Family ...

Salam dear readers. Another long absence, sorry. I have been quite busy lately as my family has just moved here recently, about a month and a half ago.

At 9am, 3^rd November 2009, my mum and sisters arrived safely in Sana’a International Airport, Yemen. After 2 hours of being questioned in the airport they were finally able to exit and go to our new house – it was even the first time for me. Our house is located just a few minutes away from the airport.

For the first few weeks we were busy unpacking, arranging, shopping and re-arranging the house. Now, they have finally settled in, my mum is starting to work, two of my sisters schooling at Turkish International School and the younger ones are doing Tahfiz.

Currently, I am staying with them. But it won’t be for long as I might be staying at a hostel once I start in Iman University as our house is very very far and I have to be at the University before Fajr prayers!! And there will be no bus available at 4am in the morning.

Eid-ul-Adha:

This was their first ‘Eid here and also my first Eid with them here, in Yemen. We went to the house of Mr. Hardi, secretary of malaysian embassy. There were Eid prayers, breakfast then the slaughtering, and lunch. Also met the Adni students that came here for the arabic program, none of them I know, except for Harith Kamarul and his younger brother. We also went for "beraya" at some Malaysian houses.

More Change of plans for me:

Looks like I won't be going back to Malaysia next year. I am currently applying to enter Iman University this year and get in first year directly, without having to go through the 3 years of arabic language course. If I do succeed, then the plan is to study there for 4 years (4 years to get a degree, 7 years for Master) then only return back to Malaysia for my pilot studies

Malaysian Family Day:

It was held at University of Science Technology (UST), girls section on the 3rd of December. We had breakfast then there were some games which my sisters really enjoyed. After all the games there was lunch and we head back home later.

Later, on the 10^th December, was the prize-giving ceremony and dinner at University of Science and Technology Hospital Big Hall, which we also attended. First up was the dinner of course, which was Nasi Ayam. After dinner was the prize-giving ceremony, which my sisters won lots of prizes!! And we went back early.. hahah

Change of Season

Ever since last month we have entered the winter season. However, the winter this year is said to be not as cold as previous years.

One more thing to note during winter is that the prayer times have changed quite drastically!

During the summer, fajr at around 4.15am-4.30am, zuhr at around 12pm-12.15pm, ‘asr, at around 3.20pm-3.30pm, maghrib at around 6.25pm-6.40pm, isya’ at around 7.25pm-7.40pm.

During the winter, fajr at around 4.40am-5.05am, zuhr at around 11.50am-12.10pm, ‘asr at around 2.50pm-3.05pm, maghrib at around 5.35pm-5.45pm, isya’ at around 6.35pm-6.45pm.

Sometimes it feels like you have just prayed and the next prayer time has been called upon. Especially for zuhr and asr, and MOST ESCPECIALLY for maghrib and isya’.

last of all, HAPPY MAAL HIJRAH 1431! ALL THE BEST IN YOUR FUTURE UNDERTAKINGS.

Book Fair

Salam. This will be just a short post.

I have finally found a new way in dealing with my bored and free time!! Usually I would just go to the cybercafe and play some games but now I can spend it in a better way!. A few days ago there was a book fair at the Apollo International Exhibition, Sana'a. I went in hope of being able to buy some novels and a Tafsir Ibn Kathir but in English or some books regarding pilot.

The place was really huge but I wasn't interested in having a stroll, I just wanted to find the books that I want and leave and that was just what I did. I found some novels and some books regarding pilot and bought it. Unfortunately, I could not find a Tafsir Ibn Kathir translated in English.

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my mum and sisters will arrive in 2 days, Insha Allah!!

of Random of Babblings..

Hello there!! Sorry for the long absence. It was just that I had nothing to write about, nothing worth to be written here. Anyways, I am back for today and will write about what I've been through since my last post.

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Eid-ul-Adha

This year was my first time having Eid overseas, in Yemen. The Eid prayers starts quite early in the morning, at around 6.30am, some at 6am.

1st day of Eid was spent mostly with me staying in my hostel almost the whole day. Malaysians here was invited to have Eid prayers at the Embassy's house and had "bihun sup, nasi impit and kuah kacang" for breakfast.

