Practicum

From June 23-September 26 2008, I'll be undergoing my teaching practicum at a secondary school in Gombak.

1 week down, 11 weeks to go!

Whew! I never knew that teaching is so tough, so stressful, such a roller coaster ride!

I'm teaching in the afternoon session so I usually arrive at the school at 12.30pm (except on Fridays) and leave at 7pm.

But that six and a half hours is so exhausting. I can readily attest to the "overworked but underpaid" complaints.

Concerning the roller coaster ride:
Sometimes, when lessons went well, you feel so exhilarated.

But when they don't, you feel so demoralized.

The students can make you smile, laugh and even melt your heart.

But most of the time, they test your patience to the limits.

It's true when teachers say that they remember the naughty ones' names first. I've memorised several already.

But despite its ups and downs, practicum beats Sem 1 anytime.

I now have my own list of "students say the darndest things":

1) I wrote on the board that I came from Institut Perguruan Bahasa-bahasa Antarabangsa.

One student then quipped: "Jadi Cikgu tahu Bahasa Iban la?"

2) I told them that I studied in Sydney, Australia for 2 years.

The next day, another student asked: "Cikgu kat Sweden diaorang main baseball tak?"

Me: "Kenapa Sweden ye?"

Student: "Kan Cikgu belajar kat sana"

Me: "Oh, saya belajar kat Australia - Sydney. Bukan Sweden"

Student: "Ha.. kat situ la!"

3) Yet another student wrote in her biodata: Favourite actor: Ronaldo DiCaprio.

Oh anak muridku!

X X X

I've been meaning to finish my Umrah journal but I couldn't find the time...
InshaAllah, I'll update later.

X X X

To my fellow comrades, all the best surviving the next 11 weeks! We can do this!!

Makkah & Madinah Part 2

June 3, 08

I woke up to the sound of azan but it was not Subuh yet. Turned out that they make the call of prayer twice; once as an early wake up call and the other to indicate Subuh. The former does not have the "assolatu khairum-minannaum" part in order to differentiate it from the latter. There is a 1-hour gap between the two.

After breakfast, I explored Masjid Nabawi's outer complex for the first time. The masjid is huge so circling it was quite an exercise. But it was a beautiful morning so the morning stroll was pleasurable. It was some time before I caught sight of the Green Dome - It was quite a sight which evoked strong emotions.

Dawn in Madinah

Everything in Madinah looks so foreign: the men in their aba and kaffiya, the women in their all-enveloping black veil, car plates with Arabic alphabets and numerical symbols, and beautifully carved wooden windows. Even the restroom signs are different! Pictures of a veiled woman and a man in kaffiya replaced the conventional stick figures. It's like I've been transported into a different world altogether.

Therefore I was very, very surprised to find the shop below 10 metres away from one of Masjid Nabawi's gate. It looks so out of place despite its Arabic scripts. One of those "clash of the civilisations" scenes.

Starbucks outlet

I tried to practise my Arabic there but it wasn't met with much success. I kept on forgetting the names of things. Further, most shopkeepers there know Malay. So, transactions were often done in Malay rather than Arabic.

One of these attempts at Arabic ended quite hilariously.
When asked by a shopkeeper how are we related, my Nenek incorrectly answered in Arabic "jaddati" (my grandmother) instead of "hafidati" (my granddaughter).
To this, the shopkeeper exclaimed in surprise: "MashaAllah, MashaAllah!"

*to be continued*

Makkah & Madinah Part 1

Alhamdulillah, I'm safely back home.The trip was quite an eventful one. When relatives asked, "Seronok tak?". I didn't know how to respond. Somehow 'seronok' is not the right word to use. But to say 'tak seronok' is misleading too.

The trip to Madinah and Makkah was unlike other trips to anywhere else in the world. In fact, 'journey' is a better word than 'trip', as the latter connotes a vacation. The journey to Makkah & Madinah is for an entirely different purpose: to fulfill one's religious obligation. But instead of being a burdensome obligation, performing the umrah or the hajj is what most Muslims yearn to accomplish.

Here's my journal of the 11Day, 9Night-Journey.

June 2, 08

At KLIA, before leaving, Kakak gave me her amanat: look after and assist Mama & Nenek during the pilgrimage. Kak Yom, however, gave me a contradictory advice: be adventurous! explore your surroundings. Kalau ikut Mama & Nenek je, "sini tak pergi, situ tak pergi"... I nodded my head to both advisors, wondering whose advice should I heed.

