Islam in Australia

I was very apprehensive when I first caught glimpse of Herald’s last Saturday front-page feature. ‘Islam in Australia’ was the title. After last week’s dodgy piece on the so-called “Super-Max Jihadists”, I was starting to think that Herald is as bad (and biased) as the Daily Telegraph when it comes to portraying Islam and Muslims.

Thus I was pleasantly surprised when I read the introduction:

“Six months ago, the Herald set out to discover the face of Muslim Australia. Where do Muslim hail from, where do they live, what are their hopes, fears and frustrations? Our reporters met Muslims, earned their trusts and sought to transcend stereotypes. Today we launch a series exploring the diversity of Islamic life and opinion in Australia and opening a dialogue about what it means to be both Muslim and Australian”

I must say that the report was very good. It shows Islam as a beautiful, peaceful religion. And it also sought to correct the mass public misconceptions about Islam. A very commendable effort indeed.

Though I’m not an Australian, I can certainly relate to a lot of the issues raised in the report. Such issues include:

• The ‘us’ versus ‘them’ attitude held by some Muslims and non-Muslims
• The feeling of alienation by society
• Being “forced” to apologise for the actions of other Muslims
• The challenges of finding a place to pray
• The conscious effort to be a better Muslim resulting from all these pressures

Back in Malaysia, you don’t face any of these issues. Islam is the religion of the majority of the population. So, finding a place to pray was never a problem. There’s bound to be a surau or a masjid anywhere you go. And you don’t get sideway glances or second looks just because you wear a hijab. And there’s no Daily-Telegraph-yang-jahat equivalent there.

When I first arrived in Australia, it took some time for me to get accustomed to being strongly identified as a Muslim. It was hard dealing with people’s curiosity, ignorance and sometimes even hostility. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I’ve come to know more about my own faith. And consequently that made me strive to become a better Muslim.

I hope the report is able to mend a lot of people’s misconceptions about Islam. Islam did not blow the twin towers. Islam does not breed terrorists and “fundamentalists” (whatever that means). And Islam does not oppress women.

I think a lot of the tensions and mistrusts between Muslims and non-Muslims are caused by ignorance. And ignorance can be overcome. It’s not a permanent state.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel after all ...

P.S: For those who haven't read the articles, you could do so here: http://www.smh.com.au/specials/islam/

All in the name of “Research”

I never knew that there are so many movies about teachers around until last week. Our latest EDUC 390 lecture was on Effective Teaching and the lecturer recommended lots and lots of movies about inspiring teachers.

Some of them I have seen …
-Dead Poet Society
-To Sir, With Love
-Mona Lisa Smile
-Sister Act 2
-Mr Holland Opus
-Dangerous Minds
-Good Will Hunting

and some others I have heard about …
-Educating Rita
-Finding Forrester
-Remember the Titans
-Coach Carter
-The Emperor’s Club

There are quite a few others I have never heard of:
-Stand and Deliver
-Goodbye Mr Chip
-Teachers
-Lean on Me
-187
-The Substitute
-The Prime Miss Jean Brodie

I faithfully copied down every movie recommended, resolving to see each and every one of them. In fact, that’s about the only thing I wrote in the entire 2-hour lecture.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Afterwards, Ana bought “To Sir, With Love” DVD, Fariza bought “Dead Poet Society” and Tasha “Good Will Hunting”.

We watched “To Sir, With Love” together and all of us were moved by it. It’s such an inspiring story. To those who haven’t watched it, boleh la pinjam kat Ana .. hehe.

Anyway, that made us want to see all other movies even more.

Ana even came up with a brilliant idea to ease the guilt of splurging on DVDs: “We do this all in the name of RESEARCH” (Our 2nd assignment for EDUC 390 is a reflective writing task on Effective Teaching)

Who can argue with that???

6 Weird Things About Me

1) I'm superorganized. I obsessively note everything in my little organizer:

-People's birthday
-assignments
-expenses
-Things I did
-Things to-do (I don't necessarily do them, I just need to list them)
-etc

2) I can stomach films with lots of violence (e.g. Kill Bill) but not horror/scary films. I would never watch Ju On, for example, even if I get paid for it!

3) I take my time washing the dishes. I compusively need to be sure that they are really, really clean. My mom always complains that I use too much soap + water.

Then, after washing, I have to neatly stack everything so that they can dry easily.

