A year is Near.

Asalam walaikum, Hello, Hola, and good day mate.
Well I'm a bit embarrassed because I haven't written anything in about 10 months. My plan at the start was to be consistent and that totally failed. I guess the main reason was because I started working at Taibah University and that took over my free time AKA "My Life". So Here I am again, with a lot of time on my hands and ready to try again. Since the first few months so much has happened and It's hard to recall it all in detail. So I guess I'll try to pick up the pieces where I left off, here goes!

Today is May 5th 2011. Inshallah (God willing) I will be back in the states in 13 days. Man It's so close, yet so far away. I really never thought the day would be as close as it is now. On June 10th, It will be exactly one year since I moved with my husband to Medinah. Boyyy things have changed, and so have I of course, that's a part of life I suppose. Less then a month after I moved to Medinah a friend of a friend told me that the University was hiring for the summer program. I made a few phone calls and literally the next day I was hired. I would later find out why they were such in need of teachers during the summer. Exited, anxious, and a bit on the nervous side I went, ready for what ever they could possibly toss at me. Well, let's just say that I wasn't ready enough. In my head I pictured the perfect classroom with great students ready to learn English. Instead, I got rude, unenthusiastic, miserable students who had a chip on their shoulder because they weren't traveling with the rest of the family because they had to take a summer English course with me because they failed last semester! Yea that's a lot to take in huh, imagine how I felt. Boy was that difficult; those 8 weeks felt like a year and I think that was when I discovered that I grew a second gray hair:(. Despite that I was extremely excited to start the new year with fresh new students that would take English a bit more serious, and try a bit more harder, and I know I'm pushing my luck, but perhaps have a Bit more respect:) Ohh well I guess you figured it out, after the summer classes were over I was hired as a teacher during the normal school year. Now this means that I would ultimately have to stop going to tahfeeth school (were I learn how to recite Quran properly) and that really bothered me. I told myself that I was going to find a personal one on one tutor but that never happened either. To make a dreadfully long story short, I was completely bogged down at work and at home. I would work from 10-5 but I wasn't quite done after that. I would get home and look up supplementary material, grade homework, and literally be up until like 12 pm with all the extra things I had to get done for the next day. Towards the end of the first semester I started to remember why I came here in the first place. What was I doing, I started to loose myself, and I also felt the stress of work start to change my life with hubby as well. Despite the stress I was making good money, does that make it worth it? What about the fact that I was no longer studying Arabic. I put serious thought into just holding on for the duration of the year. I also put serious thought into leaving. What shall I do, What shall I do, the thoughts were taking over. Finally I decided that I need to let the job go because my intention was not to come to Saudi to make a lot of money. My intention was to benefit from living here by using the resources around me. It was such a difficult decision because "Bashirs' don't quit". That was something I grew up hearing, and to this day I hear my father saying it to my nephew. Everything I started I had to finish. I remember when I started running track and I hated it because it was so hard. I told my father I wanted to quite and he said, "Halimah just finish out this season and you never have to run again, just don't quit". Although I wanted to quit right then and there, I hung in there and after that season, I was hooked. From 7th grade to college track was my life and Subhanallah It got me through college. So in my head quitting meant you couldn't stand the heat, and that had to be the furthest thing from the truth. I realized that one of us had to benefit while we had the opportunity to be in such a Holy place, and we were both just working. So I prayed and asked Allah to help me to decide whats best. The materialist things or the beneficial things that would help me in this life as well as the hereafter. I'm doing this for Allah sake, to become closer to him, to one day be able to teach my children proper tajweed, and to ultimately get closer to my creator. Once I realized the importance of learning, the rest was history. This was a very difficult decision that I had to make, but Alhumdulillah I think it was well worth it. The day I meet my Creator I can't say here is some money I earned for you, but I can say that this is the knowledge I gained in Medinah for your sake, and your sake alone.

Im back........with reptiles and rodants:)

