19 Day Fest

Since we don't have an administrative body like a Local Spiritual Assembly here in Israel, we normally don't celebrate the nineteen day feasts. However, there is a small contingent of youth here who still want to celebrate together and practice some of the Baha'i activities we have been encouraged to participate in once we go home to our respective communities.

So, every nineteen days we have been getting together, eating some lovely food, and practicing our home visiting techniques. We get divided into teams of two and throughout those nineteen days we have to do a home visit with someone. Then, at the next nineteen day 'fest' as I like to call them, we report back and talk about how the home visits went.

Making dinner beforehand (mmmmm, tortillas!)

Just hanging out on the Moon Couch

It's a really fantastic learning experience - we are encouraged to go and visit people that we don't know particularly well so that we can mingle with more of the Baha'is here at the World Centre. I've already gotten to know lots of people that I didn't know very well before, and now I can walk up and say hi to them at work without feeling awkward. Plus, this is the absolute best place for practicing our techniques for storytelling, historical narrative, and fact finding. If you don't feel comfortable visiting fellow Baha'is at home, how will you ever feel comfortable visiting people that you don't know at all? The whole point of a home visit is to be able to visit both Baha'is and their friends who are interested in learning more about the Baha'i Faith. It's a lot of fun!

Last nineteen day 'fest' was Kent's birthday. Happy B-day buddy!!

Always make sure you have enough ice cream... :)

I'm So Tired

I've been so exhausted lately I just haven't had the time or the energy to really post anything of value. Well, no energy to post anything at ALL, actually.

Things I should and will probably blog about in the near future:
-Switching jobs
-Finishing the Ihtifal play (complete with pictures!)
-Dr. Varqa's passing and funeral
-Stress points in my life and why they suck
-Upcoming surgery next month

Tune in soon for updates on these topics and more on Shireen's blog! (I feel like FOX or ABC) :)

Blistered, Battered, and Bruised

Today was the tech rehearsal for the Ihtifal play, and am I ever exhausted! Turns out I'm stage managing the show, running around backstage making sure everything is set up properly. It's been a whirlwind of a time getting this thing ready to perform, but I think we're close to ready.

The sets are all painted and attached and in the space - I think they look particularly awesome. Isidro, May, Dave and I spent an inordinate amount of time and energy making these sets sparkle. And I think we've succeeded.

I may be blistered, I may be bruised, I may be absolutely beyond tired, I may have almost shot myself through the leg with a staple gun, but I think it may all have been worth it. We shall see what tomorrow brings - we have the final dress rehearsal tomorrow afternoon, and none of my stage crew have any idea what props they are assigned to bring on, but we're just going to wing it and have a marvellous time doing it.

I will be posting the photo diary I have been keeping of the process we've been going through. I can't post it until after the show though - no spoilers! We want everyone to be flabbergasted by the sets and props and costumes, so no peeking. :)

Soon, though, very soon...

Filing, Filing Everywhere!

Finding it very hard to concentrate right now....

I need to be going through all the old files at work and make sure everything is up-to-date before I leave this job for another, but I keep getting left alone in the office for hours on end. It's very hard to motivate one's self to plow through stacks of paper when it seems never-ending and there isn't anyone peering over your shoulder to get it done.

Ok, I need to stop in my tracks and remind myself I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for the person coming in after me. I'm doing this so the department can have access to its files. I'm doing this because that's what I was brought in here to do. I'm doing this because...well, because it's the easiest way I have right now of serving the House of Justice.

Man, if that isn't enough motivation, I don't know what is. Back to the grindstone I go, but with a lighter feeling in my heart. Motivation is everything here, and I'm finding mine now. Writing these things out really seems to put a lot into perspective, doesn't it?

Technology Eludes Me No Longer!

I have finally figured out to link my friends' blogs to my own.
And it's only taken me three months to do.

I know, I know, the term is technologically impaired, I'm seeking counselling...

But lucky you, now you can see into the souls of some of my closest friends. There are some pretty cool people that I happen to be friends with, and they lead lives as exciting and eventful as mine!

The irony of that statement hits me like a grand piano dropped from a fifth storey window. (I'm trying to add some hyperbole to an otherwise dull post. Is it working?)

Sometimes I feel like my life is completely uneventful, but then I only have to glance at previous posts and I am reminded that sometimes my life is like an out of control freight train with me at the helm. And I don't know anything about trains.

But life is good, this is the gist of my post here.

"Life is what happens to you on the way to somewhere else."