We took off for Madinah at 1500 in a Saudi Airline. It took 8 hours to reach Riyadh. We transited there for an hour before proceeding to Madinah (which took another 1 hour). I couldn't sleep throughout the 10-hour flight. So, I spent the time reading and eating. The air hostesses were quite garang. I was particularly terrified of the one who patrolled my aisle. Malaysian Airline's stewardesses are way nicer in comparison. No wonder they won the Best Cabin Crew award.

I also browsed through the in-flight magazines (all in Arabic). Something felt a bit off... Then I recognised what it was: all the advertisement featured male models! It was a unusual sight I tell you. Instead of pouty, sexy women filling in the pages, male models were employed - all looking dashing and distinguished in their jubah and serban.

Anyway, we finally arrived in Madinah at around 8pm local time. Although it was already night, the air was still warm. The air smelt and felt so different too! It's the desert's air, I suppose...

The Madinah airport is quite small. The garang air stewardesses were replaced by garang airport officials. Our visa and passport were checked before we were allowed to collect our bags and enter the city.

We traveled under Andalusia Travel & Tours. Their people already awaited us outside of the airport to take us to our hotel. Our whole party consisted of 42 people.

Our hotel is called Al-Fayroz Shatta Hotel. And it is just about 50 metres from one of the entrance gate of Masjid Nabawi. Each room is to be shared amongst 4 people. I was grouped with my mom, Nenek and Mac Cik Halimah.

*to be continued*
-Pictures will also be uploaded later, InshaAllah-

Performing Umrah

InshaAllah, I'll be performing the Umrah from June 2-11. I'll be going with with my mum, grandmother, uncle, aunt, and their son.

This will be my first trip to the Masjidil Haram.

I'm in the midst of packing for the trip. I should have started long ago but I simply didn't know what to bring. Now that the trip is barely 3 days' away, I just stuffed things in my bag.

Jaime called a few days ago to bid me farewell. She asked whether I've memorised all the du'as. I regrettably answered in the negative.

It's not that I'm not excited at going... I'm just overwhelmed by the whole thing.
At the back of my mind I kept thinking: Am I really going to set foot in Makkah? Despite receiving the itinerary from the travel agent, despite passing my exams (so I don't have to stay back to resit them), despite the looming flight date, I still couldn't believe I'm heading there. And until I actually set my foot in Makkah, I will still have doubts.

[That's one of the reason why this entry will only be published after June 3]

While NOT memorising and packing my stuffs, I was reading "One Thousand Roads to Mecca - Ten Centuries of Travelers Writing about the Muslim Pilgrimage". The book is edited by Michael Wolfe.

The title is self-explanatory. It contains 23 travelers writing about the Hajj dating from the Islamic Middle Ages (during the Abbasiyyah Rule) to this present "Jet Age".

It contains writing by illustrious figures such as: Ibn Jubayr (1183-84), Ibn Battuta (1326), John Lewis Burckhardt (1814), Sir Richard Burton (1853), Muhammad Asad (1927), and Malcolm X (1964).

The writings show that although Hajj has been performed for 1400 years, the perennial rites remains unchanged. Although camels and vessels have been replaced with modern transportations, performing Hajj still means the same thing. As the editor notes: "...even today's very modern pilgrims, with their ritual choreography and ancient-looking robes, seem to have stepped out of the pages of the Scripture."

Please pray for me that I will perform the Umrah dengan baik - to arrive and come back safely, to manfaatkan the chance that I have as well as I can, to receive Allah's blessings and guidance.

A Land Called Paradise

It has been more than a month since I last posted something. Still am not in the mood to write. Maybe writing all those assignments put me off writing (!).

But thought I'd share this video with all.

It made me smile and feel warm and fuzzy inside :)

So True!

A friend forwarded me a video entitled Sleep is Better than Prayer. It was a good video (and so true!) - I went on to watch the other videos related to it. My favourite is the one entitled: Don't Wear Hijab, You Will Look Ugly.



I can easily identify with the girl in the video. Oftentimes, I hesitate to go out thinking 'Am I dressed up to the occasion?', 'Is what I am wearing ok? or does it look too prudish?'.

Instead of asking 'Am I covering my aurat properly?', I sometimes ask 'Do I look fashionable enough?'

Who am I trying to impress here?

Maryam

I became a fan of Iranian films ever since I saw Majid Majidi's Children of Heaven.

Thus, I was very excited to find out that there is an Iranian Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur from March 20 - April 2.

I grew more pleased when I found out that 'Saint Mary' (also known as Maryam Al-Muqaddasah) is one of 10 movies shown. When I was in Macquarie, I was shown a snippet of the movie and I've always wanted to see the full film.