The rest of Eid was .. .. ..

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Roommates

In August my previous roomates (Faez and Zikry) returned to Malaysia leaving me the only Malaysian in the hostel and the only one in the room. However, a few weeks later a group of new Tajikistani students came to study in Yemen and 2 of them came to stay with me in my room. At first things were bad between us but was soon sorted out. And in the end, they CHANGED ROOM!! HAHAHAHA.. Why?? Let's just say that they just can't stand our lifestyle (or you can say MY lifestyle!)

During Ramadhan another Malaysian, Shakor, came to stay in the same hostel as me but was staying in a different room, now he might be moving to come and stay with me in my room.
After Eid another Malaysian, Ismail, also came to stay in the hostel I am staying at and is currently staying with me.

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Tahfiz Al-Quran

Alhamdulillah, I have now finished 15juz, half of the Quran. Now I am targetting to finish 20juz by the end of November and is looking to start having Tafsir class once I finish 20juz.

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Family

I am anxiously waiting for 3rd November. Why?? Because that is when my mum and sisters flight to Yemen will be! huhuhuhuh. My mum and sisters will be arriving at Yemen in 13days!!!! huhuhuhuhuhu ... They will be coming to stay here.

~ I will only have a few months with them before I go back to Malaysia for my studies though =( ~

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That is all for today. Insha Allah I shall be writing a new post next week!

I tought I had lost it

... no, not my mind but my thumbdrive! At around 2.55pm today, I went to the cybercafe to chat with my sisters and mum and left around 4.55pm and had LEFT my thumb drive at the computer. (I didn't even realize as I was in a hurry to get ready and go to my step-dad's house for Iftar.

Then I came back and was looking for my thumb drive as it was not on the table (where I usually put it) and started looking for it, frantically, but to no avail. As I was trying to remember where I placed it last, it came to me that I left it at the cybercafe!! *panicking..thinking: "damn!! its lost" but still hoping that it will still be there**

I straight away got changed and went down to the cybercafe. I tought I had lost it.. Then I saw it!! hahaha... *I forgot that I changed PC**

huhuh... Alhamdulillah nobody took it, perhaps no one saw it, if someone did they would have took it OR perhaps because it is in Ramadhan so, they don't feel like taking it..haha.. Anyways, I am really glad that it is not lost!!.. (I left it for around 3-4hours)

Ramdhan 2009 in Yemen - Part 3 (Lifestyle)

Salam.

In my previous posts I had posted about I had shared about my experience of having Iftar and Terawih prayers here in Yemen. Today I will share with you about the lifestyle in Yemen during the fasting month, Ramadhan.

In Malaysia, our lifestyle doesn't change except for some:

1. We would rush home in order to be able to have Iftar with our family or have iftar together at a diner.
2. There would be tons of food bazaar that has an "infinite" amount of food, desserts and drinks which we will usually stop by on the way home and most of the time over-buy.
3. After having our dinner, we would go to the mosque for Isya' and Terawih prayers, have Moreh and return home. That would be around 10.00pm the earliest if you prayer only 8 rakaats of Terawih then go and enjoy whatever that is served for moreh.
   

But in Yemen, it's a totally different story!

1. Even if you go out at around at 12pm (which is almost time for Zuhr prayers), you can hardly see anyone or any vehicle on the street - really troubling especially if you need to get a bus to go somewhere. And Fridays certainly doesn't feel like a Friday. Waking up late and then you still see everyone sleeping, no one on the road walking to the mosque, making me doubt myself whether "Is this the right day? Is it really almost time for prayers??", wondering about it until I reach the mosque.
2. Night turns into day and day turns into night, example:

• Shops will be closed from after Subh prayers until Zuhr prayers and then again about 10 minutes from time of Iftar till Isya' prayers.

• Roads are empty in the morning. You can hardly find a bus or cab if you want to go anywhere in the mornings.
  

• Working hours are changed - starting at around 11am or after Zuhr and ends at around 5pm and will continue at 9.30pm until 1.30am. *depends on the companies though*

I guess that's it.. Bye bye.

