lunch with the 33s

I used to write alot. Before the internet era, I used to carry a book everwhere I go so that I can immediately write whatever that comes to mind. Somesort of a journal. Then, I was introduced to blogs and how cool it is to have one. I started having a really private blog somewhere in 2003 or 2004 I can remember. I don't even remember the URL and the password. Then I blogged in friendster's blog. People loved my blog because I used to write about really cool yet depressing things. Haha!

I decided to shift to blogspot when I wanted to have a low profile blog so that only a few can follow. I wrote alot. About almost everything. And I had quite a number of followers. 17 as I could remember it. Hahaha.. takde la ramai sangat but ok la. I decided to privatise that blog only to myself after I saw people landed on my blog after googling my name and also my husband's name. I didn't want people to find out about me, I guess.

So here I am now, I don't mention my name or my husband's name. People can't google us and only a few knows about this blog. So, you are the chosen one. Wilkommen :)

Yesterday was an eye opener day for me. In the morning I was chatting online with my very good friend. She said that sometimes she is confused with her life. Hey, aren't we all ? Later that day, I went to the city to do some shopping and I also met my ex-Deutsch-classmates for lunch. Both of the 33 years olds just got married this year. After finishing half a chicken, a bowl of fries and a wholesome delicious salad, we got to talking about how we all landed here in Deutschland. It surprised me that they hated Deutschland and I felt differently about it. Madalina told us that she was very successful back in her homeland and so was Jasmin. I guess we all have our stories. Things changed totally after they decided to come here and follow their husbands. But I guess I am thinking it positively. At one point I told them this. 'Yeah when I talk to people back home, they said, oh you're just a housewife there? Sometimes it can make you feel really down the way that other's look at you now.' How to explain to them that it is not easy since people don't speak English here. Even all the forms are in Deutsch. How to explain that when you've only been here 5 days and you got chicken pox, after a month of being here, you husband broke his leg. And having to go to the Apotheke and to the insurance company and the bank all by yourself in foreign land that speaks foreign language. How to tell them that you had to go to the Dentist and remove 3 of your wisdom tooth and how difficult it is to talk to the administration people. How to explain that people here talk Deutsch all the time and you can't get by without learning their language. How to tell them that we don't have the luxury to go to mamak stall or gerai² to get that Mi Bandung at 10pm. We don't have the luxury to go around with our cars everywhere and the mode of transportation is by the Bus and SBahn even when we have to carry heavy things. And they ask me, you buat apa JE kat sane? Dok rumah jadi housewife JE ke? I need not to justify myself. I just say, Yup. Jadi Housewife JE. Let them think whatever they wanna think because even how crystal clear I explain how it is here, they have no idea. And they never will have the idea until the come here and see it for themselves and experience it. Germany is not like other countries. They don't operate in English. But I like the fact that this is how it is. It taught me the meaning of survival. Jasmin said that there is always another way to look at it. People don't understand that being a housewife here is so different. The biggest challenge is the language barrier. And we have a plus point that know Deutsch when we go back to our homeland, we can speak Deutsch. We are more independent.

Looking back, God gave us a test. Can I really survive it here? God knows how frustrating it is when you can't understand what people are talking about. But alhamdulillah now, I can get around although my Deutsch is not perfect. In fact, I am soo in the beginner's level but I can understand and speak a little. Not that fluent but at least I am surviving here, and it's all in God's will.

While the 33 year old's were talking, it got me thinking about life. And how my friend earlier had asked, is there more to life ? This time last year or two years ago, I asked myself the same question everyday when I travel 60 kms to work. Perhaps, there is. And I know that I am here for a reason. Inshallah, with lots of effort and support, and God's willing, I will survive and make it here. 

country grammar

ape ni, teruk gila grammar ! :(

What's cool

What's cool about living upstairs from a Malaysian - German couple is that we are jiran macam jiran kat Malaysia, minus the jaga tepi kain part, cause here we have enough kain to jaga ourselves let alone menjaga tepi kain orang hehe..Bila susu, minyak, garam or gula habis, boleh naik turun tangga mintak sket, sometimes beberapa keping roti bila weekend and semua tutup and malas nak ke bandar hanya untuk membeli roti.