Bismillah,
I want to apologize to all of the readers out there for not writing more frequently. But, I do have an excuse....we just recently bought our own internet, so now I can get online anytime without worrying about getting booted off:) Before there was a 10 percent chance that I could connect to one of my neighbors services and then all of a sudden it went down to zero. I was almost about to break down and cry because I missed talking to my friends and family, but my super cool husband our own service before a tear could fall. Sooooo I don't even know where to start it's been like 2 weeks and it feels like a month. I'm home sick today so I thought I'd sit in bed and start writing to you all.
First things First, last Thursday (which is our Saturday) my husband and I decided to scrub the floors in the hall way with our hands. I had already mopped the floor over 4 times but there was this hard film that had to be scrubbed off with a Brillo and some elbow grease. A day prior to that I was in the hall bathroom and notice some black stuff in the toilet. The toilet had been turned off due to it not being in use and also because the water wouldn't stop running. I looked a little closer and to my surprise I saw mouse droppings:( Trust me I know what mouse droppings look like because back in the states we had mice in our garage stealing out peanuts, LOLOL). Anywho although I was sure what it was I wanted my husband to see. Before I could call him in the bathroom to take a gander he yelled "come look theres a gecko in our living room". I ran and to my surprise this wonderfully colored creature was chillin on the wall near the crown modeling. It's hard to explain the colors but inshallah I'll be able to post a picture of it. After seeing that one might say, ok that was enough excitement for me in one day, but it gets worse.
I call my husband into the bathroom to see the poop, LOLOL and hes like are you sure. I told him that I had experience in this field of work LOLOL but he still wasn't convinced. So we both agreed to turn the water on to flush it all down. OMGOSHHHH just thinking about it makes me sick. What do you think happened next...... besides me screaming and jumping in the tub. The mouse apparently was chillin in the pipes, so when the water turned on the little mousy woousy popped hes ugly little head out. I flipped out, lololol and my husband jumped (maybe because I screamed so loud) and slammed the lid shut. How on earth did it get in there were wondering. I believe it was crashed up the three flights of stairs by all these stray cats and made its way under our door wheres there a tiny crack, and into the only dark place it could hide. My husband on the other hand thinks something totally different. We, I mean my husband stands there holding the lid shot for about 5 minutes. Were both wondering if it went down and died or if its floating in the toilet as we spoke. Finally we got the courage to open it up, and it was gone. Later I researched them and found out a lot of things that freaked me out. One is that they can jump up to 12 inches off the ground, and 38 from a running start. They are also good swimmers and are able to squeeze under 1/4 of an inch gap. I don't know why I read all this, it just freaked me out even more. I immediately thought of my mother who can't stand the mere sight of these creatures, and my aunt T, who would pass out if she saw it poke its head out of her toilet. Regardless of how the mouse got in the toilet, we now know to keep the water on. Luckily houses here are made of all cement so they cant live in walls here( thank Allah for that). That night In bed I kept thinking about seeing its little black beady eyes and I would randomly grunt in disguised. Inshallah I wont see another living thing in my house for a long time...besides my husband of course.

Mecca, Mecca!

