One of my most vivid memories during my trip to Spain back in 2007 was throughout our journey by car from Granada heading to Sevilla - both located in the Andalusian region which was once the crown jewel of the Islamic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula.
As we rode along the highway, we were greeted by the amazingly beautiful sight of the sunflower fields, which stretched for as far as the eyes could see. Too bad that my dinky Cybershot failed to capture the images nicely, as our car was moving quite fast and there were no proper area by the road for us to stop and take photos. (*Note to self: Next time, bring a bloody DSLR, idiot!)
But the image looks something like this:
(Pix credit: travelpod.com)
But frankly, you just have to see it with your own eyes to experience how magical it feels to be embraced by such a surreal sight.
Macam jakun, okay!;P
Have a good day, people!:)
xoxo
SUNFLOWERS OF SEVILLA - by Elly Yusof
Sunflowers of Sevilla they greeted me as I arrived from afar Oh, how they smiled under the golden sun and the endless sky of Andalusia
Sunflowers of Sevilla welcoming this broken stranger who's running away from danger as she basks in your wondrous beauty in innocent wonder
Sunflowers of Sevilla as you consoled me in millions with your deep green leaves and cheery yellow tone I realise in a magical instant, that all my sorrow are now gone.
'Muchas gracias y adios, mis amigas! Hasta luego; en el tiempo futuro(tal vez?)'
As I exhaled my last sigh for you, Sunflowers of Sevilla.
Just bought Shakira's latest album, 'She Wolf' and totally LOVING the whole CD. This is my #1 fave track and am currently listening to it on loop mode.
Complete review of the album coming soon!:D
*Shakira trivia of the day: Do you know that she wrote her first poem at the age of FOUR-years old? Damn it!!!;D
xoxo
MEN IN THIS TOWN (Lyrics by Shakira/Music by Shakira, J. Hill, S. Endicott/Produced by Shakira, J. Hill)
Is there a prince in this fable For a small town girl like me? The good ones are gone or not able and Matt Damon's not meant for me Damon's not meant for me
I got to say, California is a place that I respect Come on LA, take advantage Give me a night that I won't forget
I went to look From the Sky Bar to the Standard, nothing took These boys don't care Got a handful with their projects and with their looks
Chorus: Where are all the men in this town? And what's a girl supposed to do? Did they all run off when they knew That I was coming round, coming round?
Where are all the men in this town? And what's a girl supposed to do? Did they all run off when they knew That I was coming round, coming round?
Fresh I'm so fresh and I'm so clean Got the lips and got the skin Got the skin, got that thing I'm so fresh and I'm so...
Is there a prince in this fable For a small town girl like me? The good ones are gone or not able... and Matt Damon's not meant for me
I never dreamed that I'd come here to become the next Jolie But I sure know there is someone, around somewhere who's meant to be
Chorus: Where are all the men in this town? And what's a girl supposed to do? Did they all run off when they knew That I was coming round, coming round?
Where are all the men in this town? And what's a girl supposed to do? Did they all run off when they knew That I was coming round, coming round?
Fresh I'm so fresh and I'm so clean Got the lips and got the skin Got the skin, got that thing I'm so fresh and I'm so...
Fresh I'm so fresh and I'm so clean Got the lips and got the skin Got the skin, got that thing I'm so fresh and I'm so...
So they say it's a suicide, waiting, others say it's a suicide, waiting, yo no se it's a suicide, waiting, another day it's a suicide, waiting
So decide, it's a suicide waiting, all this time it's a suicide, waiting, donde estas? it's a suicide, waiting, so decide it's a suicide, waiting...
Who needs a boyfriend When you have God, a guitar and 30 pairs of shoes? No need for Jimmy Choos 'Coz Vincci is enough To put me through
But for YOU dear I'll change my mind I'll let you rule my world I'll let you switch my view Just as long as you don't touch my shoes Oh, don't you dare touch my shoes!
chorus:
Heels are sexy Flats are comfy So tell me, baby Can you do the same for me?
Blahnik, Louboutin, Weitzman Nice last name, but you know I don't give a damn you know I don't give a damn
Buying them is orgasmic Wearing them is cathartic So I guess you should know now, My expectations are titanic
Silver, pink, red, blue Gold, cream, also ecru They look so yum, yum, yummy! And to me,they'll stay true Compared to most men, They make you feel good too!
But for YOU dear I'll change my mind I'll let you rule my world I'll let you switch my view Just as long as you don't touch my shoes Oh, don't you dare touch my shoes!
Sexy like a shoe Oh yeah, I think you're sexy like a shoe...
Many, many years ago on this exact day, Prophet Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Eshmael by God, as a test of faith in Him. And he willingly obliged as he had total faith in his Creator.
The rest is history that was nothing short of a great MIRACLE.
And today, Muslims all over the world celebrate the Eid ul Adha festival to commemorate the sacrifice of Abraham in the name of God.
In this regard, how many of us are willing to do what Abraham has done, i.e. sacrificing something/someone that is soo precious and dear to him just because Allah told him so?
He did, and for that he was greatly rewarded.
Yup, folks; Hari Raya Korban is not merely about slaughtering livestock and giving the meat to the poor. It is definitely MORE than that.
For me, the lesson that I've personally learned from Eid ul Adha is that, if you are willing to sacrifice something dengan seikhlas hati and with total faith that God will take care of you, insya-Allah, you will be repaid with great rewards that you could have never imagined at the first place.
Do your best, do the right thing (no matter how painful it is at that particular point of time) and have faith in HIM.
Believe me, you will finally see the light at the end of the seemingly endless tunnel.
