About Me

Welcome to my blog! Let me introduce myself. I am the Caspian Princess. I was born in Teheran, Iran and left right before the Revolution at the age of nine. My family and I set up shop in Montreal, Canada and I have continued to live here ever since.

I am a single mother in her forties, raising two bright, warm and wholesome, male souls on this planet. My eldest is fourteen and basking in his teenage years while my youngest, age nine, is still looking to me for guidance. I was in a relationship and then married to my X-husband for close to nineteen years. No drama there, other than we fell out of love, grew apart and found new interests.

I am also a teacher and a special education consultant, gainfully employed. I teach French, as a second language in an elementary school. I have been in the teaching field since 1992. Midway through my career, I went back to school and completed a Master in Education, specializing in inclusive and gifted education.

I am the eldest daughter to traditional parents. My “papa” was born in Hamadan, Iran. To describe him best would be to say he is a resourceful self-starter and has immense street savvy. He has experienced hardships in life, yet has found ways to rise above and create a new. My mother was born in Haifa, Israel. She is the essence of love, commitment, dependability, grounded and deeply rooted. She is a pillar of strength considering the hardships she has endured in her youth. I also have a younger sister, now living in Toronto, Ontario. Unlike me, she has a realistic approach to life, has a strong sense of self-concept and independence and immensely spiritual. She leads an authentic life and chooses to strip herself of the unnecessary.

I am a friend to many. I am blessed with social skills that make it quite easy for me to approach, befriend, network or shoot shit. Some connections, I have had since childhood or adolescence, while others, as a result of my work or adult life. I feel blessed each and every day to have these souls entwined in my existence. That being said, I have a fault which appears to weaken my ties at the most undesirable times. I have a low tolerance of seeing friends and family go through pain, or illness or suffering. In situations like these, I have the tendency to withdraw and pull away, fear of losing them or watching them suffer. This wasn’t always the case. I would say it became more prevalent when my marriage fell apart. Perhaps it’s the fear of being hurt and losing someone. Clearly, there is room for improvement.

I would say that my nature is to be a life-long learner. My current interest is to look more closely at human behavior, what makes humans act a certain way while feeling completely differently. I enjoy introspective learning, meaning looking within, pondering on questions of happiness and motivation, and learning about the power of intuition and law of attraction. I have always had interests in sociology and philosophy.

I have an intuitive side which I discovered around my adolescence. I have had many moments where I have placed a vision out into the universe and had it come true. I am a firm believer that what you wish for and visualize, combined with a drive and ambition will create itself. It’s a question of focus, drive, and strong belief.

I have a creative side but it rears its head at the most unusual times. For instance, when my marriage was coming to an end, I suddenly had this inexplicable urge to paint. I had never held a paint brush in my hand, other than when I was five and painted in kindergarten class. Well, the sadness pushed me to grab white sheets of cardboard and paint away. I will try to post one or two. When I experienced hardships in my marriage, I channeled my creative energy to sewing draperies to decorate my home windows. Who knew I could sew? Photographing faces and places blossomed as well. Eyes are the windows to one’s soul, hence why I like capturing faces.

Other interests include movement, such as walks in nature, hiking in the woods of Montreal or delightful mountains in Switzerland. My hike in Rigi Kulm, Switzerland and, with its 120 KM of hiking and Nordic walking paths still remains the most breathtaking panoramic view I have witnessed. I had my AHA moment while hiking there. Standing above 6000 feet, looking into the Alps, one quickly realizes “anything is possible if you set your mind to it”.

I guess you can tell that travels are part of my fabric of life. Midway through my marriage until now, I have come to embrace solo travels around this beautiful planet. Being on my own and discovering new places, hidden gems and locals invigorate me. Unlike other travelers, I plan less and allow my senses to guide me once I arrive at a new destination. I consider myself well educated, but the true learning occurs when you drift into towns and villages and learn the local ways and way of life.

I remember this one time in Rome, Italy. I was on a small day tour company, focusing mostly on the architecture of Rome. Less than an hour into the tour, 7 out of 8 people decided they couldn’t tolerate the tour guide and preferred to roam the streets on their own. I was the last one standing. I quickly gained perspective and realized I had the opportunity to see Rome privately and tailored to my needs. I began my private tour with LEONARDO the 40 yr old chain smoker who most likely could have used a shower or two. We both decided to ditch the bus and began a walking tour of all the tourist attractions such as the TREVI fountain, and Castel Sant-Angelo, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Palazzo Montecitorio.

Our conversations were free flowing. Suddenly, Leonardo tells me “let me show you Rome through a local’s eyes and not a tourist’s”. That was music to my ears. He walked me over to the oldest coffee shop in Rome, close to a century old, Sant’ Eustachio Il Caffé. A tiny place where if the walls could speak, they would have great tales to tell. Leonardo then took note of my recent interest in painting. He let me in on a local secret. The churches are hidden gems for art aficionados. So we began entering little churches off the beaten track and discovered frescos painted by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. These are the kinds of discoveries I seem to relish at this point in my life.

So there you have it, The Caspian Princess in a nutshell…