Project 365

How can anyone live without human connections? I can’t and I never will. I don’t know what He has planned for me. But I just wish that it won’t be too long. I can’t take it anymore.

It’s been three months and almost every weekend, I cry. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. I’ve done everything I can to keep me busy and meet friends, but whenever I get back home, this feeling is all over me again.

I thought once I started working, I would completely heal. But apparently, it’s still there. I’m not sure what to do anymore :(. Oh I wish I can have someone I can talk to here… who I feel totally comfortable talking with… at least to let go a little bit of my burden that I always carry on my own. I wish 🙁

About 5 weeks ago, I was invited for an interview in an IT company in KL. A friend of mine who had been working there (and *loved* it) told me to apply. I was quite nervous about the interview, because I really wanted this consultancy job that I applied. The interview itself was surprisingly relaxing and it’s so different than other companies. It was not a one-to-one nervous racking question and answer sessions. It was more about group-based activity and how well you work as a team — which is definitely one of my strengths as I really love working in teams. During lunch, the candidates got to meet the “bosses” — again it was very relaxing and they were very friendly. As I love meeting new people, I took this opportunity as a way to engage conversation with them and to show them how BADLY I wanted to work at this company.

Alhamdulillah, few days later, I got a news that they wanted to hire me. I couldn’t imagine how happy and grateful I was. I couldn’t believe it!!! But I didn’t want to tell a lot of people about it as I still had to apply for the employment visa. What if my visa application was rejected?! I kept on praying that this wouldn’t happen.

Finally, my visa was accepted within two weeks of applying! This was soooo fast! I was told that normally it would take more than a month to complete. I was lucky indeed. Alhamdulillah.

So officially, today was my second day. It has been great so far. My boss and colleagues have been very nice and friendly. They always help me out whenever I have some problems. They are very casual (including my boss) — which is great! They would also make sure I wouldn’t go alone for lunch. The team that I have joined in is also a crazy, outgoing, and friendly team. Although there are only two girls (including me), I really enjoy talking to my team buddies. This is the reason why I try to have dinner with them after work so I can get to know them a little bit better.

InsyaAllah everything will run smoothly for the next few months and I hope I can learn, contribute, and grow in this company 🙂 Looking forward to it!

Today I was invited for a BBQ at a friend’s private orchard. We stayed there from 9am to 5pm, busying ourselves with eating, eating, and eating. LOL. Well, we did cut some bamboos for BBQ-ing and find some woods for fire. It was one of the best things I’ve done so far in Malaysia. I really loved to be here, away from the noisy city life. It was such a nice escape.

— is its parks and a small forest in the city. I love to be here. Sitting there under the sun while reading a book — it’s so soothing.

 

Once I’m done with my reading or people-watching, I’d go to a nearby cafe to have a hot chocolate or cappuccino 🙂

Life is good. I just wish that I can share this happiness with a close friend 🙂

Happiness is only real when shared

— Into The Wild movie

One day, my friend Nabilah asked me if I would like to join the aqiqah of her niece. This would be a great opportunity to meet locals and it would definitely be my first exposure to a Malay culture. So with no hesitations, I immediately said yes.

We drove to the nearby state, Selangor. Her sister’s house is located near the city of Klang. The house was in the middle of nowhere. It was in a village (or a kampung, as Malaysians say it). This was my first time going into a traditional Malay house. It was interesting. The house is two-storey. The living  room and bedrooms are located in the upper part of the house. There is another living room in the bottom part of the house, with a slightly lower ceiling. At the back of the house, there’s a big kitchen and a bathroom. Just like in Iran, the toilet is located outside of the house.

When we arrived there, we were welcomed with lots of foods, as usual. It was a buffet. They put a tent outside where guests can sit and eat. Apparently, we missed out the actual aqiqah, so we were only there to eat and mingle with Nabilah’s extended families. Interestingly, Nabilah’s brother-in-law is a Malaysian of Javanese origin. Long time ago, many Javanese people came to Malaysia. Since I can’t speak Javanese, I can’t really figure out whether their Javanese language is the same as ours — but they can speak Javanese. Nabilah also said that their Malay accent is a bit different, perhaps more medok than the standard one :P.

I really enjoyed being in a kampung. It was very quiet, peaceful, and green. It was a nice escape from the noisy KL. I also forced myself to speak more Malay with Nabilah’s family. I really want to master it hahaha. It’s easier to mingle with the locals if you can speak their language — even though, yes, Malaysians generally understand Indonesian language just because they watch a lot of our sinetrons.

