observing fast in the month of ramadhan in dublin has been an exciting experience for me. other than the shorter fasting period, there's also the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, from diverse culture backgrounds. but most notably, free iftar! the general equation is free iftar = don't have to cook + try out various cuisines from tunisia, saudi arabia, lubnan, morocco, turkey, algeria, malaysia (of course), the emirates, pakistan among others. in the space of two to three weeks i'd sampled food originated from all over the world, some of which i've never seen before.
having iftar in mosques and gatherings presents you with the opportunity to make friends and connections. recently i got acquainted with a lot of muslims just by breaking the fast with them. unexpectedly some of them share the same interests as you. in the space of a few days, i've met with a canadian football player, an avid fellow chess player (who is an established doctor), an irish convert, a malay neurologist, fellow bloggers and a libyan accountant. as they say tak kenal maka tak cinta!
one thing that i learned in my first few months in this foreign soil is to speak up and hide my shyness (being a malay, i am naturally shy :>).
one example was when a few strangers sit in a group waiting for the food to be served, there's the curious silent few minutes where everybody
just smile and look at each other and when the food are served everybody just eat quietly until it is finished and they leave straight after that.
that period of time seemed very odd to me. after a few similar incidents i decided i can't take it anymore and i forced myself to be the first to speak
and break the ice. normally i just mention about the cold climate, or the freshness and tenderness of the dates, or the expiration date of the orange juice on the table.
this, will normally make the ball start rolling and we'll get to know one another better. i do occasionally get the "me no speak english" but we just smiled
and continue conversing in simple, broken english. i figure if i'm just going to stick in the malay group and joke in malay and talk in malay it would be better off not coming here at all and just attend a malaysian varsity and save a lot of money.
with all that said, i'm grateful to God for giving me this opportunity and i will fully make use of it, insyaallah. i only pray for the strength to go on and protection from unfavourable incidents and unhealthy influences.
salam.
"verily then along with every hardship is ease. verily along with every hardship is ease"
al-Insyirah: 5 and 6.
