Ramadan Diary: Day 8
Posted by Kim the ESL Tutor ramadan diaries, the australian Saturday, August 29, 2009
In the name of God, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ | Peace be with you السلام عليكم
(Original post at the KimDonesia blog here.)
Day 8
WOOHOO! I went out for iftar tonight - Pakistani again! However, let me tell you about my day. It was a typical day. I woke up, went about my daily home stuff and prayer, then started getting ready to go out at about 3pm since it takes me a while to get ready and I was planning to stop in at the shopping centre.
After I prayed Asr and got my hijab on, I went out. When I got to the shopping centre, this chick was full-on staring at me but what else is new? I usually just look down and avoid people's stares. I feel too vulnerable when I'm by myself to stare back.
I borrowed a plastic container from my Turkish friend to take some Turkish food home one night, and I had to return it to her because she reminded me about it last weekend. Haha. Oops. So, I took the plastic container to the kebab store, and then went to the supermarket and got myself a bottle of water to drink for iftar.
I got to the Neighbourhood Centre where the Pakistani iftar was being held, and was held last time. I was early - it was only 5pm when I arrived, and people usually start arriving at about 5.30pm since we break our fast at around 5.45pm (I know, Aussie's awesome like that). So, I helped them set up the tables and chairs.
People started arriving. The only other non-Pakistani lady there was an Egyptian lady. We all broke our fast with dates, I took a huge swig of water and everyone got up to eat the appetisers. Oh, I didn't make the same mistake this time! Last Pakistani iftar, I thought the appetisers were the actual meal so I filled my plate. I filled my plate again this time, but made sure there was still room for the next two courses. After the appetisers, we prayed Maghrib and dug in to the actual main dinner!
The lovely spread of Pakistani food, as well as
the Egyptian sister's beshamel lasagne dish.
(Sorry about the bad camera quality, I forgot to take
my digital camera with me so used my cellphone instead!)
DESSERT! Yummooooo.
Coconut pudding (top) and a typical
Western dish, fruit trifle (bottom).
After eating and socializing, most people went home and some of the ladies stayed back to help clean up. I helped clean up as well - grabbed dirty disposable plates, bowls, cups and utensils, then put them in a large black garbage bag!
I went home with four large slices of leftover Egyptian beshamel lasagne (for my iftar tomorrow!), and a huge plate of leftover samosas (also for tomorrow's iftar!). I also got to take home a large bottle of mango juice, and Coca Cola Zero. SCORRRRE!
By: The Australian
---
Peace & respect ★
(Original post at the KimDonesia blog here.)
Day 8
WOOHOO! I went out for iftar tonight - Pakistani again! However, let me tell you about my day. It was a typical day. I woke up, went about my daily home stuff and prayer, then started getting ready to go out at about 3pm since it takes me a while to get ready and I was planning to stop in at the shopping centre.
After I prayed Asr and got my hijab on, I went out. When I got to the shopping centre, this chick was full-on staring at me but what else is new? I usually just look down and avoid people's stares. I feel too vulnerable when I'm by myself to stare back.
I borrowed a plastic container from my Turkish friend to take some Turkish food home one night, and I had to return it to her because she reminded me about it last weekend. Haha. Oops. So, I took the plastic container to the kebab store, and then went to the supermarket and got myself a bottle of water to drink for iftar.
I got to the Neighbourhood Centre where the Pakistani iftar was being held, and was held last time. I was early - it was only 5pm when I arrived, and people usually start arriving at about 5.30pm since we break our fast at around 5.45pm (I know, Aussie's awesome like that). So, I helped them set up the tables and chairs.
People started arriving. The only other non-Pakistani lady there was an Egyptian lady. We all broke our fast with dates, I took a huge swig of water and everyone got up to eat the appetisers. Oh, I didn't make the same mistake this time! Last Pakistani iftar, I thought the appetisers were the actual meal so I filled my plate. I filled my plate again this time, but made sure there was still room for the next two courses. After the appetisers, we prayed Maghrib and dug in to the actual main dinner!
Chicken, rice, springroll thing, samosa and sausage roll.
That chicken was freakin' AWESOME!!
That chicken was freakin' AWESOME!!
The lovely spread of Pakistani food, as well as
the Egyptian sister's beshamel lasagne dish.
(Sorry about the bad camera quality, I forgot to take
my digital camera with me so used my cellphone instead!)
DESSERT! Yummooooo.
