Assalamualaikum w.b.t
It’s been a
while. I miss writing, but lately I’ve been very lazy and that’s not good
considering I wasted 10 days of my holidays already. I mean, come on Miya, you
can do better than just being ‘lazy’. Fast forward, I survived my first semester in UNSW. Thank god. It was challenging, but worth every struggle alhamdulillah. Wtv happened, happened. Wtv the future holds for me, I'm ready. (whispers: hopefully.)
So, today’s 4th Syawal and I have
no open houses to go to. Well of course, since I'm not celebrating raya in Malaysia this year. Truthfully, looking at my friends’ photos made me feel so jealous
like omg I wish I was there to eat everything! Funny, because four months ago I
was the one who insisted not to go home because ‘tak nak bazirkan duit’ and ‘tak
rindu rumah sangat’. Well, jokes on me. I spent the whole week before Raya
being a complete mess. Those who know me well may have felt weird seeing me
like this. Because in KMB, I never felt homesick. But I guess raya is an
exception. Besides, bila lagi nak merasa makanan best-best ni kan? I miss my
mom’s rendang and soto, that’s for sure. It’s also the month where everyone would
gather and spread kindness; no hate, no judge, and kosong-kosong semua. We all
make mistakes. I know raya should not be the only time where we would apologize
to everyone but sometimes, having a month serving that as the main purpose really
plays a significant role in shaping us all as a society. Ada jugak kata many people
say sorry just for the sake of budaya, yelah dah raya kan, takkan lah nak buat
muka batu and tak minta maaf dgn orang keliling kan? Honestly, I tell you, just
reflect upon yourself. Are you being honest or are you just conforming? And
really, is there a better time to say sorry? Kita ni kadang- kadang ego, malu.
Ego lah sebenarnya. Just man up and apologise, okay? Be it your friends or
jiran belakang rumah. Dah dah la tu gaduh. Tak elok… tak manis. And don’t bother
about people’s honesty. What matters is yours. If you’re up to be a better
person, then don’t let doubts poison your mind, heart and soul. You. Think about
you, who you are, what you’ve done and who you’ll become. Sometimes when
strangers say “maaf zahir dan batin” to you and you may think, “dah kenapa dorang
ni mintak maaf dgn aku sedangkan kita tak pernah kenal selama ni”, it serves
for whatever happened in the past, or might happen in the future too. Sometimes
we make mistakes at times we never even realize it. Kita manusia biasa je. Kita
tak sempurna pun. Just accept and move forward.
So, I went on social
media today and I saw someone posting about how he hated this kind of
gatherings and how he finds it annoying when people complain about not going
back for raya because to him, living the dream life is what matters and his
dream life is living the ‘out-of-the-norm’ life. Honestly, please, if that’s what
you like then so be it. It’s Syawal; a month of fostering love and compassion among
all Muslims. No hate, please? And so what if people complain about not going
back? They have that kind of sentiment to Raya celebration, and if you don’t,
then best be on your way, brother. You don’t understand what these people are
going through. Some people miss their loved ones more than you do. Ada yang
mungkin atok nenek dia dah tua uzur, tunggu masa je nak pergi. And as a student
studying overseas, you’ll never know if this is their last raya, or your last
raya. Kita tak tahu, semua Allah swt je yang tahu. And mungkin ni lah peluang
terakhir nak sambut raya sama-sama. Ada orang dah bertahun-tahun tak balik
raya, duit biasiswa cukup utk buat makan minum, bayar sewa je. Ada yang family
tak mampu pun nak belanja ticket balik rumah, unlike most people. Ada yang
family tak dapat nak datang lawat kita kat oversea sbb takde duit. Ada yang
takde family pun… Kita manalah tahu kan? :’( So please everyone, be considerate... Where's the love?
First time raya di perantauan. How do I feel? Sakit, aduhai… hahaha. Family semua duk jauh, but I’m still blessed. I spent my 1st Eid at Malaysian Hall with all my colleagues. It was fun although it was a short meeting. Sampai- sampai dah sibuk nak photoshoot dah semua orang. Makan pun tak sempat. Tapi dapat jugalah merasa makanan kat Malaysian Hall, sedaaaaaaap (dah lapar, mengidam, semua sedap kan? hohoooo).
