Ramadhan Is Coming!!!!

Since form 3, I'm a bit excited when this holy month is around the corner.
Not saying that the years before I'd dreaded it.
But I've begin to realise things when I was in form 3.
When I started to take things more seriously.

Then did I realise the enermous excitement of Ramadhan.
That apart from not eating and drink all day long, I have to behave too, go terawikh and recite al-Quran.
Always, we would want to finish the whole al-Quran in the fasting month.

I consider myself lucky, seeing that I've experiences of fasting at home and at my hostel.
Different air yet both are very dear to my heart.
At home, the norm is to wake at 430 in the morning (which I keep reminding my mum, is too early)
brush my teeth and have meal in my PJs
and the background sound would be my mother waking my youngest brother up followed by him throwing tantrum.
my favourite is buttered scrambled egg with onions.
How I love the setting, the 5 of us eating together in the wee hour.
One of the reasons why I cherish Ramadhan is that my family is having meal together 2 times a day, everyday.
Have it been other months, the least we can pull is a dinner together each month.

Iftar would be the most awaited moment.
The countdown would start with Jejak Rasul.
And I remember being jealous over Sabahans and Sarawakians for their iftar is so much earlier.
And I haven't been so conscious of the clock in the whole year except when it's Ramadhan.
I would be checking it like for 70 times in between 5-730 o'clock!
And how I was brighten up by Yeo's commercial.
It signs iftar is just minutes away.

Our family iftar is always home cooked.
My father even boil some crysanthemum or barley.
Owh and those telur katak and getah anggur.
My parents trained us that it's not necessary to infest the table with all that we want.
Because like to everybody's knowledge, we would not even touch a great deal of the food that we were just so desperately craving for.
Ours are always main dish, kueh and kurma.
and dadih or agar-agar sometimes.

So, the first time I fasted at school, I was so shocked to find out there were so many food for iftar.
Everyday, we had rice and 3 accompanying side dishes, dates, 2 pieces of different kueh and agar2.
And for supper, instead of the usual unappetising biskut pat segi tanpa perisa, we had food like laksa, mee sup and the likes.
Can u believe it???
But odd days did occur.
One particular day, I went for outing with my friend and we went to bazaar Ramadhan.
Not trained to go to bazar Ramadhan and thinking of the already so much food awaiting us, I went back empty handed.
And my iftar for that day were rice with what's left of the dalcha (the soddened dhal sans carrot and potatoes).
Not even a fried chicken or a morsel of sambal belachan that I, by right was supposed to have.
And the dining hall people put 2 pieces of chicken on each boy plate. (they were at the masjid and returned after Maghrib prayer)
I was being denied my share and I will always remember that no one offered me any side dish that evening.
And I ended up stuffing rice with that kuah dhal.
Well, I guess we can't put away being greedy when we are starving.
But I count on my blessings, I had full plates for nearly the whole time but the above incident is just one.
So, it doesn't really hurt.

And sahur at school is the most dreaded part.
Because I need to slip off my PJs and wear something decent to dining hall.
And at this point, I hate my fate that I have to be in a co-ed residential school.
Sahur is the complete opposite of iftar.
It's what we call edible crap.
The uber salty salty fish, sambal belachan, the usual veges garnished with Nematoda (I know they can't help this part when they r cooking for close to 600 people) and some unappetising piece of meat/fish in gravy (chicken is very,very,very,very rare)
But having so many people around and bright lit dining hall help me to take sahur.
And our dearest ambition is to get hold of that wirelss microphone and crush it beyond repair.
Sahur is always followed up by the PA system publicly telling us the ustaz roaming boys dormitories and whack them from sleeping after sahur.
And no girl can sleep when hearing an old man muttering about as if he is having a reality radio show over the PA system.

This year, I'll go thru another Ramadhan.
The number at the table would be reduced to 4.
And not a day will I spend it with my family.
No one will cook for me, or us 4 precisely.
But I'll embrace eating homecooked meal tradition.
Well, I can't expect bazar Ramdhan to pop out in Czech at least in this year, can I?
I don't know if I'm going to be grateful or am I going to miss.
The usual deafening evenings with fireworks booming here and there.
We'll find that out soon.

Despite being abroad, I still have the happy feeling that Ramadhan is coming.
It matters not where I am.
The fact that we are doing it together across the globe is comforting enough.
I'm hoping for this Ramadhan to be a great one for me.
Hope u have a great Ramadhan too!