Coconut pudding (top) and a typical
Western dish, fruit trifle (bottom).
SAMOSAS!
(I got to take most of them home! SCORE!)
(I got to take most of them home! SCORE!)
After eating and socializing, most people went home and some of the ladies stayed back to help clean up. I helped clean up as well - grabbed dirty disposable plates, bowls, cups and utensils, then put them in a large black garbage bag!
I went home with four large slices of leftover Egyptian beshamel lasagne (for my iftar tomorrow!), and a huge plate of leftover samosas (also for tomorrow's iftar!). I also got to take home a large bottle of mango juice, and Coca Cola Zero. SCORRRRE!
Beshamel!
Samosas!
I have come to really enjoy the company of Pakistanis and that's not just because I'm biased, either, due to being engaged to one.
By: The Australian
---
Peace & respect ★
Brothers, question not to ask sisters: "Are you fasting?"
Posted by Kim the ESL Tutor ramadan diaries, the australian Friday, August 28, 2009
In the name of God, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ | Peace be with you السلام عليكم
(Original post on the KimDonesia blog here.)
By: The Australian
---
Peace & respect ★
(Original post on the KimDonesia blog here.)
I believe that brothers should just refrain from asking sisters, "Are you fasting today?"
I mean, come on. Why wouldn't we be? Fasting during Ramadan is compulsory.
Plus, if we weren't fasting, it'd probably be for one reason and it's embarrassing for sisters to answer that question.
If we weren't, here are some possible responses:
LESSON LEARNT: Do not ask sisters if they are fasting! It's personal!!
(By the way, I am fasting, just putting the topic out there in consideration of other sisters.)
I mean, come on. Why wouldn't we be? Fasting during Ramadan is compulsory.
Plus, if we weren't fasting, it'd probably be for one reason and it's embarrassing for sisters to answer that question.
If we weren't, here are some possible responses:
- "Yes, of course I'm fasting!" (Lying, which is a sin, to avoid embarrassment.)
- "No... I'm not fasting." (At risk of the brother shaking his head, saying "tsk tsk" and thinking she's one of those Muslims who call themselves Muslims just because their great-great-great-grandparents were, however do not practice Islam.)
- "Nope, I'm not fasting today! I have my period!!" (Embarrassing the brother. MUAHAHAHAHA!! I like this option best, it's fun to embarrass people as a result of asking personal questions.)
- "It's none of your business, you perverted freak!" (Also one of my favourites.)
LESSON LEARNT: Do not ask sisters if they are fasting! It's personal!!
(By the way, I am fasting, just putting the topic out there in consideration of other sisters.)
By: The Australian
---
Peace & respect ★
Ramadan Diary: Day 4
Posted by Kim the ESL Tutor ramadan diaries, the australian Tuesday, August 25, 2009
In the name of God, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ | Peace be with you السلام عليكم
(Original post at the KimDonesia blog here.)
Day 4
Time for another boring day recount... Dang, I'm a bit worried about these Ramadan posts since they're going to prove to you that I don't really have that much of an exciting life when I'm in my hometown. There's seriously nothing to do here.
But anyway... I stayed up until Fajr. I did my suhoor which was cereal (Special K) and water, then prayed and went to sleep after that.
I woke up at about 1.30pm again, prayed Zuhr and went online to talk to my fiance for a bit. Before I knew it, iftar came around so I broke my fast with a couple of dates and some water... Wallahi, dates have never tasted so good.
I had a couple of snacks to fill my belly some more, prayed Maghrib and waited for the family to come around for dinner. My mum cooked curry for dinner.
I got my hijab on since my older sister's fiance was present, and ate dinner with my family. I found out just tonight that Lady Gaga was born a female... but also a male. However, she's more female than male. Strange, huh?
By: The Australian
---
Peace & respect ★
(Original post at the KimDonesia blog here.)
Day 4
Time for another boring day recount... Dang, I'm a bit worried about these Ramadan posts since they're going to prove to you that I don't really have that much of an exciting life when I'm in my hometown. There's seriously nothing to do here.
But anyway... I stayed up until Fajr. I did my suhoor which was cereal (Special K) and water, then prayed and went to sleep after that.
I woke up at about 1.30pm again, prayed Zuhr and went online to talk to my fiance for a bit. Before I knew it, iftar came around so I broke my fast with a couple of dates and some water... Wallahi, dates have never tasted so good.
