Christmas Shopping List 2016

Hope you all are having a great week so far! If you’re like me, you’ve been too busy for holiday shopping! I’ve been looking around for presents for all the amazing women in my life. I figured you all might appreciate the stuff I’ve found for shopping inspiration:

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

Lately, I’ve been really obsessed with wrap sweaters (5), and I basically got a wrap sweater for every lovely lady in my life this year. This one looks really nice and comfy for winter weather chilling, plus it is flexible material for mothers-to-be!

Everyone always needs good skin cream for the rough winter months, but I’ve also been trying out a bunch of hand and face creams. The Josie Maran hand cream (2) is really helping me with my dry hands, which get really pesky as soon as the weather gets cool. For protecting my face, I really enjoy this Clark’sBotanicals face cream (1). I don’t think my skin has even been softer, and I also really like that it has a very mellow scent which I prefer for something so close to my nose. J

But, for when I do like a good perfume, there are these two roll-on perfumes that are my absolute favorite. I’ve started to prefer roll-on perfume to spray-on perfume because I feel like it’s more subtle and easier to control where the perfume goes. I just received this Midnight Fleur perfume (4) as a gift a few weeks ago and I absolutely love it! Unfortunately, it’s not guaranteed to arrive by Christmas, so I added Burberry Brit (3), which is on Amazon Prime and has been a classic favorite of mine for a while.

I think everyone could always use a little relaxation, especially with the busy holiday season, and a bubble bath is a great outlet for chilling. I recently tried out the Philosophy Amazing Grace shower shampoo, bath, and gel (6) and I really enjoyed using it for a bubble bath.

So, good luck with holiday shopping and let me know how it goes!

Winter Wardrobe

Hope you guys are enjoying the Christmas season! I’ve been having a great time with dressing up to go out, so I figured I’d share some ideas from outfits I’ve been posting on Instagram.

S and I at my cousin's wedding!

 S and I went to my cousin’s wedding a few weeks ago. It was unseasonably warm, so we were able to enjoy hanging outside during the reception. I wore this long sleeve black dress and received nonstop compliments on it. Little black dresses are always a classy staple, and the long-sleeve version is a perfect dress for winter. My friend gave it to me as a present, so I wasn’t able to find a link to the actual dress, but I found some similar ones that you might enjoy checking out:

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This weekend, we had a night with several holiday parties to visit. I was struggling to find a shirt that was both comfy and casual but also nice enough for going out in the evening. My sis-in-law remembered that she had borrowed this shirt from me and suggested I wear it.

And I remembered how much I love it! Plus I think that pastels, even though they’re known for spring, look especially nice in winter as a gentle pop of color against all the black and brown that people wear, especially in the New England winter. I think I got this shirt at a thrift store, so I don’t have a direct link. But I found some well-reviewed pastel pink blouses that don’t break the bank:

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So, even though this season is all about giving, maybe you can splurge on yourself a bit and find something nice to wear for all of those holiday parties! Good luck with shopping!

Insha Allah

Hope you all are having a lovely weekend! S is visited me this weekend, and he’s been the best study buddy. Before I head to school, I just wanted to share a song that S played this weekend called Insha Allah by Sting, and I figured that I would give a bit of background on what insha allah means too!

Sting recently released Insh allah as a way to honor Syrian refugees and remember those lost at sea during the treacherous voyage across the Mediterranean. There were decidedly mixed reactions to him singing this song at the Bataclan last month, where he reopened the concert hall almost a year after it was one of the targets of the Paris attacks. I personally appreciate his motivation to elicit a more comprehensive sense of morality by discerning between terrorists and refugees. Plus, his performance connected the victims of the Paris attacks to the Syrian victims who also suffered from ISIS’ influence. In a city that’s still undoubtedly traumatized by those attacks, it’s difficult to distinguish between criticism is sympathetic to that trauma and criticism that is islamophobic.

Anyway, thanks to this beautiful song, Sting is raising awareness to the plight of Syrian refugees and keeping people conscious of the regime-sponsored horrors that continue. Feel free to follow my twitter account if you’d also like to stay updated on current events in Syria.

The phrase insha allah is a great one because it is very versatile with several meanings. Insha allah literally means “God’s will,” and is used as a response to a lot of conversation and questions. I’ve heard it used in response to questions like “Will you do this?” or “Will you come to that?” In my experience, when some people use insha allah, it may have a connotation of wanting to do that thing or to go there, but not being 100% committed yet. It could also mean that the person wants to do that thing or go to that place, and very well intends to, but life is never certain so you never know what might or might not happen.