Yesterday, we had a great time celebrating Hari Raya here in our house (our house means me and my houseowner who lives downstairs punya rumah). We had almost like 50 - 60 guests and filled with a lot of Malaysian food. The Malaysian students pitched in and we had a variety of delicous food. Everyone put on their baju kurung and baju melayu.. Even the Germans who married the Malays!

Me, my husband and nicholas prepared roti jala cicah with kari daging. Seronok pulak memasak dengan suami. and ada pulak assistant sorang.. hehehe.. It tasted really good! and was the first to finish.. hehehe.. Carie is back! She flew with MAS and she reached home at about 8am and terus screamed from downstairs, 'Selamat Hari Raya!!' and I ran downstairs to meet her! She is like my little sister here in Mannheim. I gave her my kuih raya to taste and guess what she said.. Guess la, guess la...?? .. She said, 'oh my god, (long pause sambil mengunyah and tutup mata.. gila dramatic) this is the best thing i have ever tasted' Hehehe.. She is 14 so it could be true.. or not :p So as usual, we would borak² while I masak in the kitchen. She updated me about her new boyfriend, Paul. And biasalah 14 year old, cute jer citer² dia..

Then the Frankfurters came. They are one cool and happening bunch of people. Kurik (our old schoolmate), Rose and David (Abang Dave), Emilia, Daniel and baby Aidan yg teramat comel gila!!! We had a lot of fun laughing and making jokes. I was laughing alot yesterday. Setelah bersedih - sedihan on first and 2nd day of raya. It was a great change for me.. Terubat juga sikit rasa rindu kat rumah :)

The open house started from 12pm (tapi sebab kita orang melayu, maka start betul² dia around 2pm sbb tunggu satay siap) and it ended at almost 1130pm.. Makan, makan, hanging out, makan lagi, coffee, kuih raya, pictures and karaoke session (by the way, karaoke i scored 96% singing I will Survive.. highest score beb!) hehehehe.

This is one of the many pictures billion of pictures.
This is the garden behind our house.  This was only 1/4 of the guests. 

Yang lain merata² ada. Kat atas, tingkat dua and tingkat tiga pun ada.

Note : rumput tu, cheq yang potong naah. hehehe. 

Can't wait to be home!!

*Kalini saya cakap Melayu sebagai penutup. 'Selamat Hari Raya! Maaf Zahir dan Batin!'

Autumn In Mannheim

Autumn will be commencing soon. As everyone back in Malaysia celebrating their Eid, I went to die Stadt (bandar) to get myself not a baju kurung or a kasut raya. But a sweater and a new handbag for Autumn. Actually sweater je for Autumn, the handbag just looked nice with the sweater :p . I treated myself after getting my gaji from my part time gig. But when I told my husband, he said , takpe la I blanja. Yippie ! :) Alhamdulillah :)

Since the weather was superb today (unlike yesterday, sangat mandom and depressing.. dah la raya first day yesterday), and after hearing mama's and papa's voice and listening to them enjoying their hari raya, I told myself, That's it! takmau la sedey². Aidilfitri is for us to celebrate Hari Kemenangan. Alhamdulillah the Ramadhan month went well even though it was a long 16 hour tp inshallah, dengan kesabaran, moga - moga alaman ibadah akan berganda.. ameen.

Musim sejuk will be coming soon. So I have to buy baju sejuk, one buy one. Today I bought one from H & M. Before that I saw a stunning red jacket macam gambar sebelah ni, along with a black belt (ala - ala Princess Diaries). Lama I duduk dekat Tally Weil tu belek² jacket tu. But my husband will surely geleng kepala bila tengok almost 40€ for a jacket. Actually it's quite okay memandangkan it's kalis air and ada hood lak tu. Tapi apakan daya.. Maybe I will bring my husband to town and accidentally nampak jacket tu for the first time and look all excited about it so that he saysm 'Ok la, belilah'.. hehehehe.. But knowing me, I tell my husband everything! sekarang ni tunggu masa je nak bagitau dia about the red jacket. Everyone's dresscode now dah bertukar pakai jacket² and since I have a very thin Asean skin, I need lots of fabric to protect me from the coldness. I don't know macam mana nanti Winter. Sekarang ni pun sejuk sampaikan malas nak basuh pinggan. Even ke dapur pun tunggu matahari dah naik sikit.

So okla, this post is actually a feel-good post since I have been quite sad and homesick lately. My husband berkali kali tanya are you okay? sbb I was very quite yesterday. Homesick :(
 
Alrite, for you peeps, this is the model for Autumn look from H & M :) viel spaß und schönes wochenende!