Bismillah,
I missed you all so much but after my trip to Mecca, (the most holiest place for a Muslims where the Prophet saw, was born) I must say I'm a bit overwhelmed. As I sat on the bus I was telling my husband that I don't want to write the Blog anymore because I feel like I can't write everything down because there's just way to much. The one person that motivates me the most to continue writing is my mother. So Inshallah I'll try my best to at least write 2 times a week.
So where do I began. Last Thursday was my first venture with my husband outside the city of Mecca. I was extremely excited because this was my first time going to the blessed land, and preforming Umrah (pilgrimage to Mecca, where specific religion acts are preformed). I convinced my husband that we should leave Wednesday night so that we would have pretty much a full day Starting Thursday. knowing it would take 4 hours i was prepared for a long trip. Well I knew it was gonna be a long trip once we arrived at the bus station. We get in line, and then my husband asks me for my passport. "Passport" I say, "You told me not to bring it"....." no, I didn't". Well lets just say I misinterpreted what he had said in a previous conversation. When he said DONT bring it, he was referring to carrying it around with me once we arrived there....Silly me! So we jump in a taxi and go back to the house to retrieve my passport (and the tooth paste I forgot:)). Subhanallah the man who drove us was very nice, and waited while I went upstairs to get it. on the way back my husband asked him if he could stop and get change for a 200 riyal bill. With no success after store number 4, my husband told him once we arrived at the bus station he would get change there. Well Mashallah the man was so kind, and upon arrival, he said don't worry about it (we owed him 20 riyals)...My husband refused to give him nothing, and handed him the 10 riyals we had. Its funny because my husband intended to give him 30 riyals for his effort in trying to get us change, and his kindness, and the man, didn't want to take anything. He said to make dua'a ( to pray for him in Mecca) instead,(and that my husband and I did).
So finally after about 20 minutes of standing in line again we have our round trip tickets and were ready to go. We board the bus around 11pm and take off around 1130, thinking that we would arrive in Mecca around Fajr time(4am). Well surprisingly that didn't happen. I think we had a newbie who didn't know what he was doing. It really seemed like every other bus was going 70 and we were going 30mph. After about 2 hours, we stopped at a "rest stop" I guess you would call it. I had to go to the bathroom, but I had no idea where to go, so I asked a women on the bus if she could point me in the right direction, and she kindly offered to walk with me (I thanked Allah for that). We walk behind this building , jump over a short wall, and dun dun dun, we finally find the bathroom. Well lets just say I would have rather went behind the nearest mountain, and as they say "pop a squat". The sight of the bathroom is a huge reminder to me that I'm not in the US anymore. Imagine the worst bathroom at a rest stop in America, and then times that by 10, and that equals Saudi rest stop bathrooms. I opened the stall door and saw just a hole in the floor. Well not just a hole, I also saw feces and roaches crawling on top of it, and around it. There is no was I'm going to put my backside near this, you must be crazy. I'm thinking why does everyone seem comfortable with this, OMgosh thinking about it makes me sick. So I tell the lady "No, I'm good", and she insisted, I said Nooooooooo, and she again pressed the issue and pointed to the door, and said "it's okay go". She wouldn't let up, so I held my breath for 20 sec, went in the stall counted, then RAN out. The lady thought I went, and then I high tailed it out of there. Seriously if that happens again, I'll go find a place outside the bathroom that's much cleaner.
So where back on the bus which seemed like 10 years and we finally arrived in Mecca. A four hour trip took 6 and a half hours,,,,,"Patience", That's all I have to say about that. Well I really think the bus experience foreshadowed what our whole trip would be like, LOL Subhanallah. We get off the bus and immediately start looking for a hotel, well of course there full or have no single rooms, so the prices are off the wall for some. We walk back and forth probably walking 2 miles in total for 2 hours looking for a place to stay, and finally we find a room. Mind you, I haven't slept but Alhumdulillah I'm running on a natural high of just being there. We drop our bags and were off to the Kabba ( this is the directions that all muslims pray towards). Words can not describe how I felt when I first saw it subhanallah, it was amazing. I had tears in my eyes as I reflected about all that I've learned about this very place. Although I was standing right before it, it still seemed as if I was looking at a picture. That moment had to be the highlight of my trip.
After that my husband and I started Tawaf around the Kabba. It was actually easier then I imagined. Surprisingly I didn't get pushed much, and it was overall a smooth 7 laps:)I was not able to touch the black stone, but Alhumdulillah I was happy just to be there and to actually see the kabba with my own eyes. After that we preformed the rest of the rituals and then retreated back to the hotel for some much need shut eye. In that kind of heat all you want to do is drink drink drink! My husband and I probably purchased 10 smoothies in total while we were there for just a day and a half LOLOL it seems like a lot, but really that's nothing:)
Overall the trip was very nice. I do wish that we could of stayed there longer though because it went by so fast, and I really wish I had more time to sit in the Haram in Ibadah (worship). Inshallah there will be many more times for me to complete umrah while I'm here. I pray to Allah that I will also be able to make Hajj.
For some reason I had in my head that the trip back home was going to be much smoother since the trip there was what I like to call "EXTRA". Well I thought WRONG....My husband and I arrived at the "Bus station" AKA "Chaos city" at around 3pm. We go to the building thats like a trailor with windows and ask about our round trip bus ticket, and where to get on. LOLOLOL I keep forgetting that I'm not in America anymore. It doesn't work like that here. This is how it works... you go to the area where all the buses pull up, you run to the bus and ask if they are going to the city you are traveling to. If they are you jump on, if not you run to the next bus. Well it took us about and hour and a half in the hot sun to finally find a bus that wasn't packed that we could get on. I was so relieved when I plopped my butt down on the chair, and felt the cool air conditioning hit my face. Of course I calculate in my head our arrival time to be 9, giving them a little cushion. Well guess what,,,,, that didn't happen. Guess what time we got home.....1AM!!!! Subhanallah. I kept making dua'a (personal prayers) because there's nothing else you can do, (Although after the 5th hour I felt like crying, LOLOL. subhanallah when we got to our house, I was soooo happy to be there. I was so thankful to Allah (by way of my husband) for giving me a comfortable place to lay my head.
Alhumdulillah for everything!

Thank you for your hospitality!

Banana Pudding, Yum Yum!!!!!!