The snippet was shown during a talk by Affinity Club entitled 'Who is Jesus Christ in Islam?'. Muslims do believe that Isa (Jesus) is the Messiah and that he was born miraculously. We also believe that Maryam (Saint Mary) is one of the most pious and purest women ever. So, the talk and the movie served to show the similarity between the Islam and Christianity.

The film is actually a condensed version of a television series of the same title.

I feel that it is a very beautiful movie. The most powerful scene has got to be the ending, where Mary returned with her newborn to Jerusalem. A big crowd has gathered to see whether the rumours surrounding her disappearance are true. When they saw the baby, they hurled insults and accusations at her. Maryam just kept quiet and gestured to her baby.

This scene is taken from Surah Maryam, verses 27-33:

27. Then she brought him (the baby) to her people, carrying him. They said: "O Maryam! Indeed you have brought a thing Fariyy (a mighty thing)."

28. "O sister of Harun! Your father was not a man who used to commit adultery, nor your mother was an unchaste woman."

29. Then she pointed to him. They said: "How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?"

30. He [Isa] said: "Verily I am a slave of Allah, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet;"

31. "And He has made me blessed wheresoever I be, and has enjoined on me Salat (prayer), and Zakat, as long as I live."

32. "And dutiful to my mother, and made me not arrogant, unblest."

33. "And Salam (peace) be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!"

The movie is in Persian with English subtitles. Its running time is 114 minutes. Oh yeah, the ticket costs only RM5!

For showtimes and the synopsis of the other movies, go to www.gsc.com.my

*Nisa kata dia nak tengok SEMUA

Sharing is Caring

A few weeks ago, I loaned my book, 'Does My Head Look Big in This?' to a friend in college. After she has finished reading it, she passed it to another friend, and that friend passed it to another, and another and another.

By the time it reached the ?th person, I got to know that a section of the book had fallen out.I was crestfallen... It was after all, a book that I adore.

Some time later, I read what Paulo Coelho has to say about books and libraries (in his book, Like the Flowing River - Thoughts and Reflections).

He said that despite of his love for reading, he doesn't own a lot of books. He only keeps his favourites ones and donates the rest to public libraries or gives them to other people.

He believes that "a book has its own journey to make, and should not be condemned to being stuck on a shelf".

He also says that he loves it when, "at a book signing, a reader comes up to [him] clutching a battered copy of one of [his] books that has been passed from friend to friend dozens of times".

After thinking about it, I now subscribe to his point of view. I would rather have my books become battered through much sharing than to have them looking brand new, on the shelf.

Sharing is Caring.

X X X

The book is about Amal, a Palestinian-Australian Muslim girl. She decides to wear the hijab "full-time". The book details the reactions she got from her classmates. The book also deals with issues like
* the stereotypes people have of minority groups,
* the common perception that Muslim women are "oppressed",
* culture vs. religion,
* etc.

The book is actually for young adults but older readers will enjoy it as well.

The author, Randa Abdel-Fattah (an Australian-Muslim herself), has another book entitled '10 Things I Hate about Me'.

*Image taken from Amazon.com

Sirah Junjungan

It was touted as the first ever Islamic musical theater in Malaysia.

I didn't plan on watching it but Nada, Fa & Zue strongly recommended that I do. They said that it was really touching (especially towards the end).

So I went with my sister. We were expecting a small crowd, like the one on Wednesday. Nada, Fa & Zue got upgraded to better seats since the audience was so small.

But on Friday, the place was packed. We had trouble finding a vacant parking space. There were bus loads of people. We were hoping that there are still tickets left (fat chance of being upgraded though).

Thankfully, there were tickets still. The RM50 ticket placed us on the upper circle of the Panggung Sari. Unlike Nada, I didn't get to see Jamal Abdillah "depan mata" (qoute, unqoute) :p

The show was around 2 hours' long. At times, I felt that it was a bit draggy.

On the whole, I was a bit disappointed. I was kind of expecting more. I wasn't "touched" as Fa promised I would.

But there are two parts in the show that I felt a lump in my throat:
Firstly, when Jamal Abdillah sang the song right after Rasulullah became an orphan.
Secondly, when the people of Madinah sang joyously to mark the arrival of the Prophet.

The most annoying part has got to be the "Latta Uzza" song. Hind's high pitch cackle is a close second.

When I told my mom that I didn't like the show, my sister reproached me: "Jangan la kata tak best... cakapla it was a commendable effort. After all, it was the first theater of its kind in Malaysia"

*terkedu seketika*

We're Just Friends

Ehem2.

This is a sensitive issue but an important one to be clear on.