Insha allah could also be used when someone is talking about a future goal or something that they really want. In that case, when someone talks about their hopes, a friend might respond by saying insha allah to mean that hopefully it’s the will of God and that it’s meant to happen.

So what does Sting mean by saying insha allah in his song? I think he means to do several things. He wants to evoke the Syrian people’s amazing resilience by nodding to their ability to have so much faith and hope. He also may want to evoke the first meaning of insha allah I mentioned, which always considers how life can be precarious and fragile.

Listen to the song and see what you think!

A Foodie's Thanksgiving!

Happy Thursday!

It’s been a really ideal week for the foodie in me, thanks to Thanksgiving and family shenanigans, so I figured I’d share a bit of my meals with you all, plus a recipe from the Syrian family.

My dining room table!

I had a great time making the American-style Thanksgiving meal this year. This is my fourth time making it without my mother, and this is the first time that I feel like the prep work for the meal went smoothly. I think that partly has to do with my familiarity with the timing of everything. Now, I just know when the turkey and all the sides should go in and out of the oven without having to look it up.

My pretty hilal turkey (and the cranberry sauce to the left)!

I had a few people comment that this was an exceptionally tasty turkey, and asking me what I did to make it so juicy. For me, I think the trick is to brine the turkey for at least two days prior to Thanksgiving. Then, first thing in the morning, I pop the turkey (covered!) into the oven at 300° F and just forget about it. I’ve even put the turkey in at 250° F the night before, and the meat was really falling off the bones by dinnertime, it was that juicy! Americans tend to freak out about whether the turkey will be cooked enough. My logic is that anything in the oven for eight or more hours will most definitely be cooked enough. And, to my knowledge, no one has gotten food poisoning from my turkeys! We got a 12-pound hilal turkey that, surprisingly, was more than enough for eight people! 

Mr. Hilal Turkey taking a brine bath.

I also made sweetpotato casserole, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and two types of mashed potatoes (the traditional American kind and then the Middle Eastern olive-oil-and-garlic kind for the lactose intolerant at the table). 

For dessert, I made my mummy-in-law her favorite treat: apple pie bites. They're so easy and fun to make, plus they look like pretty, dainty pastries at the end! 

This week's dessert: Apple pie bites!

By the time I got back to school, I was already missing Syrian food, so I made fetty. You can translate fetty from Arabic to “torn up;” the dish gets its name from the pieces of bread you tear up to create the dish’s base. Specifically, I made fettet djaj which is the “torn up” part of the dish topped with chicken.

Fettet Djaj

To make fetty, you first boil the cut-up chicken (I prefer sizes of one inch or less) in either a pressure cooker for thirty minutes or in a regular pot for 2-3 hours. S has our pressure cooker, so at school I use a regular pot and study while the chicken simmers. Anyway, in the boiling water, add salt, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and an onion. Then add the chicken. Towards the end of the boil, fry up pieces of thin, white flat bread for about five minutes and then put them into a pie dish. Fry enough bread to cover the bottom of the dish.

Then you make the rice. I usually fry up vermicelli (“shariyya”) with olive oil at the bottom of the rice pot under the vermicelli is a light golden color, then add soaked short-grain white rice with two parts water to every part rice. I also add a teaspoon of salt for every cup of rice. Stir the rice and then wait for the rice to boil, then bring it down to a simmer, cover the pot, and only open the pot to check on the water level. If there is no visually apparent water, I usually tip the pot sideways to see if any excess water is around. If you taste the rice and it is undercooked, just add no more than a fourth of a cup to the pot and let it simmer covered for a few more minutes. Then put your rice on top of the fried pieces of flat bread in the dish.

Then create a yoghurt sauce. For a pie dish-size meal, go with about a cup and a half of plain yoghurt (“kasi wa nus leben”), one or less than one piece of garlick (“toomi o nus toomi”), and a little bit of water (“shwayyat mai”). I know the measurements sound strange, but this is literally the family recipe passed on orally since forever, and measurements of the recipe is all based on the experience of simply making it! Anyway, pour the yoghurt sauce over the rice and make sure it sinks into the rice and reaches the bottom of the dish. Next, garnish with chopped parsley and top with your drained chicken, and then enjoy a super tasty meal!

