sitting here at my desk tonight, i have the strangest thought that i do not want to leave this city. i was thinking about how much i want my friends to come visit me here in this old city, how much i envy them for being among friends they know, when i realize that i do not regret coming here at all. when i could have chosen to go to other school where i know my friends are going too, i chose to come here and study among strangers. and now i feel that i have established my own circle of friends, i am beginning to think about coming home to boston every time i leave the city, i feel comfortable chilling in my room and i do not feel like i have to talk to someone from home every other day. boston is a beautiful city, and i have just come to realize that i have been falling in love with it since the moment i stepped out of the plane a little more than a year ago. everytime i pass by the charles river, i'm trasfixed with awe by the reflections of the moon and the beautiful city with its skyscrapers in the softly rippling water. all i can think of then is, subhanallah, Allah is the most magnificent. i'm beginning to feel comfortable being among other folks in the city, walking anonimously among the fast moving crowd, smiling at those who happen to be staring at the unfamiliar sight of my wearing head scarf and stooping to ruffle the hair of children being taken out for a walk.