Higher Education Denied to Baha'is in Iran

The Iranian government, although lately has been denying its expulsion of Baha'i university students based on their religious affiliations, has in fact been lying about its practices, and has been expelling students on no other grounds than the fact that they are Baha'i. These allegations were confirmed in a confidential government memorandum from Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology:

"The letter refutes recent statements by Iranian officials, who say Baha'i students in Iran face no discrimination - despite the fact that more than half of the Baha'i university students enrolled last autumn were gradually expelled over the course of the 2006-2007 academic year."

Please follow this link for more information on the government memorandum: http://news.bahai.org/story/575

Following in the wake of this distressing news, it has now been categorically confirmed that Iranian Ministry officials are actively trying to keep Baha'i students from receiving higher education. Out of over 1,050 Baha'is to sit for their entrance examinations this year, over 800 did not received their test scores back, saying they were deemed "incomplete". This means that none of those students were able to apply for university entrance for the 2007-2008 school year.

In a letter dated 9 September 2007, the Universal House of Justice, the supreme administrative body for the Baha'i world, wrote to the Baha'i youth in Iran encouraging them to stand firm during this exceedingly difficult period of time. The three page document states:

"These official acts are disappointing and shameful," wrote the Universal House of Justice. "This action of the government in obstructing youth, Baha'i or otherwise, from access to higher education stands in contrast to the noble history of Iran's past attainments."

The Universal House of Justice asks the youth of Iran to remain resolute in their convictions, steadfast in their faith, and ever-patient in the face of overwhelming government opposition. They are to:

"With an illumined conscience, with a world-embracing vision, with no partisan political agenda, and with due regard for law and order, strive for the regeneration of your country. By your deeds and services, attract the hearts of those around you, even win the esteem of your avowed enemies,"

Please follow this link for more information about the letter sent to the Iranian Baha'i youth: http://www.bwns.org/story/577

I post this information here in the hopes that people will read it, and their eyes will be opened to the injustice happening in the world around them. We all need to actively strive for the betterment of the world and its populace, and to do so we all need to be aware and informed about current oppression and tyranny. It is my wish that any and all university students back home in Canada, as well as Canadian government officials, will rise to the challenge and step forward to denounce these shameful acts of the Iranian government towards the Baha'i youth of its country.

(Please note - I am not, in any way, trying to degrade the name of Islam or any its tenets. The above-mentioned acts are being perpetrated by a extremist regime within the Iranian goverment, which is in fact a Muslim theocracy, but these vicious acts towards the Baha'is should not sully the illustrious history of the Islamic faith worldwide.)

Accommodations Dinner

We had a nice little get together at Arash and Bahareh's flat on Saturday evening, both to say goodbye to Frank and to welcome Meelod and I to the Accommodations family.

Subtract the other two ladies, and substitute Musa for Frank, and you're now looking at the Accommodations Office staff for the Baha'i World Centre. I think it's probably the smallest department in the BWC, but that doesn't mean that what we do isn't important. I feel like we are the servants who serve the servants. We will work tirelessly so that all other staff members here can go home to a flat that they are comfortable in and can rest easy knowing things are being taken care of by capable hands.

Adam and I want cool new uniforms. We figure if Move Crew can have awesome t-shirts, we should have awesome Operations Crew t-shirts. We've also decided we are going to be the Dynamic Duo - we both talk a lot and we're both eccentric. Adam and I will get along famously.

Things I am thankful for

I'm going to keep adding to this list, but here's what I've got so far:

I AM THANKFUL FOR...

1. The occasional day where the temperature dips below 30 C.

2. So many of my close friends back home finding love and getting married

3. The ability to dance to my ipod unselfconsciously

4. When I find a memo that I've been searching for all day

5. Seeing my friends in the lunchroom

6. The Book Centre (such a godsend!)

7. Being able to afford to talk on the phone to my parents overseas as often as I want

8. My fantastic flatmates, Kat and Luisa

9. A ridiculously nice flat

10. Having the opportunity to serve in Haifa at this point in my life

11. Living so close to the Shrine of the Bab

12. Second November and the boys that live there

13. Being approved to move to Accommodations - now I can serve to my fullest capacity!

14. The price of art supplies in the Hadar (sweet!)

15. My sister, the fashion guru whom I love, who sends me beautiful clothes

16. The days when the dust has settled and you can see across the bay to Akka and even Jordan

Gone Hunting

Today I went a'hunting. I'm helping with the sets and props for the Ihtifal Committee play we're putting on a week from Friday, so I had to go out at lunch today and try to find art supplies. No one else from the crew could come with me, but when Monica emailed me for a lunch date, I invited her along. No argument there! Who doesn't want to go shopping for art supplies?