Lastly, I WOULD LIKE TO WISH ALL OF YOU:
HAVE A NICE AND JOYFUL EID MUBARAK.

Ramadhan 2009 in Yemen - Part 2 (Terawih)

Salam.

Previously, in part 1 I have shared with you about having iftar here. Today, for part 2 I shall write about the differences of Terawih prayers between Yemen and Malaysia.

In Malaysia:

1. We would be at the mosque for Terawih on time.
2. We don't usually leave until we have prayed at least 8 rakaat of Terawih.
   
3. There is moreh (supper) after Terawih. - the most important part .. lol
   

In Yemen:

1. Most of the mosques do only 8 rakaats of Terawih, not many mosques that does it up to 20 rakaat because there is not many who are willing to do it until 20 at that time as they are all too eager to get their Qat into their mouth. =.=''
   
2. There is NO MOREH (supper) - THE MOST IMPORTANT "PART" OF TERAWIH!!! (for me..lol).
   
3. After every 4 rakaat there will be a short tazkirah or quiz session.
4. We finish Terawih prayers at around 8.40pm
   

Qat, also known as khat. Since they can't chew Qat during the day so they are in a hurry to chew it right after Terawih. Some even chew it till it's time for Sahoor.

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That is all for today. Next up will be Ramdhan in Yemen - Part 3 (lifestyle during Ramadhan).

Ramadhan 2009 in Yemen - Part 1 (Iftar)

Salam. In part 1 I shall write about the Iftar here.

Having Iftar at home.

The time for Iftar here is at 6.24pm Yemen time. So, for Iftar I would go to my step-dad's house, at around 5pm I would get ready to go to his house and by 6.10pm I would be able to reach his house if the traffic is not heavy, there was once when I arrived just on time for Iftar as the traffic were quite heavy as everyone is rushing home for Iftar - his house is quite far from my hostel.

In Yemen, the Iftar "style" is different from Malaysia. Here, we would have light foods such as samossa, dates, juices. Then we would go to the mosque and pray Maghrib. After our prayers we would immediately head home to have dinner.

Of course, dinner during Ramadhan is different from having dinner on other days.
For appetizers we have shufuud (in the pic below - in the bowl) and soup.

1st dishl: rice/macaroni

Main dish: aseed/hareesh, cheese macaroni, macaroni baked with milk and egg, and any kind of gravy to be eaten with bread.

last of all:

• fruits - grapes/pomegrenate
• pudding/jelly/cakes/custards
• bint-sahn with honey
  

During Ramadhan the mosque is always full during Maghrib and Fajr prayers!!!

Iftar in mosques.

In Malaysia, mosques would serve Iftar so anyone can just come and have Iftar at the mosque. But in Yemen it's different. Instead of people having Iftar together at mosques, they have this "Project Iftar Jama'ee (jama'ee technically means congregational)", it is mainly concentrated on giving Iftar for the poor.

So, people would donate some money to the mosque and from that money, the mosque willuse it to cook food and send it directly to the houses of those who are faqeer (poor) in that particular area! Amazing isn't it?? In my opinion it IS a very good project. (Don't ask me how they know where the houses of those poor people are and how they know that they are really poor people or not - I DON'T KNOW the answer .. hehe.. They must have set some system though)

This is all written based on the info I was able to collect from some people.
re-edited on Wednesday, 2nd September 2009.

Next post : Ramadhan in Yemen part 2 - Terawih prayers/Lifestyle(still indecisive)

Thank you. That is all for now.

3 new POSTS!!

3 NEW POSTS POSTED TODAY!!

1. PICNIC
2. SMUGGLERS
3. FUNERAL IN YEMEN
   

Ramadhan Mubarak

Salam. Ramadhan Mubarak to all Muslim brothers and sister out there.

We were supposed to start one day earlier than Malaysia but since the crescent moon was not sighted it was moved to Saturday, it was the same for Saudi as well if I'm not mistaken. Only some Arab countries like Kuwait started fasting on Friday.

And ever since the first night of Ramadhan it has been pouring (raining) like crazy, almost like in Malaysia!

