New beginnings...

Summer is coming to an end and I am off to new beginnings on the other side of the Atlantic.
With excitement and trepidation I consider initially paddling my feet in the water but soon decide to dive straight in.

I have had an exciting summer filled with vast and varied experiences.

I took part in a contemporary dance course. This was something I had never done bgefore and never thought I would do. But I believe in pushing myself beyond my comfort zone and wanted to try something different. The rewards were incredible. The class involved a lot of choreography and we were very much left to work out at our pace based on our own experiences. We are encouraged to look at emotions within us and try to express that through movement. Very interesting!

Then was Bulgaria! An intriguing country...one was very much aware of the post-Communist reconstruction that is taking place. The country is still very much in a stage of development, perhaps at times even stagnation. From numerous conversations one became aware of the feeling of corruption that pervaded many areas of public life. The buildings were falling down and there was a general state of dirtiness. Having said all of this, it was fascinating to meet many of the Bulgarians and to talk to them about their experiences. Many of them had great ambitions that they felt at present could not be achieved in the climate of the country. I was helping out with a Bahai project whilst in Bulgaria and there were people from around the world who were also helping out with the project. A couple of us decided to go to Turkey for the weekend. After a 10 hour overnight bus journey we finally arrived in Istanbul. We had been stopped at customs and I was told to get off the bus as I needed a visa. I insisted that I was a British citizen and therefore did not need a visa. They told me that I could be left at the border or buy a visa! I decided to buy a visa!

I was extremely impressed by the balance of modern and traditional in Istanbul. The call to prayer really hit me in my inner core. We were visiting when the President of Iran was also there so there were police and tankers in the streets...scary but exciting! After having been really careful about spending any money and barely eating anything we decided we would go on an exclusive dinner cruise along the Bosphorus! Amazing Turkish dancing and views. The following day we visited the Bahai holy places in Edirne where Baha'u'llah had lived. It was incredible to be in the places where Baha'u'llah had lived and they even had a bit of his hair.

We then returned to Bulgaria and I flew to Edinbrugh the following day where we saw some great shows including an improvised musical and a political rap. From there I went straight to a wedding in Barcelona where there was a bollywood evening where I wore full Indian dress and got henna done and a Spanish/Flamenco evening.

It is now time for me to set off to America to start a new adventure in life. I am excited about the prospects and I feel deep down inside that it is the best thing that I could be doing. But there is still a part of me that is clinging on to all that I know and love here and not quite being able to let go and move on. However, I feel propelled to move forward. I had a leaving party yesterday and was reminded of all of the incredible people that I have been fortunate to get to know over the past few years and feel really honoured to have such incredible who will always be so important to me. It is the memory of them that will mean that I will return...

To be continued!