Eid ul-Adha

Selamat Aidil-Adha to everyone! Here it was one day early than in Singapore (16 Nov). Also known as the Feast of Sacrifice and the Feast of Haj, this Eid is different from the other, post-fasting Eid. During this Eid we remember Prophet Abraham's spirit of sacrifice - he was willing to give up his younger son, Ismael upon the orders of God, and would not let Satan convince him otherwise. This day also marks the end of the Haj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca.

I usually wake up to pray fajr prayer at 7.30 (sunrise is at about 8am), and my roommate told me that the Indonesian students are meeting at 8am to go to the Turkish mosque together. Clueless as I missed Eid ul-Fitr prayers at ISS earlier this year and I haven't been to any mosque yet, I rushed to get to ISS at 8am, cycling against the wind all the way.

I met Indri and Emmy at the entrance and we started walking to the Turkish mosque, behind Wah Nam Hong, a supermarket in Chinatown. We didn't know the exact address but then we met a Turk with his daughter and he said he was going to the mosque, so we followed them.

At the gates, we started to push through a few Turkish men, and then a few more, some more and at one point I said "Eh, where are the women?" Thinking they might be round the back, we scooted around before an Indonesian brother informed us "Di sini ngga ada cewek, bu," (There are no women here, ma'am).

Another Eid prayer would start at Al-Hikmah (Indonesian language mosque) at 10am so we took Tram 16 and got off at Heeswijkplein. We met Ibu Arti at the tram stop, whom Indri met during Eid ul Fitr prayers a few months ago. I overheard a multilingual conversation between a Dutch man and an Indonesian woman:

- Salam alaikum. Alles goed?

- Alhamdulillah. Met u?

Ladies round the back!

There was one sweet little Dutch-Indonesian boy who didn't want to leave his mum, so he kept holding her hand under the separator (women behind men) and blowing kisses to her. There were also one or two little girls with their fathers in the men's section. It's heartwarming to see children with their parents at the mosque (:

May the pilgrims at Mecca fulfill a meaningful haj and that their pilgrimage is accepted by God, inshallah, so that they are mabrur Hajis and Hajjahs, including my aunt and uncle who are there right now. Ameen.

The Belgians were here

Last Friday, Tine, Thomas, Elke and Sien drove from Belgium to spend a weekend in The Hague. I had two classes so I could only meet them in the evening, but it seems they had fun exploring the little sights here despite the grey weather while I was in school.

It can feel so strange to meet someone you haven't met in 16 months, and trying to pick up where both of you left off. The time in between is too vast to summarise, so what usually happens is picking out certain memories from the time you spent together.

The other half of the Belgian company are such lovely girls, doing wonderful work (resident therapist/counsellor helper with teenagers, and working with refugees), and I'm glad to know such inspiring people.

We didn't really plan the weekend, but there was some hint about going to Cologne, Germany, though that didn't work out. Summarily, this is how we ended up spending the whole weekend in Den Haag:

Walking around the Centrum at night and discovering a party happening in a church. A church! How blasphemous! D: Needless to say, our shock did not let us stay long.

More walking in Clingendael Park. Me, Tine, Sien, Elke. Sien wants to catch rabbits in the forest. I am wearing my all-terrain Mary Janes, not the proper footwear for walking in damp leaves.

On Saturday we welcome Sinterklaas (alias Sint Niklaas or Sint Maarten, depending on which town in Europe) after he comes to Den Haag on a boat and makes his way to the Centrum for a big party. Long, strange story about it for those who haven't heard about him. Briefly, the story goes that he used to be a bishop in what is now known as Turkey and each November he comes to see the children, disembarking from a boat from Spain with a book to tell him which child has been good or bad, accompanied by 6-8 black men, called Piet.

Piet gives out candy, carries a broomstick to spank naughty children, and a sack to put them in and bring them back to Spain! Of course when Sinterklaas finishes his tour through the Centrum he announces that there have been no bad children this year! Hurray!

Then on Sunday we went to Delft! The town of blue and white porcelain. Did you know that painters actually paint in black (middle pot) and the cobalt oxide in the paint turns blue in the oven when baked?

All in all, lovely weekend. Looking forward to visiting new and old friends in Belgium!