That's all for now. Once Ramadhan is finish (or once I get some facts clear) I'll post up the differences of Ramadhan between Yemen and Malaysia, will divide into a few parts.



p/s: i somehow did not post this the other day .. @.@

Picnic

My step-dad is also working at an orphan center in yemen. Last year they orgainzed the first universal orphan forum, also known as muntada in Arabic. This year is the second time they are holding it.

The programs are quite much the same as last year but there were more guests this year, so much more than last year!! But this time I’m not going to tell about the whole program, just some. Only the things that are different this year.

This year the number of bride and groom is 2000! Last year was js around 1000 and this time there was a wedding party. It was held at 22 May Hall, at around 10am we went to the hall. From 10.30am till 12.30pm was just songs and there was also a stage play. After that we had lunch (I’d never miss the lunch with them for anything!!! lol) and went back to the hotel immediately. After Asr we went again because in Yemen, wedding is one WHOLE NIGHT!! Of course we did not stay the whole night. At around 9pm we went back to the hotel.

Ok, now I am getting to the topic.

My dad usually goes to his village during the weekends, so on Friday at 11am all of us (including the guests) went to his village. Upon arrival we prayed then had lunch and went to his farm. Sat on the ground and enjoyed the pomegrenates, grapes and peaches to our hearts content.

Then the next agenda was SHOOTING (without muffler – u can go deaf! Once u fire a shot u can only hear NNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG for about 10-15minutes!!) I once read in an article that there are approximately 50 MILLIONS GUNS IN YEMEN! I’m not surprised, every person would have at least an ak-47/ handgun/any other gun. And just the other day I read that the police captured a group of 104 people (they kidnap foreifners,etc) and they had 6200 guns!!

Ok,back to the topic – so, the guests took turn taking shots (the target was a can of paint – empty). {Oh, did i mention?? We had police escort when we went.} To no avail, we rarely hit the target (I shot once – my second time then). After a while (i think that the police who escorted us was getting annoyed at how we rarely hit the target, so, he took out HIS AK-47, got in position and BOOM, he fired a shot and he DID hit the target! Well, it would be quite embarrassing if he didn’t.. haha

smugglers ... =)

During our stay at Movenpick Hotel we would always smuggle up food from breakfast to our room. And since the hotel does not allow outside food we would also smuggle outside food through any means.. And have lunch in our room. hahaha

just some more food pictures ... hehe

shawarma (shawurma)

broast

Funeral in Yemen

(of course Yemeni Graveyards does not look like this)

Salam. It was the first time for me attending a funeral in Yemen. The procedures are quite different than in Malaysia.

In yemen, the funeral process is quite different than in malasia. When u arrive at the graveyard u go past his grave and while at it you put sand on his grave (they do not cover the grave totally – the visitors will play a part in it by their scooping sands onto the grave by their hands), then u will go under a gazebo and shake hands with the family members of the dead. And also, there is the giving money session – it was really crazy ok! The kids who were waiting to get the money were FIGHTING!! AT THE GRAVEYARD!!

Besides the funeral process, even their grave yards are different - unorganized, some graves are not like graves and are on the same level with the earth. And tombstones are not taken care of - I don't think they even visit their dead family members!!

That was all..

Summer Camp

Salam.

OK. So at around 5pm U.O came to pick me up to take me to the camp. The camp was held at An-Nahdah School.

The First Night:

There was nothing much. After Maghrib there was a lecture, then after Isya' we had dinner. And then there was a wedding party, the school's cook got married. After that was just sleeping time.

The next day:

We woke up at 3.30am for Tahajjud prayers. After Fajr prayers there was a bit of sleeping time then we had morning assembly (It's been years since I had one!haha *reminiscing). And then there was sports activities, competition between groups.

In the morning was our football match - we lost, the team S@#$%D!! It was a DISASTER!! After football we had breakfast. Then MO and some of his friends wanted to attend a funeral (which will be in a new post) of his teacher's father. We were supposed to be out for one and a half hour but were out for 5hours!! haha

After 'Asr was competitions again - Volleyball (it's been two years since I last played) which we lost also.. Then maghrib and tazkirah, Isya', dinner.