A quick note on portion size: I find a pie dish size plate is more than enough for three to four people, depending on how many of those people will want seconds just because they love how tasty it is! To double the size, you could easily use a casserole dish to feed 6-8 and just double the amount of everything in the recipe. Like most of my mummy-in-laws food, this is a non-measuring kind of recipe, so the proportions are very flexible and in the end, the amount of parsley, chicken, or yogurt all depends on your preference! But definitely don't go overboard on the garlic, otherwise no one will want to actually eat the fetty (or kiss you!). 

Anyone who tries this recipe, please let me know how it turns out! Cheers!

It’s certainly been a weird week…

And that’s an understatement, by far. I usually try to stay positive and use this blog to create good energy, but this week has been a real struggle, balancing my concerns for the future of my family and friends with understanding the full implications of the election’s results. So, I’ll take a deep breath, and run through a few concerns that we face. There are a lot of issues out there for minorities and underprivileged groups, and they’re all valid and important. However, for the purpose of this blog, I’ll focus on a few that particularly concern my interests.

First, I’ll talk about the islamophobia that occurred during the election. Popularity for the president-elect in the polls, although we all now understand how faulty they can be, suggested that his popularity surged after the tragic San Bernardino shootings. This past June, on the campaign trail, the president-elect said that he wanted a ban on all muslims entering the United States. Unfortunately, he has never fully backed down on that claim. His advisor, Kris Kobach, is now supporting a registry of muslims. 

Photo courtesy of S from Harvard Arab Weekend.

Based on the facts, there is an unmistakable, growing fear of Islam in the country. The most fearful are supporting anti-islamic discrimination. During this year’s Harvard Arab Weekend, several speakers addressed the country’s islamophobia, showing statistics like a mind-blowing 1,600% increase in hate crimes against muslims since 9/11 and eight states banning sharia law when most Americans have no idea what sharia even means. The president-elect is shamelessly playing off of that fear, taking advantage of ignorance and endangering a group of Americans that have a legal right to practice their religion.

This fear is already affecting my husband’s family. They’re living in a country where their right to exist is threatened daily. When my mother-in-law receives a death threat simply by going to the grocery store in a hijab, no one can say that liberty and justice equally serves the people of this country. Along with that, some members of Sam’s family are legally here on a temporary protected status as refugees that could be easily revoked. We are diligently monitoring the next administration’s immigration policy. As Syrians, returning to their country would pose many different risks to their safety and well-being. If they lose this status, they would also lose a second home that they’ve worked so hard to build, and would need to find a third home in a world that is increasingly hostile to refugees.

Mann & Kump (2015)

Along with all threats against minorities, there is a world-endangering threat against biggest issue of our century: climate change. The threat is inaction, as the president elect vows that he doubts the veracity of claims by climate change scientists. He hasaccordingly hired Myron Ebell, one of the most popular climate change contrarians, to direct the transition in the EPA. This appointment has many implications, including less funding for climate-related research and policies that only further put the country and the world on a faster path to harmful greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. Plus, since the president elect also vows to cut federal spending, the easiest targets are likely things that may not result in instant gratification, like scientific research.

Through my program, I know some of the most prominent climate change scientists. They share a serious concern for the future of their work. I also share their concern, not only for their future, but for mine as well. With less funding and political support, America will lose its standing as the world’s leading producer of innovative research.

My mentor gave some sage advice on how to react to this past week’s events:

“We are watching a stunning response to the deep inequities and injustices of economic globalization. It has appeared world-wide, and recently, of course, all over europe and the middle east. It makes very clear, that our essential work is to build institutions and safety nets and communities which can include everyone, absolutely everyone. A huge task, and with will and cooperation, we can do it.
I urge you now: do NOT follow out all your terrifying narratives about what might come from this. It is a waste of energy and it will exhaust you and make you powerless.
Stay curious! Stay present, in this moment. Watch what unfolds and how. We do NOT know the consequences of such a massive expression of rage and misery. Tend to your own communities, and support calm and thoughtfulness.”

Intellectually, immigrants are our most valuable import, and research is our most valuable export. Both of these things give the United States so much value on the international level, and yet both are at risk. Together, let’s support ourselves, remain diligent, and do what we can when we need to fight for what we care about.

Not all groundwater flows downhill

Happy Sunday! To start off the new week, I have some delicious tidbits on my research for you. This past Monday, I went with my advisor and another grad student to Worcester Polytechnic Institute for the NSF-sponsored Water Workshop. I presented a poster on my work, so I figured I’d talk about the details of my research focus a bit more.