I had a couple of snacks to fill my belly some more, prayed Maghrib and waited for the family to come around for dinner. My mum cooked curry for dinner.
I got my hijab on since my older sister's fiance was present, and ate dinner with my family. I found out just tonight that Lady Gaga was born a female... but also a male. However, she's more female than male. Strange, huh?
By: The Australian
---
Peace & respect ★
Ramadan Diary: Day 3
Posted by Kim the ESL Tutor ramadan, ramadan diaries, the australian Monday, August 24, 2009
In the name of God, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ Peace be with you السلام عليكم
(Original post at the KimDonesia blog here.)
Day 3
Yippee, Day 3 of Ramadan has been successfully completed! As I didn't break my fast with others today, nothing really exciting happened. Last night (or this morning) I got to sleep at about 3am and had to wake up for Fajr at about 5am. I didn't do suhoor unfortunately, since I had eaten a lot of food last night and wasn't feel very well.
After Fajr, I went back to sleep until about 12 noon. I talked to my fiance on MSN and chilled in IslamTalk (chatroom on Stickam) for a while and prayed Zuhr. I then cleaned my room, went back online, and drove my sister to the doctor's.
I prayed Asr, went online for a while (See? No life), looked up some Pakistani recipes, and waited for iftar... Before iftar, I decided to cut open some dates, remove the seed and put a bit of honey in each of them. When iftar came around, I ate these dates and realized that they tasted better without the honey. Next time, I'm going to put cream in them - I had creamed dates last night for iftar, and they were heavenly.
I ate some peanuts to fill my belly a bit, prayed Maghrib, and waited for my mum to cook the dinner. As my family are non-Muslims, I have to wait a couple of hours until I can have a proper meal as my mum cooks for the family quite late. For dinner I ate salad, lamb chops and three-cheese pasta. Yummooo!
So... Yup. In a moment I'm about to pray. Nothing really that exciting happened today but I promised to keep you guys updated with my daily Ramadan experiences.
By: The Australian
---
Peace & respect ★
(Original post at the KimDonesia blog here.)
Day 3
Yippee, Day 3 of Ramadan has been successfully completed! As I didn't break my fast with others today, nothing really exciting happened. Last night (or this morning) I got to sleep at about 3am and had to wake up for Fajr at about 5am. I didn't do suhoor unfortunately, since I had eaten a lot of food last night and wasn't feel very well.
After Fajr, I went back to sleep until about 12 noon. I talked to my fiance on MSN and chilled in IslamTalk (chatroom on Stickam) for a while and prayed Zuhr. I then cleaned my room, went back online, and drove my sister to the doctor's.
I prayed Asr, went online for a while (See? No life), looked up some Pakistani recipes, and waited for iftar... Before iftar, I decided to cut open some dates, remove the seed and put a bit of honey in each of them. When iftar came around, I ate these dates and realized that they tasted better without the honey. Next time, I'm going to put cream in them - I had creamed dates last night for iftar, and they were heavenly.
I ate some peanuts to fill my belly a bit, prayed Maghrib, and waited for my mum to cook the dinner. As my family are non-Muslims, I have to wait a couple of hours until I can have a proper meal as my mum cooks for the family quite late. For dinner I ate salad, lamb chops and three-cheese pasta. Yummooo!
So... Yup. In a moment I'm about to pray. Nothing really that exciting happened today but I promised to keep you guys updated with my daily Ramadan experiences.
By: The Australian
---
Peace & respect ★
Ramadan Diary: Day 2
Posted by Kim the ESL Tutor ramadan, ramadan diaries, the australian Monday, August 24, 2009
In the name of God, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ Peace be with you السلام عليكم
(Original post on the KimDonesia blog here.)
Day 2
(Mmmm, samosas, yummy! Sorry if I'm tempting anybody who is fasting with this picture... Also, I didn't take this picture, I found it with Sheikh Google so don't compliment me on amazing photography skills)
Well, well, well... I have now successfully completed Day 2 of my fasting and I'm feeling quite good about myself. Again, I went to sleep after suhoor and Fajr prayer then woke up at approximately 1.30pm. I prayed Zuhr, chilled online for a bit since I have no life, then started getting ready for the Pakistani iftar.
After I had finished getting ready, I realized that I still had time and hadn't watched the full Ramadan Collaboration video yet (I know - I was promoting it yet hadn't even seen it!) due to my crappy internet connection. So, I decided to stop in at the town library where they have wireless internet before heading over to iftar.
