Thank You :)

My wonderful and loyal followers, how are you?  I have been away for some time because of my trip to see family in the US. I have two days until I say goodbye to America once again, a country that has been so good to me. I stayed a little over two months with my family in Atlanta this round of the summer. I did make a visit to the west coast, California to be more precise. I had the chance to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. I had an awesome stay and I owe it all to those great people who made my trip a memorable one.  I want to take advantage of this blog to convey my sincere appreciation to each and every one of you who has made a contribution to my two month stay in the USA.  So here is what I want to say to each and everyone …

Our house in Atlanta :)

I will start off talking about the day I landed. “Atlanta has a new international arrival gate”, said the passenger from Atlanta.  I guess I have been away for way too long as I didn’t know about this new gate.  As soon as I make it to the customs’ check, I run to the shuttle to take me to the old gates thinking that my family will be waiting there for me. However I didn’t know that my brother has done his homework and was waiting for me at the new gate.  Long story short, after an hour, we managed to find each other.  How can you miss a car full of people expecting you at the airport?  Oh how I adore my Kurdish traditions.  Remember what Maz Jobrani once said?, “Whenever I find a car full of people, they are either Mexicans or Middle Easterners.” I guess we Kurds do fall under the category of being Middle Easterners. 

I arrived home. First thing I did was run to the bathtub and here I found myself declare that I will take a shower in the bathtubs today. Siblings all give me this crazy look.  Is she okay?  What is so special with bathtubs?  In my close to two years of stay in Kurdistan, I never had the privilege of taking a shower in a bathtub. I then walked around the house, I went to my bedroom and to my surprise, everything was exactly the same. I saw my novels and my books from college. I remembered my days from high school and college. Everything was left untouched from the day I left my room on August 13th, 2010.  I took a shower and I came down, here I smelt the aroma of mom’s delicious meal with her fresh homemade bread waiting for me. 

Tomatos from mom's garden

My favorite thing about Atlanta has to be mom’s garden and my favorite thing in her garden has to be the dirty tomatoes. Man, those babies grow huge. One time I Facebooked a joke that if for any reason a Kurdish parent upset you, go outside and pull all their tomato plants from their roots. Here I see the phone ringing from Kurdistan. Who is it?  It’s my oldest sister calling from Hawler to check on mom’s tomatoes! 

Eggplants also from mom's garden collection

Later, I find myself singing, “I left my heart in San Francisco.” To my Cali girls, as I type this blog, I find myself smiling.  I remember sharing the trick I once heard about Persian dancing. “Remember you simply pretend that you are untwisting a light bulb with one hand and petting a cat with your other hand, and then occasionally switching to the falling airplane (arms outstretched, hands opening and closing, and bending to either side).” It's a fail-safe way for non-Persian people to impress friends from Morocco and Pakistan, trust me.  I also remember our friend Maz Jobrani and his 5-minute clip on the Iranian US census. Anahita and Hamasai, you guys will be missed and I do hope that you guys consider paying me a visit in the motherland. 

The Mamand family! You know I can’t be writing this blog without mentioning the generosity of people from Koya!  Yes you guys are awesome, just like us Hawrammis, Thank you for making me feel at home and considering me a family.  I can’t wait to visit your loved ones in Koya once I am back in Sulaimania. 

Dlovan and Kavok, so is it Colorado or Coloradostan?  Will Colorado is just like Kurdistan minus the sandstorms and the pollution. I remember posting a photo of me hiking in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs and here I see a friend commenting that Kurdistan is heaven on earth. Seriously everyone thought I took that photo of me in Kurdistan. I enjoyed the hikes, the jogs, the natural view and everything Colorado had to show me. I can go on and on writing about Colorado. 

My Kurdish sister from an American mother! You know who you are. We call you “Koch Para” because we love you so much. Mom asked that you visit often so she can remember me with your presence.  Please do make that happen. I miss you already and our chats on books, essays and everything it entailed. I am reading, “The Bastards of Istanbul” now and I have yet to understand why the author chose such an awkward title for her book.  

Michele, I am very proud of you. I will always associate you with the color pink and how much you liked that color. Thanks for paying me and my family a visit and I look forward to seeing you again during my next visit to America. 

The Espana family, my wonderful neighbors! How can I forget mentioning you guys? How can I forget our adventures in mowing the lawn together, haha fun times.  I will remember our jogs in the neighborhood followed by a delicious latté in the Alcove coffee on the lake.  

To Ariel Sabar, az gelek bashim! 

Everytime I visit Zakho, I find myself stopping by the Jewish neighborhood to remember the Kurdish Jews and the great book by Ariel Sabar entitled My Father’s Paradise. To the Plostsky family, there is just so much to thank you for. To those who are reading this blog, the Plotskys are the family that hosted us when we first came to the USA like 16 years ago. We have been in touch ever since. The Plotskys has been always present for every Sairany’s graduation and celebration. They have been a Godsend to me and my family.  

I am in tears as I find myself closing this blog.  I miss each and every one of you guys already.  I am sorry if I have forgotten anyone.  It was not intentional. I just had to write this piece so quickly. I am in middle of packing, receiving guests for Eid and everything else.  All I want to say is that life is beautiful when you are surrounded by beautiful people.  I look forward to another beautiful stay in America the summer of 2013.  

Stay beautiful, stay blessed 


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