~~Ok. That's all. Now are my opinions about the camp~~

1. It wasn't as I had expected. It is held in a SCHOOL! ??? i thought it's allright, maybe they don't have a place that has camping facilities.. then
   
2. The programs are not good. What kind of camp has classes in it??! And it's not just one hour, it's from around 10am-12pm!
3. The participants don't choose whether they want to join the program or not! The camp managements should properly arrange activities and MOST IMPORTANTLY IS THAT THEY SHOULDN'T TAKE EXTRA MONEY! e.g: they asked the students who wants to go swimming and if you want you have to pay for it.
   
4. The students should be pre-occupied with the activities at all times! I don't remember having any free time during camps. e.g: during the competition, only some teams play. when the teams have finished their game/teams that are not having games for the day they HAVE NOTHING TO DO.
5. Eventhough they have no forest and such but they have mountains! I had expected that they would have activities like rock climbinh, hiking.
   

Lastly, I would like to have your comments on how usually summer camps (for those who have been to one before). Wherever you are from, please drop by a comment. Thank You

Football in Yemen

Salam. ( Football as in Soccer.)

As usual, on Friday mornings I go to play football with the Malaysians here. Playing football in Yemen is very different from playing in Malaysia. Here are a few points:

Firstly, you play on sand. It is quite tough to play on sand. Sometimes it's slippery, whether you are dribbling the ball or tackling an opponent. But the time that I hate the most for it to happen is when I am "accelerating" (suddenly moving to another side) while tackling an opponent.
Secondly, Yemen's altitude level is a few thousand feet above sea level. So, the oxygen level is lower than in Malaysia - which I have gotten used to by now.
Thirdly, at some parts of the field the sand quantity and level are different which makes it hard to do anything. Most people end up falling down, whether they are dribbling the ball or tackling an opponent.

Today's football wasn't like the normal Friday Football, because it was like The Pro VS The Amateur (I mean the pro team are consisted of mostly the best players here and the amateur only have a few, of which I am one of them). Being the great defender I always am I decided to join The Amateurs (mostly because I wanted to go against The Pro, to be specific against one player - Hamid, I'd say the best striker here. Possesses extremely good skills and is not selfish)

The outcome of the game wasn't as expected for most people - The Amateurs WON!! 6 by 3. (OF COURSE I EXPECTED TO WIN - I WANTED TO..Of course I had to "work hard"). huhu. No, I did not score or assist. If it was Futsal then yes, I might have.
Unfortunately, the game ended in a ugly way. There was a fight between us, 1 guy from The Amateur team and the other 1 from The Pro team.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~After football~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*different story...

U.O's son is having summer camp. Out of curiosity, I asked him things like:
1. How is the camp here?
2. What are the activities?
3. Where do they sleep?

After a while, he called. He said that he will be going to visit his son later and would like me to come along. . . . .

*after 30 minutes or so*

He called again. This time he said that he took permission for me to join the camp. And since my mum agreed to it I have decided to join it.
Insha Allah after Asr he will come to pick me up and bring me to the camp site. hehe.. It's been a long time since I've went camping but I'm not really expecting the kind of camps I am used to. Besides, they don't have a forest here.

Once I get back from the camp I will post about the camp. It will be until Tuesday. And my mum will arrive on Tuesday, I guess. So, I don't know when is the next time I'll be posting.

Well then. That is all for today. Until next time.
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed my post. Feel free to comment on anything, be it my grammar or spelling or about my post.. =)

*abbs:
U.O- my guardian.

Desperado . . .

Hahaha.. Wondering about the title?? As to you all and some who don't know:
1. I am currently studying in Yemen & There are NO cinemas here!! And I want to watch Transformers 2!!! I really want to watch it at the cinemas - with its big screen and superb sound system.. lol

So, last night I had a few dreams . . .

1. I was out with my friends. going to watch Transformers 2. hahaha..
2. I was swimming.. huh.. I sure do miss swimming. It's been 7months since I last swam.

