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...