4) I don't sleep on my bed. I sleep on the floor inside my sleeping bag. This is a recent habit (1 month old). I only use my bed for short naps, when I'm too lazy to spread and later refold the sleeping bag.

5) I set two alarms to wake me up in the morning. 1 is with the radio clock, and 1 is with my hand phone. I distrust snooze buttons.

6) I have a low stamina for shopping. I get tired easily. I know, shocking isn't it?? :p

1st Day of Uni

My first day isn't going too well. I had to drop LING317 for LING312. That means I have to face the intimidating V once more :(

Do you think that it's acceptable to drop a particular unit - despite of its relevancy to your future career- because of its lecturer??

Well, that's what I did.

I opted for 317 because I wanted to avoid 312.

But a few days ago I found out that 317 clashes with 340. And since 340 is a core unit, the elective 317 has to make way for it.

Which also means that - like it or not - I have to take 312 (the only other elective available).

Sue apologises for the timetable clash. She said it shouldn't have happened.

oh, well ...

semua yang terjadi mesti ada hikmahnya kan??

Then, I remembered what Durra shared with us the other day:

If you're thinking "Kenapa aku tak mendapat apa yang aku idam-idamkan?"

--->"Boleh jadi kamu membenci sesuatu, padahal ia amat baik bagimu, dan boleh jadi kamu menyukai sesuatu, padahal ia amat buruk bagimu; Allah mengetahui sedangkan kamu tak mengetahui." (Al-Baqarah:216)

That made me feel slightly better.

Summer of 07

It's been a month since my last post. I'm guilty of neglecting this lil' blog of mine. But today I promised myself that I'll post 1 entry. So here are a few things that I've been up to:

Boating at Lane Cove National Park

Went boating and picnicking with Acaq, Alin, Farah, Durra & Nisa. Sadly, I was rubbish at rowing. I either made the boat (unnecessarily) turn 360 degree, or I veered it off course. But, it was a fun experience nonetheless. Especially when we stopped to eat our packed Nasi Lemak + sandwich + chocolate cake!

Brisbane Trip

Went to the Sunshine State from Jan 28 - Feb 4 with Nisa, Durra, and Farah. Stayed at Nisha's and Fifa's place at the Unilodge.

Highlights of the 7-day 7-night trip:

1) boarded the Citycat on a beautiful full-moon night. The boat can accelerate and slow down quickly. Makes for an exciting ride.

a picture-perfect moment

2) went to the Sunday Green Market. It's unlike any other market that I've ever been to. There are people from many nationality and they sell things like Hungarian Pastry, French Crepe, fresh produce, shawl, vinyl record, etc ...

The people there also have very colourful personalities and an interesting fashion sense! Something like the gypsy community in the movie "Chocolat".

3) Now, I wouldn't call the 14-hour train journey to Brisbane or the even longer 17-hour journey back a "highlight" but they are things that I'm unlikely ever to forget!

Moral of the story: book flight tickets very early on so that you could afford them!

Mr Froggie

Back at MUV, we had an unexpected visitor one night. I was upstairs when I heard the commotion. A little frog had found his way into our living room. Durra & Nisa had already jumped on top the couches for security. So, I was responsible to get the lil' froggie out of the house. But that proved to be more difficult than I had thought. My plan of sweeping him with the mop towards the door backfired when he jumped not towards the door but towards me!

Instinctively, I threw the mop and joined Nisa & Durra on the couch. We needed reinforcement. So, we enlisted the help of our neighbours. When told of our predicament, they said; "oooh, so that's what the screams are all about" (!)

One of them took a paper towel, pulled Mr Froggie from the wall, and then put him outside. We all breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Sisters from Melbourne

We had a visit from friends from Melbourne: Kak Dayah, Kak Syikin, Kak Aida, Izzah & Hannah. They are actually acquaintances that Nisa, Durra & Farah made when they went fruit-picking. They arrived on Thursday and left on Saturday.

On Friday, we went for a picnic at the Royal Botanic Garden. It was a very lovely afternoon.

I thank Allah for the privilege of knowing these 5 beautiful souls :)

Cohort 3 juniors

They arrived on Feb 10 (2 days ago). They had an inauspicious start when the shuttle driver dropped them off at the old MUV admin building. So they had to trudge the hill on foot with all their heavy belongings (luggage, hand luggage & laptop) to get to new admin.