I sat in my car in the carpark in front of the library and tried to load the video there but it failed, so I got out of the car and sat on the seats in front of the library... IT STILL WOULDN'T WORK! What's the point of having wireless if it doesn't work, LIBRARY!!? This noob on the other seat was probably using it all up - what a noob. Some Japanese guy on the other seat, not the noob but another noob, looked pretty frustrated with the internet too.
It got to a point where I just gave up, got up and left. When I got into my car, the annoyed Japanese guy got up too and drove off. Haha. Stupid other noob using up all the wireless!!
I looked around for this place where the iftar was going to be held at, called the Neighbourhood Centre. I found it and was about to park on the side of the road when I realized that there was no space to park since there were a bunch of driveways, so I confused the people driving behind me by driving on the side of the road and turning the corner. Haha, they must've been thinking, "Stupid Muslims don't know how to drive!!" Pfft. Whatevs.
I ended up driving around the block again, parked in the Neighbourhood Centre carpark and went inside. I sat down at the kiddy table because they were the only ones sitting (What? One of the Pakistani ladies told me to sit down somewhere and I didn't want to look like a loner). I ended up deep in conversation about Islam with one of the girls, who was about three years younger than me, for the rest of the night.
One of the brothers in the male section next door called the adhan, and we all grabbed dates and ate them (well obviously, what else are you gonna do with dates?). These dates weren't just any dates - they were pitted, and stuffed with cream. Oh man, they were good.
Then, they brought out the food and we dug in! I had a full plate of all sorts of stuff like samosas, some awesome chicken pie, chicken, some weird squishy thing and rice. I avoided the fruit salad, however... One of the Pakistani ladies told me that it had pepper and chilli in it, which I thought would be too extreme for my Gori tongue.
After I sat back with a full stomach, the Egyptian sister beside me said, "Are you full? That wasn't the actual dinner, those were just the appetisers!" I was totally shocked. Yo, somebody could've told me!! Though, I was happy because I still had room for more. I said to the Egyptian sister, "Okay, well this can be my suhoor as well, then!!" Man. I'm such a whitey.
I prayed Maghrib after explaining my reversion story to a Malay sister in the prayer area, then socialized for a bit until the real dinner came out. I only had a little bit of it though... I had naan bread, rice and something that I think was lamb and some other green vegetable.
I socialized some more, admired all the gorgeous shalwar kameez, then had dessert... Oh man, dessert was amazing - it was something chocolate-ish that I wanted more of but avoided because I don't want to be as big as a sumo wrestler by the end of Ramadan. We then had some tea, socialized, blah blah, and left.
I explained to a revert friend of mine who was there that I hadn't been able to watch the Ramadan collaboration video yet because of my slow internet, and she invited me to her house after so that I could watch it.
I followed her car to her place (after my car hit the gutter and made a terrible crushing sound on the way out, making me cringe and worry that I killed my back left tyre) where I watched the Ramadan collaboration video, which was awesome by the way, and talked for a bit with my revert friend about Islam and such.
I went home at about 10pm, prayed Isha (yeah, I know... I prayed it late) and here I am, sitting at the computer, yet again... Tonight I'm contemplating getting a couple of hours of sleep before suhoor.
By: The Australian
---
Peace & respect ★
(Original post on the KimDonesia blog here.)
Day 2
(Mmmm, samosas, yummy! Sorry if I'm tempting anybody who is fasting with this picture... Also, I didn't take this picture, I found it with Sheikh Google so don't compliment me on amazing photography skills)
Well, well, well... I have now successfully completed Day 2 of my fasting and I'm feeling quite good about myself. Again, I went to sleep after suhoor and Fajr prayer then woke up at approximately 1.30pm. I prayed Zuhr, chilled online for a bit since I have no life, then started getting ready for the Pakistani iftar.
After I had finished getting ready, I realized that I still had time and hadn't watched the full Ramadan Collaboration video yet (I know - I was promoting it yet hadn't even seen it!) due to my crappy internet connection. So, I decided to stop in at the town library where they have wireless internet before heading over to iftar.
I sat in my car in the carpark in front of the library and tried to load the video there but it failed, so I got out of the car and sat on the seats in front of the library... IT STILL WOULDN'T WORK! What's the point of having wireless if it doesn't work, LIBRARY!!? This noob on the other seat was probably using it all up - what a noob. Some Japanese guy on the other seat, not the noob but another noob, looked pretty frustrated with the internet too.