Habis je pergi
Malaysian Hall I was thinking about going back home and sambung mereputz but
no, housemates ajak pergi rumah senior lelaki (tak kenal pun, but sokay la
janji dpt makanan free hehehehehehhehehe) and maigosh, they cooked nasi kerabu
ok nasi kerabu. As a Kelantanese, that’s like HEAVENNNNN. Sedap pulak tu T.T
Then….balik
rumah. Baru nak mereput, tetiba teringat housemates nak buat open house. It was
a really random idea, and initially I thought it was a joke or something, then
suddenly we spent hours of meeting just to figure out what to buy, what to
cook, etc. And really, it’s not easy. Duduk pulak negara mat salleh, nak cari
gula melaka la kerisik la belacan la daun kesum la, mula la gelabah semua
orang, nak cari benda benda tu sume kat mana, semua blur. Haha. I know, y’all
be saying ‘duhhhh. Asian market?’ yes, alhamdulillah jumpa juga (walaupun harga
dia mashaAllah berlinangan air mata memandang) but sadly daun kesum tak jumpa
jumpa jugak. Nasiblah. Issue lagi satu periuk. Mana nak cari periuk besar besar
nak pakai sekali je? Maka satu malam itu kami sekawan menelefon semua jiran-jiran
tetangga untuk minta pinjamkan periuk and blender besar, plus bonus lagi senduk
nak mencedok kuah nanti. It was not my job so I was relaxed, chill je. But I was
in charge of making kuah kacang, and I gotta tell you this: it was CHAOTIC. Bertarung
dgn minyak memercik dgn sgt brutal nya, OMG minyak, work with me please. But overall
it tasted okay so I was a happy whale hayun hayun senduk in the air
wiwiwiwiwiwiiiii.
So 2nd
Eid happened. One word: PERFECTION. I never thought organizing our very own
open house would be this fun! Although most people who came are those I never
know of, but those whom I know made my raya sooooo soooo much better. Ada Mek,
Bella, Ezlan, Nigel, Alip, Rifdi, Burn, Farish, Stizz, Den and my juniors
kesayangan. Sounds like not much but they made my day, really. Although I did
wish the others were there too, like Audy, Anwar, Syahira, Elis, Iqma, etc etc…
But I’m sure they’re having fun at home too with their families. Nothing beats
home, really.
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| ok meet mak jemah dan mak senah, y'all |
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| with the legendary forsyth oppas. missing the other 2. |
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| juniors kesayangaaaaaan. miss them so much. |
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| Miya dgn peace sign nya berpisah tiada --' |
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| and there's ezlan daripada jadi photographer tetiba masuk gambar sekali hahaha |
It’s a wrap
then! Alhamdulillah. About 90 people came and we successfully nailed it. Everyone
said the food was great, and I’d like to thank Rifdi too sbb tlg bawakan
meehoon tomyam mak dia masak, which was soooo yummy. I miss 2nd Eid
already and I guess that’s the beauty of celebrating raya at perantauan. Yes,
it’s hard not to go back. It’s painful to even listen to raya songs without
remembering those who we love so dearly. It’s upsetting to know they’re
together and you’re not there to join them. Yes. It might not be the same as
celebrating raya at home with your family, but celebrating it with your friends
can be great too. If you can’t find joy in the greatest things, remember that
happiness can also be found in even the smallest things. And sometimes joy
comes at times when you least expected it.
For that, I would like to thank
everyone who came the other day and I wish everyone is blessed with a wonderful
and heartwarming Syawal. As a wrap of my raya post, a word to all muslims out
there, sama-samalah kita hayati bulan mulia ni by trying to become a better
person than who we are today and never stop spreading love and kindness to
everyone around us, now that the world needs it most.
Next Syawal, should I stay?
NO WAY. KELATE MU TUNGGU AKU
MARI!
sekian. miya salzihan