Brought them to Macquarie Centre on their first day, and to the city on the second day. Seeing them getting excited over the Opera House, Harbour Bridge & Manly made me remember how I felt when I first came here. It's been 1 year already ... wow. How time does fly.

x x x

2 more weeks before the new semester starts. Bila kwn2 saya yg balik Malaysia nak pulang?? :P

Oh, Tursunov!

Medibank International (aka Sydney Open) was the nearest thing to a Grand Slam or an ATP Masters event that I could see. So, I just had to go and watch it. Besides, the ground pass ticket isn't that expensive ($20).

Durra & I weren't supposed to go that day. That day, according to the original plan, was to be spent at MC. Nisa & I had something to post, and Durra & I were to buy the tickets at the Ticketek booth there.

Fate intervened.

I found out through the morning paper that Tursunov was slated to play that day at Centre Court. The day's weather seemed lovely; not too hot, not too cold. Suddenly, Durra & I were "inspired" to go to the Medibank International that very day.

Dmitry Tursunov

We went straight to the Olympic Park, hoping that tickets were still available. Thankfully, they were. And unexpectedly, we got the concession price of $15! Yippee!! :)

A Ground Pass entitles you to watch any match that's on that day except those on Centre Court. It was only the 2nd day of the event. So, the matches in all the other courts were generally between the relatively unknowns.

After consulting the main board, we decided to catch the action on Court 4 as Tatiana Golovin and Sebastian Grosjean were slated to play there. While watching the Golovin vs Peng match, we could hear the crowds' noise from Centre Court. Bestnyer!! We felt so envious and wished that we had bought the Centre Court tickets instead. If only we could upgrade ...

After the match, we went outside the ground to pray. On our way out, we saw a "Ticket Upgrade" booth (!!)

Yeay! We could upgrade!
Er ... but could we afford it??

After much contemplation, we decided to upgrade. By upgrading, we could see Hingis in action, plus Baghdatis, plus TURSUNOV!!! Tu yang paling penting tu ...

To those who are wondering who this Tursunov guy is, you could be forgiven for not recognising him. After all:
-He's not the number 1 player in the world
-He's not even in the top ten! (he's number 21)
-And he never won a Grand Slam before

Comel ke?

Well ... Not really. comel lagi James Blake, Marat Safin, Tommy Robredo & Mario Ancic.

So why do Durra & I want to see him so much??

Well, we are his fans ever since reading his witty Estoril blog (must read!!) and after seeing him in the Hopman Cup earlier this month. We think that he's very funny and likeable. And that package beats a very cute and talented guy any day of the week.

Anyway, we put in another $15 to upgrade our tickets (nasib baik tak mahal sangat). Tursunov's match is 6th in the order of play. It was already 2.30pm. But the 3rd match had only just started (Jelena Jankovic vs Martina Hingis). It was to be followed by Ernests Gulbis vs Marcos Baghdatis. Then: Dinara Safina vs Nicole Pratt.

AND THEN: Lee Hyung-taik vs DMITRY TURSUNOV

Lama lagi tu ...
So, we watched tennis after tennis after tennis
Sampai mengantuk-ngantuk

Semuanya demi _______

Centre Court

Anyway, by the end of Baghdatis' match, we were so exhausted that we went out to get something to eat. Then, we prayed Asar & Maghrib.

We were gone for 2 hours. We thought by the time we got back, the Safina vs Pratt match would be over.

We were wrong. It WASN'T over. The match had gone into rubber set - Grr!!!

It took another 10-20 minutes for the match to end.

At last ...
This is IT ...
This is what we had come for ...

We took our seats and waited for the players to come in.

Then, there was an announcement. Uh-oh ...
I have a bad feeling feeling about this ...

And true enough: the announcement said that Tursunov had to make a late withdrawal due to his wrist injury.

(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Durra & I were gobsmacked.
It took quite a while for us to regain composure.
And the first thing we said was: "Tu la ... memang Allah nak tunjuk!!!"

That was to be our "mantra" all the way back to Epping.
It was all so surreal. After all that we've gone through ... to be denied the 1 thing that we wanted so badly to see ...

***

On this beautiful Wednesday morning, 2 days after the incident, I realised that, on the whole, it was an enjoyable outing. I've always watched tennis on TV with my dad and have always wished that someday, I could see all the action live.