That's all for now.. Nothing much to write.. Till next time

Not again!! ='(

Just about two days ago I went to Sana'a Trade Center to fix my watch, the chain was "disconnected" (what's the correct word??). That was the first time I went to fix my watch, before it was at a different place and it did not even LAST A NIGHT and I had to pay. This time even though it was free but the place was very far. Taxi alone costs us around YR750.. huh..

Should have send it with my mum so that it could get fix at Malaysia.. I really hate not wearing watch because I would loose the sense of time. Anyway, I will try to go fix it again at the same place and see how it goes. If it still gets "disconnected" again then I will send it to be fixed at Malaysia.

mo pic cos I'm afraid if my hp get virus..virus in Yemen is just too much...

A visit to the Dentist..

Salam.

I did not have time to write what happened and have forgotten >_<'' most of it. Just a summary. Basically I was to accompany here wherever she goes and she has meetings from 7am until around 1pm, then we go back to the hotel. From 1pm until Asr is mainly resting.. After that it's either meeting again or going to visit my guardian's house or more rest.

Finally bought a new shoe. We went to CityMax.

Also, while my mum were having the meetings I went to the dentist at my dad's hospital. First we did scaling, then filling and polishing. I cannot use my front teeth to chew hard type of foods like apple, etc because it might fall, I have to use the sides. At first, the feeling of having this "new teeth" was very, the extremely weird and it was a really a pain during eating time as I had to be careful with my "new teeth" and just using the sides made my gums (or whatever it is) sore I guess.
Now I have gotten quite used to it.

Before

After - now I can really smile.. lol ;)

~just to make this short post a bit longer, I shall tell the story of how tooth broke~
One day while my friends and I were playing at the playground it started to rain. Instead of going home we all decided to hangout at the "dewan". There, we decided to play "floor skating" - there were leakage so the floor was wet and slippery . . . As we were "floor skating" I somehow "slipped", lost balance and fell - head first!
At first I was just feeling numb especially at my mouth. When I went home and looked into the mirror, I discovered that my tooth had broken. I immediately went to the "dewan" to look for my broken tooth - which I found it.
This happened about 7-9 years ago, not sure..

Going to send my mum to the airport in a few minutes. . .
That is all for today. Till next time.

Mum's "visit" - Day 4 & 5

Salam. My story of my mum's visit shall be continued.

Day 4, 22nd of June 2009:

It was only today that my mum started to do some serious work. So, at 7am she went to CPLAS Hospital (I did not go with her), she was there for quite a long time. For lunch I went to my dad's house as usual, only when I came back from lunch my mum was already at the hotel.

Later in the evening at around 5pm we planned to cook. So, I went to buy some groceries and ingredients that were needed at Jandool Super Market and cooked together. I just did more of the chopping and cleaning up. By maghrib we finished cooking, had dinner. It was quite nice, not bad since it was my mum's first time trying to cook using Yemeni recipes.

Then my dad came around 9pm or so and he brought with him Balas, it is from his farm back at his village at Alhaddah. Then I showed it to my mum this fruit, when she saw it she said it is Tin - I did not know it is Tin, I only knew it as Balas. After that I asked my dad, " Is this Tin?? Not Balas??" he said, " Yes. It is Tin but here we also call it Balas."

Doesn't it look like a mini pomegrenate?? lol ;)

Balas a.k.a TIN (FIG)

~That was all for that day~

Day 5, 23rd of June 2009:

Today I went to CPLAS Hospital with my mum. When we reached she asked for me to have an appointment with the dentist to "patch"/filling (or whatever u call it) my tooth that was broken in half ( was playing "floor skiing" with some friends, somehow I slipped, fell head first - quite a long time ago...) but the dentist did not do it, she only had time to do scaling. Insha Allah tomorrow or soon will do the filling.

Since my mum was invited for lunch at someone's house (and it was an all-girl event) so, I went with my dad. Unfortunately, he did not go home, he went to his friends house, we had lunch there and he went to another friend's house. After waiting for quite a while he told his driver to send me back.