The next cultural experience for me would be the traditional Malay wedding. I was already invited to Nabilah’s friend’s wedding in September. I’m looking forward to it 🙂

Alhamdulillah for everything 🙂

When I was in Tehran, I was hosted by a very nice Iranian family. The experience was unforgettable and I had one of the most amazing moments with them. On two separate occasions, two of the family members came for a visit to KL. So today, I met one of them and showed her and her friend around KL.

We went to Chinese and Indian temples in Chinatown. It was my first time going to these temples so it was very interesting. I became a tour guide “on the spot”. I went to Chinatown 2 years ago when I was in KL and I barely remembered my way around. It was good to refresh my memory and at the same time explore this city!

When I was in the Chinese temple, I struck in a conversation with a Chinese-Malaysian man. He’s in his mid-50s I would say. He had lived in Australia and New Zealand before and loved to explore. He told me that he was the one who discovered a new species of Rafflesia. The plant is called Rafflesia Azlanii. I think this was the coolest thing EVER!! 🙂 When asked why he named it Azlanii, he said he had a fight with his Professor friend about it. Apparently it was named after his friend’s wife. He said that his daughter also recently found another species of Rafflesia, which was named Rafflesia Sumeii.

This is the reason why I love talking to strangers 🙂 You never know what kind of experiences they have encountered! It’s just so cool! He really made my day!

Finally, my friends and I did the long-awaited hiking in Bukit Tabur. It is the hill which is located only few minutes from KL. It’s been a long time since I hiked (and worked out hahaha) so as expected, it was tiring. But the only thing that mattered was the fact that I really really loved it. After being stuck in a noisy city for months, I could escape to the nature. It was liberating, somehow. On top of that, I had a great time my friends :). Thanks Ikmal & Nabilah 🙂

Third week of living here. I kinda get the hang of it. I’m not as miserable as in previous weeks. I still feel so lonely though, due to lack of friends and activities. But I temporarily ‘heal’ it with some daily routines. I need to make myself constantly busy, doing different things every day. When I’m bored with chatting, I would watch some Islamic-related talks on YouTube. When I’m bored with the Internet, I would cook and try out new recipes (mind you, I’ve been cooking different things every day for the past 3 weeks). When I’m bored with doing household chores, I’d go out to the market or eat out with friends (I have less than 5 friends here to be honest haha). And recently, I have found a new way to pass my day by doing something really positive: volunteering. But that’s another topic to write about :P.

Anyhow, I’ve recently moved to a new apartment. My sister and I found a master bedroom to be rented and decided to move in immediately. It’s located within the same complex, but it is in a different building. The view from my room is not spectacular, but at least the highways and roads are a bit further than the view of my old room. Our housemates are also nice and clean. They work most of the time so I barely see them around except in the evenings. I wish I can invite my friends over for dinner (which I usually did when I was in Eindhoven). The thing is, I don’t have that many friends yet! 🙂 Plus, KL’s foods are delicious and affordable so why would anyone want to try my not-so-good cooking?? 😛

What about KL? Still a mystery city for me. One thing I realized about KL is that the city is not as extensively covered by public transports as in Jakarta. While they are very comfortable and clean, its buses are not widely available or they come rather infrequently. Jakarta’s public transports may be awful, dirty, and risky but they come frequently. In some areas in KL, I still need to take a taxi to reach some places — including my place. There is only one bus passing the area where I live and they come every half an hour at their best. Taking a taxi means that I have to pay 5 times than a bus fare — that’s not good for an extremely-low-budget-jobless-person like me. But sometimes I have no choice. The only solution to this problem is to find a job!!! haha…

Oh I hope I can get it soon… so I can at least get away from this boredom and stress! InsyaAllah soon.

I’m back from my travel. Back to reality. There are so many things I want to write about my travel in Iran, Turkey, and Jordan, but I don’t have time to do it yet. I’m going to Jakarta in two days time. It was rather unexpected and unplanned, because my grandma was suddenly hospitalized. I had to change my plans and I’ve been busy with the preparation of my sudden move to Jakarta. Anyway…

My laptop is also broken & the internet is extremely slow here. This is the reason why I decided to slowdown my blogging activities.

Not sure when I’ll start blogging again, but I hope soon! I miss writing something here! I hope the next time I write again, there will be good news about my grandma. Amin.