And I did just that.
Well, sort of. It's not a Grand Slam but I get to experience the "feel" of it. I don't think I could afford a Grand Slam ticket anyway.

And it was exciting to be in the midst of the action, to spot the players, and to be in close proximity to them.

It was a day to remember; both for its good and bad moments :)

P/S: Just don't mention the name _______ to me this few days ...

I'm still recuperating :P

This December

Brace yourself for a long, long post :P

I had anticipated that this long summer break will be boring. Most of my friends had already gone back to Malaysia while Nisa, Farah and Durra will spent 1 month in Melbourne (Dec 13-Jan 15), fruit-picking.

It'll be just me, Fatin, Jaime, Hannah, Harvin & Sarah here.
Oh, and the guys next door of course.

I've been thinking whether "Nak balik ke tak nak??" for weeks. At last, I've made my decision: I'm NOT going back. Keputusan muktamad.

So many things have happened this December that I felt so fortunate to experience. If I had gone back, I wouldn't have experienced any of them. Therefore, I think staying put is the right decision for me.

Most of what I did this month centred around taking my mom and sister sight seeing about Sydney. We've been to the usual attractions, (SOH, Royal Botanic Gardens, Manly Beach, Paddy's Market, Fish Market, Taronga Zoo) the not-so-usuals (Auburn, Lakemba, Bankstown), and the places nearby (Macquarie Uni, Macquarie Centre).

L-R: Mama, Kakak, Adik

Being a tour guide is tiring but fun. I had lost count of how many times I fell asleep in the bus/train. The tersengguk2-sampai-Nisa-tak-nak-mengaku-kawan sleep. I just can't help it!! The journey is just too long & the bus/train is just so comfortable.

I had great fun going to all the above-mentioned places (especially the Fish Market and the Taronga Zoo since I have never been there before). The Seafood Platter at the Fish Market is simply delicious!! And I love the Seal and Bird shows at the zoo. The seals are so cute and adorable!

(*Note my excitement by the excessive use of the exclamation point!)

The mouth-watering Seafood Platter

The second major event in my December calender has got to be the cohort 1's departure. On Dec 9, we did a BBQ/Pyjama party at Unit 82. It's a small affair. Just the 11 of us: Kak Ili, Kak Darina, Kak Bulat, Kak Lin, myself, Durra, Nisa, Fatin, Farah, Jaime & Hannah. But we have food enough for 20+ people! We had BBQ chicken, mashed potato, bread pudding, chocolate cake, jelly, and ... I can't remember the others ...

The night ended happily despite the initial frustation and disappointment of not being able to start the barbeque fire (we later resorted to putting the marinated chicken in the oven!).

The choc cake that spells BYE

And then came the final farewell. The cohort 1s boarded the airplanes on Dec 15. Fatin, Jaime, Hannah & I got a lift from Pamela to go to the airport to send them off. It was a very chaotic day. They were still packing & cleaning the house at 6.30pm when the shuttle that was to get them to the airport is scheduled to arrive at 7pm. Then there is the usual drama of bags exceeding the maximum weight at the airport. But thankfully, everything worked out fine in the end. They are all headed back to Malaysia with the exception of Daniel and Kak Aina.

The day after, I went to a book sale at the Sydney Exhibition Centre with my mom and sis. The sale was held at a HUGE hall. We spent one hour and a half browsing through the books. There were so many books I wanted to buy but in the end, I settled for 4. The best thing about the sale is EVERY book is priced at $5!! Nisa, you should have been there. You would have gone crazy over the choices too.

The hall was poorly-lit. So I got a slight headache after perusing the back cover of books, aisles after aisles. I didn't even check out the CD and DVD section.

Anyway, these are the books I've bought:
1) Love in the Driest Season - A Family Memoir by Neely Tucker
2) How to be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward
3) The Ties That Bind - Six Journeys of a Lifetime by Juliette Jameson
4) The Writer and the World by V. S. Naipul

Once I got back home, I carefully and neatly stacked the books on my "To-Read" pile. I was so excited! All these wonderful books to read during my summer break. And I still got Kiran Desai's "The Inheritance of Loss" to savour ... yeay!

This morning, I got news that gives me one more reason to cheer about. Nisa, Farah & Durra are coming home earlier (either on Dec 30 or 31). So, we'll get to celebrate Hari Raya Haji together!! What's more, we plan to move to our new unit: Unit 82 and celebrate Raya there. The new house is so cool as it has a rather large "private" lawn.