Happy Eid ul Adha, dear friends. May this special day reminds us the true meaning of iman (faith) and pengorbanan (sacrifice).
God bless us all!
Tuhanku,
ku tahu diriku tidak sempurna
namun Kau tahu
hati ini sentiasa mengingatiMu;
yang ku pinta hanyalah
agar Kau merahmati
diri ini
dan
mereka yang kukasihi.
Amin.
I wrote this lyrics today, in less than 15 minutes. The melodies, however, are not yet completed. Hope to turn it out into a complete song real soon! ;):)
**To someone, 'Happy Birthday!'. Take this as a special present from me to you.
I wish you well I wish you hell I wish you all the things That a cheesy tabloid would tell
I am not mad I am not sad I just think that your phoney persona, is just a fad
chorus: Oh darling, you know I lived my life for you You know I'll give you my kidney and my liver and my last breath for you But you were never true; So I cried for three whole nights and decided to say 'adieu' Oh yes, baby, adieu to you!
The best revenge Is living well That rings a bell, sweetheart Oh, ain't it swell?
I closed my eyes, believed your lies Blamed myself for every crap, while you kept on with your mishaps
Oh darling, you know I lived my life for you You know I'll give you my kidney and my liver and my last breath for you But you were never true; So I cried for three whole nights and decided to say 'adieu' Oh yes, baby, adieu to you!
Put on my lipstick, Put on my heels Coz tonight baby, I'm going for the kill (oh, yes!)
The world is my sushi joint The universe is my cigar bar I'll let God send you the bill For all that you've done so far
Beautiful, brilliantly talented and big-hearted, my numera una favourite singer/songwriter Shakira writes about her Barefoot Foundation (Fundacion Pies Descalzos) in my fave mag, The Economist.
I say, Viva Shakira! xoxo
************************************************
'Sí, se puede'
Nov 13th 2009
From The World in 2010 print edition
Experience of teaching the poor in Colombia has lessons for the wider world, says Shakira, founder of the Barefoot Foundation
Nine years ago, at the Millennium Summit at the United Nations headquarters in New York, heads of state from around the world agreed on the Millennium Development Goals to reduce global poverty. One of the key goals was to ensure that by 2015 every child, boys and girls alike, would be able to complete primary school. This means that all those finishing primary school in 2015 will be entering school in 2010. It’s a daunting challenge, but if the G8, the G20 and other nations join together to establish a Global Fund for Education, we can make real progress towards this deadline.
Barack Obama promised America’s support for creating this $2 billion new fund just over a year ago. A similar model already exists. The fund will be an independent and innovative institution similar to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. It will include representatives of civil society and developing countries as equal partners alongside donor nations in its governance structure. It will link funding to results—ensuring accountability in the way that funds are spent.
A lot is at stake. In the past two years over 600 schools in Afghanistan have been bombed, burned or shut down by extremists. Eighty percent of these have been schools for girls. Why? Because the education of a child is the most powerful form of national security—and that’s why it is such a threat to militants everywhere.
This isn’t theoretical to me. Growing up in Colombia after decades of conflict I saw that the people who are born poor, die poor. With rare exceptions, they never have the chance to improve their lives.
These people have difficulties finding decent jobs and making a decent life—and they often end up involved in doing things they never imagined. No child dreams of becoming a militant or a drug trafficker. But in developing countries sometimes life doesn’t give you any other option.
Education, education, education
Education is the only way to break this cycle. But in today’s world there are still 72m children who are denied the opportunity to go to school and 226m adolescents who don’t attend secondary school.
My foundation in Colombia, Pies Descalzos (“Barefoot”), has proved that the poorest children can be educated. For less than $2 a day per child, our schools provide food, education and counselling services to thousands of students. Our schools help underprivileged children grow in sustainable ways and provide them with the tools they need to break out of the cycle of poverty.
Many people don’t realise that Colombia has one of the largest internally displaced populations in the world. Over 3m people in the country (out of a population of 49m) have fled their homes because of conflict. For this reason we decided that our programmes in Colombia should specifically focus on serving displaced children.
Our work in Colombia combines high-quality academic instruction with recreation, health care and psychological support. We operate six schools in three diverse regions of Colombia: Barranquilla, Quibdó and Altos de Cazucá. Over 5,000 students are directly served in our schools—but approximately 30,000 people benefit from our programmes. For example, in working to combat malnutrition we not only provide students with nourishing meals and evaluate their nutritional status, but we also provide their parents with critical information on health and nutrition.
In addition to physical-health services, the foundation’s programmes support emotional health through counselling and exposure to the arts as well as through advice for families and parenting classes.
We also support the broader community. On any given day our school buildings are hubs of activity—providing a range of services, including adult-literacy classes, youth-leadership development, access to libraries and computer training. Perhaps most importantly, we have also begun to form parent co-operatives focused on teaching parents and on income-generating activities aimed at ensuring that families are financially secure.
We are now in the process of taking this success story to other parts of the world through our non-profit Barefoot Foundation, based in the United States.
If our foundation can bring quality education to some of the poorest children in the world there is no reason why governments can’t do the same thing. Our schools in Colombia are proving each and every day that no matter where a child is from, no matter how poor children are, they can thrive if given the chance.
I refuse to believe that it isn’t possible to educate every child. By establishing a Global Fund for Education in 2010 we will invest in these children’s future—and help to secure our own.
********************
And here's a video of Shakira talking about the Barefoot Foundation on Jimmy Fallon's show last week! :)
An economist by training, I somehow ended up being a webcast journalist and part-time travel writer. Am obsessed with God, Shakira, Paulo Coelho, Spain and Latin America.