It got to a point where I just gave up, got up and left. When I got into my car, the annoyed Japanese guy got up too and drove off. Haha. Stupid other noob using up all the wireless!!
I looked around for this place where the iftar was going to be held at, called the Neighbourhood Centre. I found it and was about to park on the side of the road when I realized that there was no space to park since there were a bunch of driveways, so I confused the people driving behind me by driving on the side of the road and turning the corner. Haha, they must've been thinking, "Stupid Muslims don't know how to drive!!" Pfft. Whatevs.
I ended up driving around the block again, parked in the Neighbourhood Centre carpark and went inside. I sat down at the kiddy table because they were the only ones sitting (What? One of the Pakistani ladies told me to sit down somewhere and I didn't want to look like a loner). I ended up deep in conversation about Islam with one of the girls, who was about three years younger than me, for the rest of the night.
One of the brothers in the male section next door called the adhan, and we all grabbed dates and ate them (well obviously, what else are you gonna do with dates?). These dates weren't just any dates - they were pitted, and stuffed with cream. Oh man, they were good.
Then, they brought out the food and we dug in! I had a full plate of all sorts of stuff like samosas, some awesome chicken pie, chicken, some weird squishy thing and rice. I avoided the fruit salad, however... One of the Pakistani ladies told me that it had pepper and chilli in it, which I thought would be too extreme for my Gori tongue.
After I sat back with a full stomach, the Egyptian sister beside me said, "Are you full? That wasn't the actual dinner, those were just the appetisers!" I was totally shocked. Yo, somebody could've told me!! Though, I was happy because I still had room for more. I said to the Egyptian sister, "Okay, well this can be my suhoor as well, then!!" Man. I'm such a whitey.
I prayed Maghrib after explaining my reversion story to a Malay sister in the prayer area, then socialized for a bit until the real dinner came out. I only had a little bit of it though... I had naan bread, rice and something that I think was lamb and some other green vegetable.
I socialized some more, admired all the gorgeous shalwar kameez, then had dessert... Oh man, dessert was amazing - it was something chocolate-ish that I wanted more of but avoided because I don't want to be as big as a sumo wrestler by the end of Ramadan. We then had some tea, socialized, blah blah, and left.
I explained to a revert friend of mine who was there that I hadn't been able to watch the Ramadan collaboration video yet because of my slow internet, and she invited me to her house after so that I could watch it.
I followed her car to her place (after my car hit the gutter and made a terrible crushing sound on the way out, making me cringe and worry that I killed my back left tyre) where I watched the Ramadan collaboration video, which was awesome by the way, and talked for a bit with my revert friend about Islam and such.
I went home at about 10pm, prayed Isha (yeah, I know... I prayed it late) and here I am, sitting at the computer, yet again... Tonight I'm contemplating getting a couple of hours of sleep before suhoor.
By: The Australian
---
Peace & respect ★
Ramadan Diary: Day 1
Posted by Kim the ESL Tutor ramadan, ramadan diaries, the australian Monday, August 24, 2009
In the name of God, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ Peace be with you السلام عليكم
(Original post on the KimDonesia blog here)
Day 1
I've decided that I'm going to start a Ramadan Diary and talk about my experiences during Ramadan. Not that anything that exciting has happened so far, it's still cool to let people know what goes on in the life of this Australian Muslim revert.
I'm writing this blog post a bit late, but insha'Allah I'm going to be writing in this diary late at night when the day is over.
Sooo, what happened on Day 1? I'm a lonely Muslim in my family, and nobody cooks for suhoor because everybody's sound asleep - non-Muslims, what do you expect? Also, I'm a lousy cook so I just had some microwaved canned spaghetti with grated cheese on top, chai tea and two glasses of water. Believe it or not, this filled me up reeeal good... To the point that I was laying on the bed, clutching my stomach before Fajr prayer.
Then I prayed Fajr, and went to sleep. Yeah. I went to sleep. Whaaat!? I have insomnia, so when I go to bed I don't actually sleep for a few hours - not until the early hours of the morning, and then it's too hard for me to wake up for Fajr. So, I've been staying up all day, all night, and going to bed after Fajr then waking at noon for Zuhr prayer. Luckily I'm a lazy bum until TAFE (college) starts in September.
