned suddenly facing me and stared, I thought I did something to alarm him and therefore Ibacked up and took a picture far away, just incase he was going to swing his giant, razor sharp paw at me :)

New Zealand, which we went to 2 days after Canberra, was everything everyone was saying it was. Everyone says New Zealand is gorgeous and raves about it, and I just thought they were exaggerating so I wasn't particularly waiting to be impressed or anything. But as we left the city (after staying and exploring one day) and drove more and more into the country and farm area....Man! It's gorgeous! The greens are so lush, and the colors are so vibrant. The land goes on and on and on, never ending fields of 10 shades of green. It's like looking at the ocean and seeing the magnitude of the world and really seeing how small we humans are- same thing, but on land. I felt like I could stare at those patches of never ending fields forever, watching the herds of cows and sheep and horses go back and forth, living a life of careless leisure. The downfall of the trip, a bit, was that it poured rain every day that we were there. Each day had a couple of hours of sunshine, but mainly rain. Being a person that likes rain, and someone who hasn't had a rain storm in a while, I was quite happy with the cold weather (nice change from dry heat all day), but my travel mates...hmmm, not so much. I do think that if the sun came out more we would've seen so much more beauty. But I enjoyed the trip immensely even though blue skies were mostly absent. The family we stayed with (another one of Judi's friends, they served together in Haifa, Israel in the 80's-90's) were just absolute sweethearts. So loving and so kind and really funny! They took us around town, to an arts fair, took us to their Baha'i Feast (which was about a 25minute drive, like on the other side of town haha) where I saw how a smaller Baha'i community goes about their events, they took us to touristy spots 2 hours away....so sweet! On our last full day there they drove us to this farm area where Judi treated me to horseback riding for my birthday. It was to die for. OMG. SPACTACULAR. The scenery that we saw cannot be described adequately with words, and pictures can't translate them either. If you go to New Zealand, go horseback riding in the mountains, you'll get the true experience. I really wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride, but this was just as great!!!

Overall, my journeys around the world have been very memorable and very enjoyable. I'm so thankful for my mom for the trip here and for the trips that I got to take with her and Judi. I really do enjoy expanding my world view. I know it's not an easy leisure, so I'm very thankful!!!

While I was on vacation, I actually got to a point where I was itching to get back to work. Never thought I'd see the day where I want to go to work! I felt like “I need to be at work, I'm missing out, I have stuff to do people!” And I do enjoy working here. Some think because it's office work etc it's not enjoyable, but I like having a task that is continuous, and I like being busy. I guess it's true that when you enjoy your work you want to work. So, I believe you are now caught up on my life. Sorry it took so long for the update, but I'm sure the length of this post has made up for that! Loves.