Rehlah 23rd Oct

After postponing and changing dates so many times...we finally had the chance to go on our very first rehlah together with other Singaporean students, There were a total of 70 of us and 3 shuttle buses.

Even though the date was a bit tight for us since first sem exams were nearing...tapi tkpe satu hari je. We gathered around 7.45am that Friday morning and each house bwk makanan sikit...ade bwk roti telur...egg mayo...chicken mayo etc

First we headed to Ashabul Kahfi which is located around 1 hour from Amman, The weather was as usual cooling but with the scorching hot sun...nasib baik pakai sunblock. The girls entered the cave first and there was a guy in charge of explaining the history of the seven sleepers. He could also speak malay which was entertaining. We've only read surah Al-Kahf and listened to stories about them but actually being there gave me goosebumps. After some photo taking (which was bothered by the glaring heat) we took our wudhu and performed sunnah prayers at the ashabul kahfi mosque right next to the cave. It was surprisingly clean and the musolla was pleasant and cozy.

We then made our journey to the Dead Sea which was another 1 hour plus from ashabul kahfi. Taxis cannot drive all the way there so you either have to rent a car and drive yourself or follow a tour there with other passengers. Once we reached our destination...the heat once again ma sha Allah panaaaas pls.

Ok so let me tell you...whenever you heard the name 'Dead Sea' Im sure the word 'fresh' and 'cooling' comes to mind right cause why not...its an exotic beach which makes you float on the water. But sure enough all my thoughts and anticipation slowly faded away when I actually reached the beach and walked around the place. I think it would be a lot better if you go during the winter because of certain reasons.

First of all, the heat (be careful you might actually get a headache if you stand too long under the hot sun) made you squint your eyes and there was not much wind to reduce the terik-ness. Second, orang arab lelaki takde segan silu langsung be it married men or not the sight you see is something shocking and makes you wanna wash your eyes with soap. I mean takyah lah nk mandi depan semua orang..I dont care if youre wearing shorts but everyhting else is exposed pls. Toilet kat sebelah je sebenarnya tapi semua nak bilas badan kat pipe luar. Thanks eh memang free show ke ape ugh

Last but not least, the surprising amount of lalat at this beach is Whaaa...Haiyaaaa so many. We set up a table for food and ended up semua mcm nak perang dengan lalat psl they keep sticking themselves on the tupperware and pinggan semua...ya Allah. Tapi semalam ramai juga orang puasa so there lots of leftover food to bring back and eat. Kat beach mainly we ate chicken barbecue and nasi goreng seniors yang prepare. The food that we made most of them kene distributed among us to bring back. Malam kurang sikit ah lalat...but overall it was hard to eat with insects swarming around your food.

So at the Dead Sea activities include walking or floating in the salty sea or enjoying a nice all natural do-it-yourself mud spa. Which one can simply apply to skin after collecting it from the rocks and mud found near the water. Lots of locals were at the beach that day and hardly any foreigners except for us. The water is painful on wounds or cuts so make sure you dont have any before entering the sea kalau tak memang takde ampun ye. It will...sting..badly. Dont ever rub your eyes also when in touch with the water. One friend da semangat nak float kat air pastu lost balance and accidently rubbed her eyes and splashed her face with the water...da lah dia pakai contacts. Haisss...but she was ok after a few minutes haha

Watching the sunset was also very rewarding and it felt like therapy cause the sky was so beautiful and magical. Ma sha Allah sangat2...after that the air feels cooling but still after a long day you just wanna wash up at home and snuggle into clean and dry clothes. One funny thing that happened bile balik was that after 2 hours in the bus going back to Irbid...my pants dried up and became hard like cardboard. The sea really has a high salinity but I didnt know it made certain material of clothing harden up. Cool or what

So thats how my trip went it was super fun but super tiring. We spent the whole day just resting at home today...hope all of you had a fun weekend! Sending lots of love to everyone wherever you are! Enjoy looking at the pictures hehe
Assalamualaikum~

Almost a month being away

Alhamdulillah for everything that has happened for these past few weeks.
Sometimes I still cant believe Im actually living one of my dreams which was to live in an Arab country. Still so surreal and at the same time feeling very exhausted from the difficulties that come with it. What I imagined before coming here was slightly less difficult than what I am experiencing now.

In Singapore, I realized I was pampered and spoiled by the our country and its easy access to basic necessities and vast variety of goods and not to mention world class service. I did not have any worries whatsoever and I spent each and every day with a normal routine. My worries over there were less significant and sometimes I felt very unaccomplished and bored because there was no tension in my life that would help me grow and learn and eventually shape me to become a better person. It was very satisfying but at the same time monotonous with zero exitement. Which was why I really wanted to study overseas and experience new things (and get travel alot >-<)

Although starting a new beginning here was hectic and an emotional roller coaster, I finally feel comfortable and relaxed once things were settled and I familiarized myself with the uni.