Sooo, after going to sleep, I woke up at about 1.30pm and that was about half of the day gone. I prayed sunnahs and fard of Zuhr and chilled online for a bit.
I had been invited to go to a big iftar thing with the Muslim community in my town, so I prayed Asr and started getting ready at 3.30pm as it takes me about an hour and a half to get ready to go out. I left the house at 5pm, and started looking for this hall that everybody was meant to be going to.
I drove past the hall and saw that there was only one car there, so I decided to drive around for a bit until about 5.15pm when there would be more people there and I wouldn't be standing around like a noob.
When I got to the hall, I saw tables filled with food and there was a tall sheet/curtain in the middle of the hall to indicate the gender segregation. A Turkish family was rushing around, putting things on the tables. I asked if there was anything I could do to help, and a lady said, "No, it's okay! We're almost finished." So, I just watched until people started arriving.
A bunch of sisterly kissy-huggy greetings later, my friend arrived with her sister-in-law. I love her sister-in-law, she's adorable - she's still learning English, and I was trying to explain to her that this was my second Ramadan.
Me: *Holds two fingers up to my face.* "This is my second Ramadan!"
Her: *Noticing my fingers, her eyes go wide and she looks shocked* "YOU SMOKE?!"
Me: "Huh?" *Noticing her looking at my fingers* "Ooh, no, no!! This is Ramadan number two!"
Her: "Oooh... So not smoke... Yesterday... And today... Two?"
Me: "Nooo, this year and last year... Two!"
Her: "Ooooh!!!" *smiling*
Hehe... Yeah... Also, I saw some Indonesian ladies. One came up to me and gave me the kissy-huggy greeting, and she said, "Oooh, this is so nice!! I come here from my country and I not know many Muslim, oh so nice!" I asked her where she was from, and she told me she was from Indonesia. My heart skipped a beat and I thought to myself that this was going to be my opportunity to show off my Indonesian skills!
I opened my mouth to speak some Indonesian but realized that I had completely lost confidence with my speaking skills. Don't get me wrong, I'm fluent in Indonesian and have been able to speak it for about 2 years now however I haven't actually spoken Indonesian so long that I get nervous... I felt like rubbish but then I thought, hey, it's Ramadan, be happy!
When most people had arrived we sat down and waited for the adhan to come from the other side of the curtain - the male side. My friend's sister-in-law said, "This is 'ezan'! You know 'ezan'?" Haha, I love Turkish people. When the adhan had finished, we all broke our fast and I went with a bunch of Pakistani sisters to a space of floor to pray Maghrib.
The sisters put down a big sheet for the ladies to pray on, we prayed Maghrib, and I went back to my seat and started stuffing my face with amazing Turkish food. We had dolma, lentil soup, chicken on kebab sticks, rice which had been cooked with something beautiful tasting, and beans. For dessert, we had baklava, dates, Turkish delight and some delicious ball things covered in coconut. I should have taken photos, darn!
Obviously the people who cooked and organized the iftar were Turkish. I love Turkish food, it's amazing! As I'm writing this diary entry on my 2nd day of fasting, I'll let you all know that tonight I'm going to a Pakistani iftar insha'Allah! I can't wait, I've never had Pakistani food before but I may as well get used to it since I'm engaged to a Pakistani. Hehe!
By: The Australian
---
Peace & respect ★
(Original post on the KimDonesia blog here)
Day 1
I've decided that I'm going to start a Ramadan Diary and talk about my experiences during Ramadan. Not that anything that exciting has happened so far, it's still cool to let people know what goes on in the life of this Australian Muslim revert.
I'm writing this blog post a bit late, but insha'Allah I'm going to be writing in this diary late at night when the day is over.
Sooo, what happened on Day 1? I'm a lonely Muslim in my family, and nobody cooks for suhoor because everybody's sound asleep - non-Muslims, what do you expect? Also, I'm a lousy cook so I just had some microwaved canned spaghetti with grated cheese on top, chai tea and two glasses of water. Believe it or not, this filled me up reeeal good... To the point that I was laying on the bed, clutching my stomach before Fajr prayer.
Then I prayed Fajr, and went to sleep. Yeah. I went to sleep. Whaaat!? I have insomnia, so when I go to bed I don't actually sleep for a few hours - not until the early hours of the morning, and then it's too hard for me to wake up for Fajr. So, I've been staying up all day, all night, and going to bed after Fajr then waking at noon for Zuhr prayer. Luckily I'm a lazy bum until TAFE (college) starts in September.