Selamat Hari Raya

Salam to all! It's 09.09.2010 and it's hari raya today. Alhamdulillah Allah had made it easy for us to fast during the holy month of Ramadhan since it's still summer here. We started 1st Ramadhan with 3.56am for Subuh and Maghrib at 8.51pm. Yesterday we fasted from 5.00am to 7.53pm. So the waktu siang is becoming shorter and shorter. Soon it'll be Autumn.

So Raya this year is sooo different. I am celebrating Hari Raya with my husband here in Deutschland. Tak rasa sangat raya here. In fact, it's just like any other normal days. My husband already left for work and I am home alone. I wanted to go and sembahyang raya at the Moschee. But its still dark and I tak berani pergi sorang² (husband kerja) because I have to walk quite far from the Haltestelle.

Tomorrow Nicholas will help me tampal the wallpaper in our Wohnzimmer (living room). Nicholas is my husband's friend who is currently staying over at our place because he needed a place to crash for a few days before he flies back to KL lepas raya nih. So, itu je la preparation hari Raya. Today I plan to make nasi briyani and rendang (I hope menjadi la). This will be my first time (in my life) making nasi briyani.

Yeah I am talking about really random stuff because I don't want to really blog about the fact that I have been superhomesick lately. I call home quite frequent. Tapi mama papa slalu busy and by the time I call them, it's either they baru nak pergi tarawikh or just got back and at that time they will be tired and want to sleep. But since this week (I dah berenti skolah), I can call them earlier during the day :)

So I guess that's all for now. It's 720am here. This morning dah salam dah my husband for hari raya :) Miss everyone at home.. Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin :)

am wichtigsten

ur family never lets u down. Never..

Blog walking award 2010 :: Tagged my Dieya :)

Tagged by Dieya :)

1. Apakah yang bermain di minda anda sekarang?
Apa nak masak untuk potluck berbuka puasa esokye?

2. Apakah nama samaran anda?
My name is short enough.. so i guess i dont have a nama samaran :p

3. Siapakah 3 orang yang paling kamu sayang?
1. my husband, 2. my parents, 3. my adik beradik :)

4. Panggilan untuk si dia?
Tak berapa faham soalan ni, but i am guessing si dia would be my husband. ok, he calls me 'B' for Beyonce.. ahahahah!

5. Hadiah yang anda impikan daripada seseorang yang istimewa?
i have all that i need daripada orang yg istimewa tu.. hehehe.. ooh perhaps a couple of children :)

6. Blog mana yang anda selalu lawat?
Semua blogs yg belah kiri ni.. siapa yg update I akan singgah :)

7. TAG kan kepada 15 blogger?
Oh my! I dont know 15 blogger.. tapi siapa yg baca ni, you've been tagged!! muahahahaha

8 minutes at the Bahnhof

Today I watched the birds eating pretzels. I was at the Bahnhof waiting for my 63 Bus to Pfalzplatz. I was carrying chicken, berat 1kg and onions. It wasn't that heavy but I just felt like sitting down. I kept on looking at the board..

63 Pfalzplatz 8 mins

As there were an empty seat, I sat down, facing the pedastrian area. Sometimes when I wait for the bus, its nice to just watch people walk around. Their dressing, the way they talk, how they greet each other. I guess I am trying to learn their culture. Germans are generally polite people. Their language and the way they speak, the phonetics have a very polite melody. And in class, Markus would teach us how to speak like native German. Sometimes it can be hard but we love the challenge.

So there I was, sitting down waiting for the bus. Another 6 minutes to go. I saw a homeless man with Pretzel in his hand. He looked abit dirty. I always see him around everytime I am at the Bahnhof. What does he do with the Pretzel ? He gives it to the Pigeons. And suddenly there were alot of pigeons in front of me. It was somesort of a magical moment for me. But I guess the Germans were used to it because it was not a big deal for them. I had that WOW look on my face (husband always say that I have that muka excited penuh dengan harapan look).

All I did there till the bus came was watch the pigeons eat. And with all the people walking around near the Bahnhof, it was just me and the homeless guy who had witness this event. We were the only ones who enjoyed watching the birds eat even though we cant (me fasing, him homeless).

Exactly at 152, the bus came. It was a nice 8 minutes at the Bahnhof.