Anyhoo, Amelia told me about a little art shop somewhere on the outskirts of the Merkaz, so Monica and I hopped in a sherut from Golomb gate and trundled off to see if we could find it.

We didn't.

We were fortunate enough to stop and have a bite to eat at the fantastic sandwich shop on the corner near Greg's Coffee, but when we headed off in the alleged direction of the art shop, it was nowhere to be found. Alas, our trip to the Merkaz was rather fruitless. I tried calling everyone I could think of to give us directions to the store, but NO ONE was answering their phones today. I guess when it's time for lunch, nothing else matters.

Monica mentioned that there was supposedly another art store down in the Hadar, but I was rather hesitant at this point until she was able to reach a friend of hers on the cell and get some actual directions. Sweet! So we finally caught a bus going down the mountain and decided to quickly try and find this other shop. (We're only supposed to take about an hour, maybe an hour and a half for lunch, and we'd already wasted most of it looking for the elusive shop in the Merkaz.) Plus, we HAD to find stuff today, because tomorrow is Rosh Hashana, and everything is going to be closed for three days straight. Shana Tova!

Once we got to the Hadar, we booted it up the main road trying to find the fork in the road where the art store allegedly was. Lo and behold, we managed to find it! Success! And was the stuff ever cheap; I was able to buy ten brushes, eleven bottles of gouache, and a small canvas for 150 shekels. That's about $40 altogether, which is pretty sweet, I must say. Monica and I were in heaven; if only we'd had more time to browse! I'll just have to go back again when I have more money and more time...

After making our purchases, we had to hoof it back down to where the buses gathered to see if we could quickly grab a bus, sherut, or taxi, whichever came first. We were able to pile ourselves into a sherut, probably one of the tiniest sheruts I've been in so far. I was practically sitting on the lap of the guy beside me, who happened to have a large suitcase with him, while Monica had her paints and canvas basically wedged up under her face. So squishy - best sherut ride ever!

As we drove by Golomb gate, I hollered at the driver to let me off, I practically rolled out the door, and flew down the stairs behind the ITC building back to my office at the bottom of the hill. And it turns out I was only ten minutes late!

Such a crazy lunchtime, no wonder I'm home now and absolutely knackered at 9:30 PM. I suppose it could also be the supreme stress of trying to stage a show in just over a week with absolutely no sets or props to speak of yet. How do I get myself into these situations? Oh wait, that's right, I am Shireen and my life is weird...

Commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Bab

Today we commemorated the martyrdom of the Bab, the forerunner of Baha'u'llah and the Baha'i Faith. Normally back home it is commemorated 9 July, but here some of the holy days are celebrated according to the lunar calendar. So, on 11 September, we all gathered outside the Haifa Pilgrim House and had a marvellous holy day.

Me, Anjali, and Kara

Me and Bauback

Me, Lucia, and Roya

Borhan and me

Joaquin, Shiva, and me

All the Brazillians and me!

Afonso and me

Khatereh, Heranush, me and Ezra

Monica and me

I just realised every single one of these pictures has me in it, but it's my blog, so whatever!

Games Night at Bracha Habas

Every Monday night there is a reoccuring event here at the World Centre. I'm not talking about a class or a devotional or anything - I'm talking about games night. That's right, it's a games night. I've heard tell of it for awhile now, but never got a chance to go. Until now.

Tonight was my first visit to Bracha Habas and the mythical games night, but wouldn't you know it, the boys had uploaded the recent Giants-Cowboys NFL match from yesterday and that took precedence over all else. Us girls relegated ourselves to the kitchen to make burgers and salad, while the boys hooted at the computer screen. Sometimes I wonder if we're really breaking gender stereotypes here at all... :)

All in all, it was pretty fun. The large group games were preempted for the football game, but we still had a good time playing Hearts in smaller groups. There was also a small Scrabble contingent that I might join next time. Plus, if we're a large group next time, I'm going to teach everyone the Maroussia Game - it's basically a cross between Charades and Taboo, but a whole lot more fun than you might think.

APPROVED!!!!

MY TRANSFER HAS BEEN APPROVED!!!!!

I am so ridiculously giddy right now, I can barely type. My request for departmental transfer has been approved, so I'm now officially moving to Accommodations!!