Sooo, after going to sleep, I woke up at about 1.30pm and that was about half of the day gone. I prayed sunnahs and fard of Zuhr and chilled online for a bit.
I had been invited to go to a big iftar thing with the Muslim community in my town, so I prayed Asr and started getting ready at 3.30pm as it takes me about an hour and a half to get ready to go out. I left the house at 5pm, and started looking for this hall that everybody was meant to be going to.
I drove past the hall and saw that there was only one car there, so I decided to drive around for a bit until about 5.15pm when there would be more people there and I wouldn't be standing around like a noob.
When I got to the hall, I saw tables filled with food and there was a tall sheet/curtain in the middle of the hall to indicate the gender segregation. A Turkish family was rushing around, putting things on the tables. I asked if there was anything I could do to help, and a lady said, "No, it's okay! We're almost finished." So, I just watched until people started arriving.
A bunch of sisterly kissy-huggy greetings later, my friend arrived with her sister-in-law. I love her sister-in-law, she's adorable - she's still learning English, and I was trying to explain to her that this was my second Ramadan.
Me: *Holds two fingers up to my face.* "This is my second Ramadan!"
Her: *Noticing my fingers, her eyes go wide and she looks shocked* "YOU SMOKE?!"
Me: "Huh?" *Noticing her looking at my fingers* "Ooh, no, no!! This is Ramadan number two!"
Her: "Oooh... So not smoke... Yesterday... And today... Two?"
Me: "Nooo, this year and last year... Two!"
Her: "Ooooh!!!" *smiling*
Hehe... Yeah... Also, I saw some Indonesian ladies. One came up to me and gave me the kissy-huggy greeting, and she said, "Oooh, this is so nice!! I come here from my country and I not know many Muslim, oh so nice!" I asked her where she was from, and she told me she was from Indonesia. My heart skipped a beat and I thought to myself that this was going to be my opportunity to show off my Indonesian skills!
I opened my mouth to speak some Indonesian but realized that I had completely lost confidence with my speaking skills. Don't get me wrong, I'm fluent in Indonesian and have been able to speak it for about 2 years now however I haven't actually spoken Indonesian so long that I get nervous... I felt like rubbish but then I thought, hey, it's Ramadan, be happy!
When most people had arrived we sat down and waited for the adhan to come from the other side of the curtain - the male side. My friend's sister-in-law said, "This is 'ezan'! You know 'ezan'?" Haha, I love Turkish people. When the adhan had finished, we all broke our fast and I went with a bunch of Pakistani sisters to a space of floor to pray Maghrib.
The sisters put down a big sheet for the ladies to pray on, we prayed Maghrib, and I went back to my seat and started stuffing my face with amazing Turkish food. We had dolma, lentil soup, chicken on kebab sticks, rice which had been cooked with something beautiful tasting, and beans. For dessert, we had baklava, dates, Turkish delight and some delicious ball things covered in coconut. I should have taken photos, darn!
Obviously the people who cooked and organized the iftar were Turkish. I love Turkish food, it's amazing! As I'm writing this diary entry on my 2nd day of fasting, I'll let you all know that tonight I'm going to a Pakistani iftar insha'Allah! I can't wait, I've never had Pakistani food before but I may as well get used to it since I'm engaged to a Pakistani. Hehe!
By: The Australian
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Peace & respect ★
Ramadan Mubarak from the Youtube sisters!
Posted by Kim the ESL Tutor our popularity, ramadan, sister bloggers, the australian, videos Saturday, August 22, 2009
In the name of God, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ | Peace be with you السلام عليكم
By: The Australian
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Peace & respect ★
A bunch of sisters from Youtube would like to say "RAMADAN MUBARAK" to all of you!!
Sisters in the video:
Englishrosemuslim
fatimachan
kittykattykoo
crazzyally
KimDonesia (myself!!)
Ayah12790
sumayahrose
munkyjam91
thevintagegoth
fatimazhara18
Sisters in the video:
Englishrosemuslim
fatimachan
kittykattykoo
crazzyally
KimDonesia (myself!!)
Ayah12790
sumayahrose
munkyjam91
thevintagegoth
fatimazhara18
(For those viewing this blog entry on Muxlim.com, you will find the embedded video on Youtube if you click here. Insha'Allah the video will be up on Muxlim TV soon if I can get it to work!)
By: The Australian
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Peace & respect ★
