Stranded

Right now is about 2.10 pm, I'm in LCCT... waiting for my 8.00 pm flite! How did I get here so early? I didn't get here early... Actually I got here so late that I didn't manage to catch my 1 pm flite!!!! Since I must be in Kuching today no matter what, I had to spend more than RM500 for an extra one-way plane ticket huhu T___T

I'm feeling so sleepy but I know that if I sleep, I might not be able to catch this second flite due to my tendency to be in a deep sleep zzzzzzz. I tried to keep myself awake by munching nuts I got from MAS plane, but then my throat dried up and I didn't bring any water. So I decided to buy a bottle of mineral water from a cafe and guess what! The price is RM3.50!!!! I was so shocked that my eyes got so big and I blurted out loudly to the counter girl, "RM3.50?!!" She then smiled understandingly saying, "Ye kak, baik akak beli kat kedai sebelah ni." I smiled back at her without forgetting to say thank you hehe.

I want to eat my bento huhu but unfortunately I didn't bring any spoon. I can eat using my hands of course but later it would be hard to wash my hands with all these baggages tagging along.

Initially I already have a bad feeling about this journey, but thankful to Allah I still manage to cope with the situation. I'm a little stressed about the time and money wasting part but the peak of my stress is this dizziness + sleepiness + tiredness. May Allah bless as well as make it an easier journey for me today. Amin. 

Pictures

Never thought that i would take this long to write (or rather to type) again. A lot of things happened. A lot of things are happening. A lot of things will happen.

This year, I am officially 30 years old, and I am still not married but I already have more than a hundred kids, ranging from 13 to 18 years old. Most of them call me 'Ustazah', 'Cikgu' or 'Teacher'. But a few bolder ones even start calling me 'Ummi' or 'Mak'. This reminds me of my previous plan to lead my life.

When I was still studying in matriculation center, I have this strong desire to be a successful lawyer and in order to achieve that, I need to stay away from marriage. I believe that it would slow me down, or worse, be the cause to stop me from achieving my dream. However, I love kids. So, I began to picture myself in 10 years time (exactly the age I am now!) to be a successful lawyer, having my own house and my own car, living with my parents, and adopting a couple of babies as my own. But the picture started to shatter down in my final year of studying. It was when my mother suddenly passed away. I realized then that even if I became what I wanted to be, I could never put my mother in the picture.

Today, I am a teacher, living in a government house, over one thousand kilometers away from home and family. I do not have my own car but I have a kind housemate who is willing to drive me anywhere I need to go. I do not officially adopt any kids but I always regard my students as my own. My mother's death gave me another picture. I was too confident of myself that I forgot that there is another ultimate power that could change my plan. I learned my lesson and now its my turn to teach others whatever I have learned. Nevertheless, the plan is somehow there, don't you think? I dreamed of being happy with my own family, friends and kids. And you know what? I have already achieved that! Although the plan seems a little bit off but the essence is still there. All praises to Allah who answered my prayer!

Dreamy

I still feel like it is only a dream. It has been nearly a month since I first set foot on this part of Malaysia; Kuching Sarawak. Most of everything here seems like in the peninsular… the weather, the surroundings, the buildings, the roads, the cars etc.

Although I am beginning to get used to the environment, but I still can’t get used to certain things. In school, I had to teach students with the inability to study such as normal kids do. Some of them are autistic children, slow learners and hyperactive students. While the others are having syndrome down, ADHD, cerebral palsy problems and a few other terms I never heard of. Quite a number of them do not even speak or having no language, that I had to use signs in order to communicate with them.

It is a really challenging job. Plus, I was trained to teach Pendidikan Islam for high school students, so I have no idea how to cope with these students. The fortunate thing is that the syllabus is only based on kindergarten level of education. You know~ A.B.C and 1.2.3! However most of the time in class I need to tell them how to behave. ‘Sit down! Don’t disturb your friend! Do your work!’ are among the regular orders I need to yell out for every 5 minutes.

The next thing is language. People here have their own dialect which I am still having some problems to fully digest the meaning while in a middle of conversation. Come to think of it, I feel rather disappointed in myself that I can understand Japanese language more than Melayu Sarawak dialect.