Standing next to my poster for the Water Workshop at WPI!

Everyone agrees that water flows downhill. But does groundwater always flow downhill? That is, does groundwater flow always follow the topography? Not necessarily. Many people before me have proved that the groundwater table does not reflect the topography for a lot of aquifers. This depends on a lot of things, including recharge, depth of the groundwater table, the height of the aquifer, and the extent of the watershed. Strangely enough, not a single one of these factors dominate whether groundwater in an unconfined aquifer flows contrary to topography. They rather work together at different intervals to create this counter-topography behavior. And someone (i.e. me?) could spend a whole career investigating how all those factors affect one another to produce this affect.

It turns out that this behavior, which we call recharge-controlled flow, happens in a lot of places around the world, including parts of Massachusetts. More commonly, you see recharge-controlled flow in arid regions like the southwestern United States and my current study area, the Atacama!

Corenthal et al. (2016)

What’s going on in the Atacama, the world’s driest nonpolar desert, is really fascinating. Figure A is a conceptual illustration that shows how the groundwater table flows under all these high peaks to reach the salar, which is a salt flat. Based on what my research team and I know, the factors controlling groundwater flow in the Atacama include recharge (or rather, lack thereof) and the depth of the groundwater table from the surface.

The lack of recharge in Salar de Atacama as the world’s driest nonpolar desert means that its groundwater needs to come from somewhere else. That somewhere else is the relatively wetter, higher elevation peaks that we call the Altiplano (i.e. “high plains” in Spanish). This difference in recharge over time creates a difference in hydrologic head that causes the groundwater to defy all the topographical peaks in the Altiplano to flow towards Salar de Atacama.

Since Atacama is so dry, this groundwater flow creates a negative water balance equation as it continues to flow from areas with little precipitation to areas with almost no precipitation at all. In other words, more water is leaving the system than coming in. Because of this imbalance, the groundwater table probably continues to lower. As a groundwater table lowers, it becomes less dependent on the topographic variations.

This behavior has a lot of interesting and concerning implications. Atacama’s groundwater, which is the area’s only source of water, is nowhere near sustainable. This point is really important for the people and businesses that depend on this water. Plus, since groundwater takes a long time to travel, the distance that the Atacama’s water has travelled means that it is incredibly old. It’s probably on the order of thousands to tens of thousands of years old!

Well, here’s a quick taste of what I’ve been focusing on this semester. I promise I’ll talk about it more soon!

October Fun

Happy Autumn, everyone! I’ve been pretty busy with TAing two classes, taking two full classes and two seminars, on top of my research stuff and traveling to see S and family (who are all two hours away… sigh). But I’ve also managed to enjoy autumn a bit. Here’s a little bit of what I did:

My bunt cake!

I’m not a big cool weather person, but there are a few things about the fall season that I love, including PUMPKINS! My mother knows how much I love pumpkins and baking, but as a grad student she knows I don’t have much time to bake these days, so she sent me an amazing care package…

Thanks Mom!

 

… That included spice cake mix and cans of pumpkin puree! I’m so into this recipe: add a can of pumpkin puree to cake mix and, ta-da, you have pumpkin spice cake. I made a bunt cake out of one batch, and I can’t wait to make some cupcakes soon.

I’ve also been doing a bit of shopping. I noticed that vests have been really popular up here in New England since forever, and so I finally caved and got one:

Along the CT coastline!

There was a great sale at Gap last weekend ($20 for vests that usually cost $50), so I splurged and I’m so happy did. I’m love how my vest keep my core warm! It makes romping around in the leaves, or hanging out by the wind-chilled coastline, so much more pleasant.

Climbing up Long Mountain!

 I’m also very lucky to TA a geologic mapping class. It’s so much fun to have my job be adventuring around the Pioneer Valley’s mountains, especially with the foliage being so colorful these past few weeks.

Me with my pumpkin spice latte!

And, of course, I had my first pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks this weekend while I graded homework. And I was so snug and content in my sparkly scarf from Damascus. I can’t believe it’s been over six years since my trip to Syria. I wish I could go back so much.

Well, it’s been a whirlwind adventure learning how to be a grad student. More news on that to follow, I promise. Meanwhile, enjoy autumn where ever you are! Even if the air isn’t cool and crisp, maybe you can sip a pumpkin spice latte!