At 6pm I went for a hair cut at a salon - 1st time go salon . . . it cost 1000riyal = rm20. But it was surely WORTH IT!!! A month ago I went for a hair cut at a normal barber - I truly regret it, they really DON'T KNOW HOW TO CUT HAIR!! My hair was kind of ruined, really messy, some hair was cut too much, some not,etc33..(last year I did not cut my hair at all, only when my mum was going to come {which was alrdy after 4months} I went for a hair cut, not at a barber but with a friend - he used to work as a barber before). Now my hair is how it is supposed to be/how it was before I had that hair cut 1 month ago.

Now it is already 9.25pm, doing some work for my mum, then going to play game for a while and watch some tv and then go to sleep.

Good Night.

~That is all for today~

Below are some pictures of what I usually eat at my dad's house:

not sure what this is called - it's chicken - XTREMELY DELICIOUS!!

This is the rice. Sometimes the color is different, even the taste. Sometimes the chicken/meat is cooked TOGETHER with the rice. Sometimes we get A WHOLE CHICKEN!
The one in the bowl behind it is Shufuud (don't know the spelling). Basically, its just bread + yoghurt + some salad, cucumber, carrots.

Now.. This is Hareesh. It is corn flour (blend it then boil it with water and mix it with sup when u are going to eat it)
There is also a another type of this food, it is called Aseed. The difference is that they use "tepung gandum" instead of corn flour.
Whatever it is, BOTH ARE DELICIOUS!! Especially when u eat with that thing in the small bowl beside it!!
Of course when I ate Aseed/Hareesh for the first few times I totally DID NOT like it..but now I am used to it so, it is really nice.

There are also other food like sup, Hilba, Saltah, ETC99..

Ma'assalaamah. Bye bye. That is all for now. Hope u enjoy it.

Mum's "visit" - Day 1-3.

I did not know that my mum was coming until the day she was going to come. From KLIA, she sms me to buy for her niqab. And told me to remind my dad that she will arrive on Friday morning at 9am.

Day 1, Friday 19/06:

At around 9am AZ came to pick me up to go the airport. After waiting for about 1 hour we finally my mum finally came out with the bags and went to the hotel. We are staying at L'azurde Suites Hotel which is located at Haddah Funduq area. Our room is like an apartment, there are 2 rooms, a kitchen (equipped with cooking wares, fridge, stove and oven), toilet, living room and a dining hall.

When we arrived at the hotel I immediately took the laptop..then we unpacked some things. This time my mum could only bring 4 bottles of 100PLUS and an electric kettle. She also brought some things like tomato past, spaghetti to cook for me.

Guess what??

There's tomat paste inside it! lolx =D

After Friday prayers we went to U.O's house. After having lunch we played ping-pong and a bit of snooker together and headed back to the hotel at 6pm.
The rest of the day was nothing much.



Day 2, Saturday 20/06:

We did not do much, my mum was still in jet-lag mode. Besides, she was unable to sleep in the plane and the flight was really long + 9 hours of transit at Dubai.

Day 3, Sunday 21/06:

At 11am we went to one of my dad's hospital, CPLAS Hospital because my mum has some work there, just a short meeting with one of the staff. After that we went to my dad's house for lunch.

The rest of the day was only spent in the hotel.

* 2 out of the 4 bottles of 100 plus that my mum brought for me is finished... @.@

abbreviations:
U.O - uncle Othman, my guardian.
U.H - uncle Hameed, my dad.
A.Z - Asem Ziyad, my step-brother.
keep up with it..will be using it more and more in the future =p

Malaysian Wedding in Yemen!

that's a new way to use it...hahaha

Friday, 5th June 2009:


I went to play football in the mornings as usual. Today not many Malaysians came to play football because there were to be a wedding (which I did not know) so, we played football against the Yemenis which we trashed 5-1!! They play so rough.. When we finished playing one of my friends asked me: "One of the Malaysian lecturers invite all Malaysians to his house for lunch, do you know?" I said: "No, what time? when?" My friend said: "Pergi tau.. Lepas solat jumaat."

So, after solat jumaat. My friend and I immediately went to the lecturer's house. It turned out that one of the Malaysian students here married the lecturers' daughter. Like a normal Malay wedding it is, there was "pantun", nasyid and silat presentations. Here are some pictures from the day:

Silat

Spectators...lolx

The nasyid group.