Yesterday was our Imtihan Kafa'ah(entrance exam) and it was 2 hours all tested by mcq questions so all of us knew our probability was 50/50. There was English, Arabic and IT and Alhamdulillah I passed all of them so I dont need to take it as an extra subject and can straight away move on to the next level. Alhamdulillah x3 I seriously did not expect it.

Yesterday also during Isha, one of the many things that worry me constantly occured even though it was only Thursday. We had water shortage. Now it doesnt even surprise me anymore. It was out for 2 or 3 hours and we called the caretaker to inform him. Luckily it didnt happen when one of us was in the toilet even though that happened before...twice already. Ala kulli hal we promised ourselves we would bear with it till our contract ends. Oh how precious water is:(

Not to mention the language barrier....ammiyah is so hard I always end up just showing them what I want or using words that they know. Cant really communicate yet.

Sorry theres no pictures yet in sha Allah next post :)
Assalamualaikum!

Uni begins

1/10/2015

Alhamdulillah yesterday was my second day attending lectures and if you dont already know...I only go to school twice a week. Its so difficult...I wanna study during my free time but its also like...I dont wanna JUST study. You know?

Since my classes are on Monday and Wednesday...Im free from Thursday till Sunday. This sunday my housemates ajak pegi Amman. So faaaaar away...mesti balik malam haha and mesti habis duit beli macam2 :( So I told them no thanks just cause I dont trust myself with money in a mall or Ikea. They just mainly wanna go check out the Ikea there. I dont know what I'll be doing during the weekends but in sha Allah it will be filled with activites. 

So today is a Thursday and later we are going to meet up with Kakak2 SIRAJ untuk register for class Quran Tamhidiyyah...basically they teach you tajweed and also the reading style similar to our prophet (pbuh). Theres also class belajar ammiyah and to sharpen your arabic speaking skills. 

So theres that.

Ok...so about my classes. The first one is at 9.30 till 11 and its my smallest class and since me and my friend are the only Singaporeans... the prof calls us by Singaporean no. 1 and 2 its so funny padahal ade juga kakak2 Malaysia duduk kat belakang. The Arabs in that class pon ade a few varieties but mostly its the Irbid students who do most of the talking I guess cause the amiyyah is different and they speak soooo fast like tak sempat tarik nafas kot laju sangat. Our first lesson was about Islamic Law and its needs in solving societal issues. Just a discussion about the importance of it and what our lives would be without it...ade cakap pasal zaman Jahiliyyah and how they didnt have limitations so were free to do anything they pleased. I understood 95% of what the prof was saying omg so proud. But I need to make sure I read everytime before class starts so I can ask questions...maybe?....still nervous like what.....in sha Allah soon. No pressure please.

Second class was straight away after the first at 11 to 12.30 in the hall at Kuliah Adab. Let me tell you....its sooo different and loud there especially if you walk alone cause theres like crowds of Arabs boys and girls and they just swarm around you so fast. Theres also (of course) bystanders whom I have no idea why they are just standing there TALKING and LAUGHING so loud while eye-balling people walking by. Like...go to class or hangout somewhere else besides the entrance door or on the floor in the corner of the building...super conscience whenever I walk in that building. eugh

My second class is ulum askari and ALL the seniors warned us about this subject but I guess I wanted to finish and get over with this subject since its a uni requirement. Its just about Jordons war history and its development over the years. Super tak paham and tak interesting :/

After that, I have around 1hr 30min till my last class at 2-3.30pm which is madkhal ilal aqidah. It was suppose to be a dokturah but she hasnt returned yet so a different prof replaced her and he was new and super serious. At first boleh paham ah sikit2 but we havent bought our books yet so after 30min he started getting deeper into the topic and I was so confused. He spoke fast and with lots of ammiyah but he super semangat ah tk duduk langsung and just jalan2 sambil terangkan example semua. In sha Allah will do my reading before this class also.

~

Part 2

So Alhamdulillah we registered for the Quran class and it starts this Sunday at 12 and finishes 1.30pm. The centre is a house at basement level and has like 4 rooms where the classes are held. Our teacher is this really soft-spoken lady whom is super sweet and gentle. Each one of us had to read a few ayats from surah Ar-Rahman as a pre-test to know whether we can read properly or not. There were 3 stages to this and the first one is learning the tajwid, the second is memorizing juz 1 and 15 and the third one is reading with sanad. Theres an exam for each of the stages but this is only a rough idea about the markaz as Im not really sure for certain on the 3 stages.

After buying the tajweed books from them we all headed back home. At night, 2 guys and 1 kakak from SIRAJ visited our apartment to check if there were any problems that needed to be addressed to the housekeeper. After talking to the housekeeper, he said he will come back tomorrow to fix a few things in our toilet. But we all know that tomorrow was a Friday and that means no work for the Arabs. Amirite?? Friday is their realaxing day here...so we knew our chances.

Ok so thats all for now :) Sorry tkde gambar....

Assalamualaikum semua!