This is so sweet. I mean, it really sucks that I have to leave the Department of Holy Places, but in the grand scheme of things, this is really for the best. I am not an office manager, and after this stint I don't think I ever will be. :) But I get to be on the Operations Crew in Accommodations which basically means that I will be assisting with flat preparations for new staff and visitors. I'm the one that gets to leave the chocolate on the pillow, so to speak. I also will be doing flat inspections, which is cool since I did that sort of thing when I worked for Nancy Campbell for the winter.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

Sorry, I hate using all caps, but it's the only way to adequately describe the elation I am currently experiencing. This is too perfect...and now I cannot wait to tell my coordinator; she is going to be so excited for me too. She said that when everything is all settled and we've figured out what's going on, she and I are going to go out for a fancy dinner date and just have a wonderful evening together. Sweet, eh? I'm really going to miss working with everyone in the office, but I remind myself that they're only going to be a block away now. It's not like I'm physically leaving the World Centre; I'm just shifting my field of work.

And I love it.

This is going to be good...

The Flatties

It's been six months; I feel like I should probably introduce y'all to my flatmates here in Israel.

Khatereh E.

Kiwi from New Zealand

Here for a year interning in the Research Dept.

Younger than me by a couple of years

Super serious and intense (awesome)

One of the wisest souls I've ever encountered - wise beyond her years

Luisa H.C.

Bolivian

Here for a year and a half in the Pilgrim Reception Centre

Older than Kat and I by a few years

Extremely soft spoken and adorable

Thinks her English is terrible, but I think it's wonderful (I wish my Spanish was that good!)

I can't even describe how incredibly lucky I am to have such amazing flatmates. There is not one bad thing I can say about living with these two girls. Man, I know I'm gushing, but really, sometimes you can get stuck with people that are lovely but you can't live with them. These two girls are such a pleasure to live with, I'm so elated.

Farewell dinner for Minoo and Roger

I was asked to organize a farewell dinner for Minoo and Roger M. before they finished their terms of service here in Haifa. Minoo was the Custodian of the Shrine of the Bab for years, and Roger worked in the gardens department. Minoo was serving here for something like eleven years - I can't even imagine that I've been here for six months! It's almost unreal.

Anyway, here are some great shots from the party as it was happening:

Allergies

I have developed allergies. Poop.

I do not know to what exactly I am allergic. All I know is that my eyes are watery and itchy, my throat is clogged and uncomfortable, and my nose is sore and runny. If these symptoms sounds familiar to you, my sincere condolences.

I woke up this morning all cloggy and gross, but not a "I'm so getting a cold" gross, a different kind of gross. Yesterday my eyes had been red and itchy, and this morning was the same. So I took some antihistamines and decided to go in to work.

I have been so lackadaisical at work today, just filing and trying not to fall asleep. Ian and I have been bonding over boring office work, you know, the usual filing and data inputting and staring at a screen for so long you're afraid you'll be cross-eyed forever. I've had to keep my D&G shades on inside because the computer screen is way too bright to look at. It's been an interesting fashion statement apparently - everybody walks by me in the office, and it's always a "Wow, are you trying to make some sort of statement?" Yes. Yes, I am. My statement is that I am itchy and uncomfortable, so make fun of me at your own peril.

But Shila and Parwaneh have both told me that I should wash my eyes out with tea to feel better. Um, what? Isn't tea an astringent? Do I really want that cleansing my eyeballs? Apparently it's an old Persian remedy, so I'm waiting for the tea to cool off enough that I can pour it into my eyesockets without searing them. I'll let you know the results...

.....................

Alrighty, it's half an hour later, and I have garnered some valuable insights:
1. Try to find an actual eye wash station. It's much easier than pouring tea into your eye with a spoon.
2. If you're going to try the spoon manuever, make sure to be careful not to actually jab yourself in the eye with the spoon. It sort of defeats the purpose of helping your eyes when you accidentally blind yourself.
3. Make sure the tea is tepid. NOT HOT. This is extremely important. Again, you don't want to accidentally blind yourself by scalding your eyeballs.
4. Take your shirt off. You think I'm kidding, but who wants to try and explain why you have tea stains on your shoulders and collar afterwards?

All joking aside, my eyes really do feel quite a bit better now. I must have washed out all the offending materials. But I'm still going to leave the shades on. Now they're a fashion statement.
Like I always say, "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!"

A Farewell Tea Party

We had a small "office" farewell tea party for Matine on Wednesday morning of last week. It was very nice; we ate in the garden area behind the House of the Master where the Custodians live. We always try to arrange a little something for any staff who are leaving the department. Matine was REALLY surprised because he had only worked with us for two months.
Hey, everyone in the family is special....




Here's the gift we presented him with - a beautiful matted photo of the House of the Master from the 1920's (before all the renovations). Very cool!