And below is a part of the silat presentation (enjoy it):

s






Of course, we attacked the food the moment we arrived. The food (nasi minyak, ayam masak merah, daging kurma, *forgot the name of the rest of the food**) was quite nice that I ate a lot and I am having stomachache now because I haven't ate that much in a long time..hahaha

I forgot to take pictures of the tent and the inside - this is not like in Malaysia, the tent is semi-sphere and we sit on the earth (there is no cemented floor), but of course there are carpets and on the carpets are sofas - not sofas like in Malaysia either...hmmm... (I don't know how to say it and I can't find pictures of it).. Found it...

More or less like this..

Drinking water on empty stomach

It is popular in Japan today to drink water immediately after waking up every morning. Furthermore, scientific tests have proven its value.. We publish below a description of use of water for our readers. For old and serious diseases as well as modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a Japanese medical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases: Headache, body ache, heart system, arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases.

METHOD OF TREATMENT

1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink 4 x 160ml glasses of water

2.. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minute

3. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.

4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours

5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may

commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.

• 6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life.
  
  The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure/control/reduce main diseases:
  1. High Blood Pressure (30 days)
  2. Gastric (10 days)
  3. Diabetes (30 days)
  4. Constipation (10 days)
  5. Cancer (180 days)
  6. TB (90 days)
  7. Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwards – daily.
  
  This treatment method has no side effects, however at the commencement of treatment you may have to urinate a few times.
  It is better if we continue this and make this procedure as a routine work in our life. Drink Water and Stay healthy and Active.
  This makes sense .. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals ..not cold water. Maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose, everything to gain...
  For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you.It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion.
  Once this "sludge" reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food.. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.
  
  

A serious note about heart attacks:

· Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting,
· Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.
· You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack.
· Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.
· 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up.
· Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep.. Let's be careful and be aware.. The more we know, the better chance we could survive...

Happenings

On the night of UEFA Champions League Final my roomate, Zikry and I went to Jawlah Rowaishan, Haddah to watch it. We were to meet other Malaysians amd go in together. Unfortunately, they arrived late and there were no seats left. Besides, the television was SMALL AND WE HAD TO PAY 300RIYAL PER PERSON!!! And I did not have enough money at that time (I bought knee and thigh support just before)..
In the end we did not watch and went back to our hostel =(

Alhamdulillah FINALLY I GET TO PLAY FOOTBALL, it's been 5 months and it's not futsal but football (big field - which I haven't played in years!!). It's only on every Friday mornings though but satisfying =D

Tonight

I was playing ping-pong at the sports hall until almost maghrib and received a sms from one of my roomates asking me to help pick up his clothes from the verandah.. Then I went to my room to have my dinner only to find that it "disappeared" !! I searched frantically for it, but to no avail - Starving..

Since I only have to cook dinner and it its quite costly since I am eating alone + I have to cook alone + the fact that I go for lunch at my dad's house and return to my hostel by 4.30pm, which by that time I am tired/no mood to cook/no time to cook..hehe
I have decided to have dinner with other groups.. So, first I tried asking the students from China:

C: "You might not like our food, even some of the Chinese don't eat with us because they are from different parts of China + we put in 8k per month."
M: "ok..."

Then I asked a student from Ghana:

G: "We only cook once a day. We cook for lunch only and we have dinner outside."
M: "ok.. That's fine. How about if you keep some for me??"
G: " That's sounds good, no problem."
M: " How much do you pay per month??"
G: "4k."
M: ~shocked~
G: " Expensive?? You can talk with Umar, he's the chief for this month in this department"

Then I was left with two choices - Tajikistan and Sri Lanka.. I decided to go ask the Tajikistanis first:

~The discussion was quite long so I'm lazy to write..hahaha..It all went well. It's up to me whether I want to help with the cooking,etc + if I don't really like the food they cook then I can just cook whatever I want + best of all is that I only need to pay 2500!!! hahaha!! cheapest!! So, this will save me some money.~