i wanted to make a few resolutions this ramadan but i know im not that good at keeping resolutions. so i decided against having a list of things to do or things to be better at and decided to just keep my aspirations to myself...i succeeded in one of my resolutions and that is to not go out much during ramadan...last years ramadan, having fasted 2 weeks here, i went out quite a lot for iftars etc. so this year i didnt want to. not that theres anything wrong with iftar-ing outside with your friends/family, but lets face it, once u iftar outside ur likely not to go to taraweeh at the mosque afterwards. having been abroad for a long time i really wanted to take this opportunity where i can go to the mosque and pray in a big congregation without fear of being labelled a terrorist or some other rude label...also its nice to see that at least women are not treated as second class citizens in (some) mosques in malaysia as oppose to (some) mosques in britain. i mean what sort of weirded out ruling is it that prohibits women from entering the mosque? what version of Islam is that?
oooh i can get into a looooooooong debate about that because ive been placed in the hot seat so many times...but im not getting into that now...what i wanted to say is that, Alhamdullilah, this ramadan has passed by peacefully for me and i am sad it's leaving so soon. in the words of my favourite ever, Tariq Ramadan it is a month where we are the closest to the Richest Being and closest to the poorest beings. when else can we feel this connection if not during this blessed month?
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amongst other things, i was googling "what to do in my gap year" and came across multiple websites offering advice for majority of UK/US citizens. exasperated, i then tried "malaysians on a gap year", instead i found websites encouraging gap years in malaysia for UK/US citizens... wondering what exactly do they do if they take a gap year in malaysia i clicked on these websites. i found the usual stuff like helping at an orang utan sanctuary (which i have looked into but again it oddly caters for US/UK citizens and i cant seem to find one sanctuary calling for malaysian volunteers.hmmm...)
i found this website that labelled Masjid Negara as a post-modernist mosque...i know it means the architecture but still, LOL...here i am explaining how its all supposed to be emblematic of malay culture during my tour-guiding volunteer sessions, it never occured to me to mention its of post-modernist design hahahaha n i remembered during the briefing i had, the dude mentioned how the architect actually designed the mosque in a way that he just liked, no real significance whatsoever, except for the roof n the minaret but thats about it. although this german tourist did point out a most hillarious factor while i was explaining to her how the roof is supposed to be the shape of an umbrella, she said "ohhh is it because it rains alot?" ROFL in actuality its supposed to symbolise protectionism...but yeah it could also mean coz it rains a lot since the architect just did things that struck his fancy hehehehe
anyways, aside from that this website also offered this 2 week course in malaysia entitled the way of the warrior ... when i read this i was like what??? apparently theres a martial arts village that offers a fusion of bushido and malay martial arts...huh, i never knew that. i knew there were martial arts places offering silat but to offer it with some sort samurai-ish action, whoa... there are loads of stuff about my country that i dont know about, i can give u that...i mean with the post-modernist mosque n all hahahaha
anyways, what was the purpose of me trying to find malaysians on a gap year? well coz malaysians hardly ever do a gap year, its not in our culture. why i dont know. n then i found this really cool blog, whereby the blogger (a malaysian, yay!) actually did a gap year. finally, i feel normal! i mean it was bad enough in warwick where everyone was chasing after some big company to work with n i had absolutely no clue on what i wanna do. then i come back to malaysia i meet typically asian-minded people who go "u got into masters, but ur deferring? why?!" in my head the answer usually is "coz i had a horrible 10,000words dissertation to do with an ogre for a supervisor and at times i contemplated suicide that's why!" but of course that wont be the typical asian girl response.
anyways, its good that there are people out there who are presenting others with another option. of course there are loads of obstacles that are met along the way and usually in a developing country (here comes the sociologist in me) if you want to take a gap year u gotta haf dosh for it. imagine if all hope is riding on u, u got like 7 other siblings and u get this amazing once in a lifetime scholarship to further ur studies, where u'll be given a monthly allowance, would u say no to that n take a gap year? hrmmm i dont think many would. but then again it depends what sort of gap year option ur choosing.
again, there's just plenty of opportunities out there for you to grasp. you can choose to work, you can choose to volunteer, you can choose to travel, you can choose to remain in the country, you can choose to go abroad. there are so many options that even im stuck! i know i dont wnat to work during this gap year of mine, i want to travel, thats one part of me that really does want to go out there and just travel the world! n insyAllah i will....aventura sudamericana any1 ;)
