Sunday, January 12, 2020

Looking back at my 2019...and hello 2020! - Part 1

Hello~ 😉 Welcome 2020. 

Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for giving me the chance to enter this new year. Looking back at my 2019...it was quite a busy year for me. First quarter of the year saw my cousins' weddings, my colleague's wedding and my sister's engagement day. From May onwards, it was the start of my husband's overseas 6 months work placement. At first, we found it was a bit difficult to cope with as I had to stay in Brunei and himself had to stay in Singapore. We were only entering our 8-month wedding anniversary when he had to leave. However, we managed to face it together and in fact, this long distance relationship further strengthens our love for each other. So, this post is going to be about our long distance relationship and our experience while I was in Singapore.

Fasting Experience in Singapore
For the first two weeks of May, I joined my husband to Singapore and helped him to settle down in his condominium. Also, we started our first puasa together as husband and wife there. It was an unforgettable experience for both of us. My husband's condominium happened to be in Geylang and it was where all the Ramadhan bazaars were set up. Being the first timers experiencing Ramadhan in Singapore, my husband and I were amazed at the multi varieties of foods and drinks available at the bazaars. There were countless of different types of foods and drinks being sold and all of them were halal (this was the first thing that we were worried of even before we went to Singapore). We managed to try some, which were recommended in the social media and websites (which I follow just to learn more what's trending in Singapore). Some of them really suited our taste buds and some tasted...unique (and this is the time when we missed our local foods back at home). These pictures were just some of the foods that we tried (and which I managed to take pictures of. The rest, tak sempat. Dah masuk dalam perut).






We also took the opportunity to perform our first Solat Terawih as husband and wife at Masjid Darul Aman during the first Ramadhan. As expected, the mosque was full. It was a really beautiful experience for both of us. Alhamdulillah~ I will never ever forget this beautiful moment I shared with my husband :)

Kindness is magic
During my stay in Singapore, I witnessed quite a number of acts of kindness in front of my own eyes; from as simple as giving Salam to a complete stranger (like me), to showing directions to giving a free cup of tea. There was this one occasion when we were given free fries from a McD staff in Paya Lebar. It was already late night, and my husband and me brought our good friend who just arrived from Brunei to have dinner. This McD guy saw us looking for an empty table and then at the corner of my eye, I saw him smiling when he saw us. I noticed him going to the counter and then he approached us and said, "Selamat Hari Raya. Saya tak balik Raya tahun ni". That was during Hari Raya Aidiladha. We thanked him and wished him Selamat Hari Raya too. Though it was just a simple gesture but it was so meaningful for us.

In another occasion, I experienced another small act of kindness but it meant so much to me. It was one late afternoon and I just got back from spending my alone time at Orchard Road. I went to Paya Lebar Square and decided to have a short tea break at the basement foodcourt while waiting for my husband to come home from work. I ordered a high tea set (with half boiled eggs and two pieces of bread). The Chinese aunty at the counter told me to sit down first while waiting for my foods. I picked up my cup of tea and chose an empty table nearby. I waited for around 15 minutes or so for my butter kaya bread and soft boiled eggs to be prepared only to find out that the aunty forgot to prepare them. Then I approached the aunty and she realized that she forgot about my tea. She apologized many times and she looked at me with that much kesian look. She said "You want more tea? I add some more for you," while looking at my half-empty-with-lipstick-stain cup. I said, "okay aunty, I'm good." But then again she insisted, "Come lah, aunty add for you" then I mengalah. 😂 So she filled my cup again. Full. And yea, I had a complete set in the end.




There are many other acts of kindness that I witnessed that made me realized how kindness makes our world a better place. Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for giving me the opportunity to witness and learn from others. May You guide our hearts always to stay humble and appreciate others.

TBC...




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