We could do a lot of things there: have BBQs, play futsal, hold Dikir Barat practise, Nisa's dramac practise, etc ... Another yeay! :)

I suppose I should stop here. I need to do something at the uni.
I hope I'll write again soon. It's been a while since I type something.
Bye

And just for fun:

You Should Date An Australian!

You're a down to earth, outdoorsy kind of girl And you need a guy who can keep up with your adventures A rugged Australian guy is just your style Better start learning how to surf!

Which Foreign Guy Should You Date?

Lad Lit

So, that is what it's called!!!

I've just finished reading Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity". It's quite a good book but too "bloke-ish" for my taste.

Women have chick lit. So, the male's equivalent is called .... I dunno .... bloke lit??

I wiki-ed chick lit to find the answer and apparently:

"The male equivalent, spearheaded by authors like Ben Elton, Mike Gayle, and Nick Hornby, has been referred to as lad lit and dick lit."

Charming terms eh? Anyway, let's stick with lad lit shall we?

I strongly recommend the guys to read it. I'm sure they can easily relate to it.

Girls can read it too, of course. It can provide you with an insight to the male's psyche which is perplexing, disturbing and yeah: exasperating.

Below is my favourite passage from the book:

"I'd say that I'm cross because I know I'm stuck, and I don't like it. It would be nicer in some ways, if I wasn't so bound to her; it would be nicer if those sweet possibilities, that dreamy anticipation you have when you're fifteen or twenty or twenty-five, even, and you know that the most perfect person in the world might walk into your shop or office or friend's party at any moment ... it would be nicer if all that was still around somewhere, in a back pocket or a bottom drawer. But it's all gone, I think, and that's enough to make anyone cross."

Weird isn't it? Singletons crave for a partner and the sense of security that comes with it.

People in a relationship on the other hand, crave FREEDOM ..

Reading that passage made me feel good about being single. The whole "sweet possibilities" and "dreamy anticipation" part of being single ...

Only 10??

Tagged by Ana.
Have to list down who I think are the top ten sexiest men alive.

Here goes:

1) Thierry Henry
The coolest footballer. Professional, talented, dedicated, and down-to-earth. And ooh ... the French accent! The complete package.



2) Juan Roman Riquelme
He's not that good looking but I really like him. An unsolved mystery this one ...



3) Gary Dourdan
My favourite character in CSI!



4) Johnny Depp
Who doesn't love a roguish pirate??




5) Mark Ruffalo
Played the sweetest imaginable guy in "Just Like Heaven" and "13 Going on 30"



6) Diego Luna
Love at first sight when I watched "Dirty Dancing Havana Nights"



7) Jensen Ackles
I'm terrified of horror films/tv series but am a big fan of "Supernatural" because of him



8) Chad Michael Murray
The picture explains all:



9) Patrick Dempsey
There's a solid reason why he's called McDreamy



10) Colin Firth!!
He's the perfect Mr Darcy~ enough said. Should have put him on the very top of this list!


Sekian ...

trying to snap out of it

These past few days have been trying.

Now, isn't that surprising considering that
- the term is over;
- I have handed in ALL my assignments; and
- I have absolutely nothing to do

I have been dreaming of this moment for so long (since week 10). After handing in the EDUC265 major assignment, I was completely burn-out. Never in my life have I worked so hard for a 1500 word assignment. I've read hundreds of pages of conference papers for the assignment. I had to squeeze every word from my brain to complete the assignment whereas most of my friends exceeded the word limit (I only reached 1489).

Anyhow, after that punishing task, my downward spiral began:
- I missed three 2-hour lectures (one lecture in each subject);
- I left one lecture when it's halfway through;
- I began to neglect my readings; and
- I put off doing my Sociolinguistics' major assignment for as long as I could

It was a battle to get through the end of week 13.

To motivate myself, I dreamed of all the things I would do when the semester is over. I made a list of books to read, movies to see, places to go to, things to write in my blog, etc

But I haven't done any of the things I planned. I just don't have any enthusiaam left it seems.

Today I feel particularly depressed (sorry Nisa & Durra for having to put up with my gloominess and unsociability).

I just feel a lot of problems weighing on my shoulders and I don't think that I'm strong enough to face them all. :(