Friday, January 13, 2006

EidulAdha 2006

It was a sombre -okay maybe im exaggerating- morning...the sound of the takbir ringing throughout the whole valley in the early morn with the sun streaming through my window was something to really behold.

I love Eid. And this one was no exception. It means family, food and fun...all about the family i say.

However this Eid was a little different. I spent it with close friends. Sans the usual Eid fare. And instead of watching sheep, we watched cows -or what was left of it i guess- and fish.

Yes a strange combination this year. Something to remember 2006 by.

The morning Eid prayers was attended by all *mostly the foreign students* and the day was definitely greeted with much fervour. I got to see little arab, african, thai children all in their respective attires. I even saw TWO small african boys garbed in a pilot's attire! With the saudi crest on their pilot caps. It was defintely something different from what i was used to.

Of course the singaporean students weren't left out. Dressed to the nines in our glam-glam baju kurungs and jubah's or abaya's with special scarves JUST for the day. We snapped pictures as soon as the prayers were over - insyaAllah i'll have them up when time permits and when the servers don't go wonky on me- Joined by the ever so affable Uthman from Eritrea, we set off for breakfast.

Unfortunately, breakfast was the downer of the day. We were served NOT with lontong or lemang and rendang but instead we each received a polystrene pack which contained 2 idli(s), 4 pieces of extremely salty fries and one hotdog cut into half. That was it. Honest.

The looks on our faces were simply PRICELESS. Okaylah, i mean how much do exactly expect when you pay RM2 for a whole day's worth of food right? Even one of my compatriot's mom said, "Makan aje lah"

So we ate. But really, were were hungry. When they say its a day of sacrifice, it literally means sacrifice. Minus the breakfast fiasco, we were served up a pretty sumptuous lunch. Nasi bukhari - something like nasi minyak- with mutton stew and fried chicken. That was definitely the best thing i had the whole day.

After breakfast we went to see the ritual slaughter. This time instead of the usual sheep we got cows. But we got to the venue pretty late and my 11.30am all the cows were slaughtered. So all we got to see were the men cutting up the meat for distribution. It was quite an educational experience. They skinned the cow and laid out the hide to make like a mat for them to divide up the parts of the cow. They used an AXE! to cut open the ribs. It sounded like a woodsman chopping up wood. I know it sounds really gory but it was on a certain level spiritual for me.

After which my friends and I all went to lepak at my room and take a short nap. We were all pretty knackered after a really early start to the day. After the nap, we all got ready for lunch n made tracks to the economics faculty canteen. After zuhr, we all went to KLCC's new attraction, the Aquaria. No big deal lah, its like Sentosa's Underwater World -orang tgk kambing kiter tgk ikan- we looked at fish till we were all seasick. I mean literally nauseous. Who wouldn't be when the reinforced glass was super thick to magnify the appearance of the fish and to keep us all safe frm the sharks. I saw at least 5. Huge ones. Reef sharks etc, etc. Not only was the glass thick but it was curved. Haiyoh. It took me at least an hour to NOT to feel nauseous again.

Those were pretty much the highlights of the day.

Of course we took pictures. Lots. Nice ones. Really memorble ones. Especially the one in front of the Admin. Building with IIUM on the wall and the gigantic stone steps. With the trademark 'cyber' pose with the Indonesian students. Really nice.

Not forgetting the pic we took at the roundabout. Hehehe...thanks to the practically deserted campus, we got to hog the roads all to ourselves. All the minah menjeng poses. Haiz. I know im going to miss all these when i start my working life. Better enjoy EVERY single minute.

I love you gerls! Shasha, Kho, Aisyah Spec (or is it contacts now?), Suli Som Sawit, Ilham, Kak Sarhani, you guys have definitely coloured my life! TForever!

Yang tau aper makna nyer senyap-senyap je lah eh...hurhur CENSORED you!


Fin.

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