Bismillah,
what's up you guys,,,,It's been awhile. Sometimes I feel like I don't want to write anymore, but then as soon as I get started the wheels start to spin, and I don't know where to begin. Plus it helps that my mom tells me to keep writing:) Well not much has happened since I wrote to you all last. But I did get a chance to meet one of my husbands students family. My husband went with his student to look for a car on Friday, and I stayed with the wife in there home. Mashallah she is a very nice person and shes willing to help me with my Quranic arabic, double plus. In the mean time I too can help her and her cute little one year old girl with English, since everyone here wants to learn it. It's kind of like America and Spanish, everyone here knows that learning English can open so many doors and be beneficial in the long run.
After learning that my neighbor doesn't eat DINNER until around 2am, I had to ask my new friend Sahar what time she ate. Although late I felt 10pm was way more reasonable then 2am. Now when I tell people my husband and I eat after Maghrib prayer which is around 8, they all look at Me like I'm the crazy one, and even 8 is late. So when I arrived at her house at around 6 I knew it was no way near dinner time, and I also knew that she was gonna stuff me with all sorts of goodies:) First came the ice cream. Here vanilla ice cream with crushed pistachios on top is very popular. I don't think I would have ever ordered that on my own, but now I think Its starting to grow on me. It seems like they put pistachios on everything, ice cream, cookies, cake, you name it(Its a good thing I actually like Pistachios huh). So after that we had coffee and cookies. That's one thing about people here, they don't take No for an answer. So I drank coffee (which is rarely ever) and ate some lovely chocolates:) And this is why Inshallah (God willing) when the smokes clears and were a bit more settled I'm gonna start working out consistently, and finish studying to be a personal trainer. I don't think I'm lacking any over weight sisters that's for sure. My goal is to stay fit while I'm here and also prove to all of my friends that not everyone gains 10-15 pounds once they get married:)
Anywho, keep in mind that she knows very, very little English and I know very little Arabic, so it's like playing a game of charades, LOLOL I'm literally acting out using body language, facial expressions, sounds, lolol anything to get my point across. It starts out fun, then it becomes exhausting, and I end up pulling out the Arabic/English dictionary. When her husband came to my house my husband offered him some banana pudding, (shout out to my Grandma for the recipe:) He ended up loving it and telling his wife about it. So when I was there she told me that her husband had something very good with bananas and I knew exactly what she was referring to. I offered to give her the recipe, and she immediately started to write it down. Well that game of charades took about 10 minutes, and immediately after she asked me if I wanted to help her make it. "NOW" I asked,(surprised she had all the ingredients on hand) shes like "yeaaa why not", LOLOL. So that's what we did the second half of my visit, make banana pudding. I guess it was a bonding experience because we worked together, and I showed her exactly what to do, so next time she'll be a pro:) I like her a lot and she seemed to like me to because when I left she said in broken English/Arabic, You and me are friends:) I thought that was so cute, and replied of course, and kissed her and her cute little one goodbye. Gotta go pray Fajr, and then crash after since I didn't go to sleep. I'll write again later Inshallah!!!

Neighborly Love....

Bismillah,
So after much suspense I finally met my neighbor. Awhile back her husband gave my husband tons of food because they were going out of town, and didn't want anything to go to waste. Alhumdulillah most of the items were used except this one vegetable. I had know idea what it was, therefore I had know idea how to cook the darn thing. It came from a store that didn't really have English written on anything so It's so difficult sometimes to tell what things are. When I figure out what kind of veggie it is I'll be sure to let you know.
She told me her name and her 2 kids names (one girl and one boy) but for the life of me I can't remember any, except that her daughters name starts with an "M". It's so hard being the new person, they have to remember one name, (and my name is a very common name here, like Michelle in America) and I have to remember all these names that I never even heard of in my life. Shes from Bahrain Mashallah, so shes the first person I met from there. Despite me not knowing much Arabic and her not knowing much English we still manage to get our point across, It's amazing LOL. We actually have a friend in common. One of the girls in my Quranic class knows her very well. So yesterday while shopping with my husband she gave me a call and told me that she was visiting my neighbor, and to come over:)
When I got home I was multi-tasking, talking to my mom on the phone and putting the groceries away when I heard my doorbell ring. LOLOL it was my neighbor, and she said in Arabic what are you doing come over LOLOLOL I told her I would be there as soon as I was done talking with my mother, and she said ok. I feel like this foreshadows how our relationship is going to be if you know what I mean;).Alhumdulillah shes a pleasant person and I could see myself over there playing with the kids etc. When I dropped in I knew it was going to be short because my husband wasn't feeling to well and I had a pot of water on the stove for tea. I told her I was just saying hello, and that I had to go. She said why, LOLOLOL and I told her that my husband was sick. Next thing I know were in her kitchen, and shes over her stove brewing up something for him. I was trying to tell her that he wasn't like cough cough sick, but just wasn't feeling 100%, but I don't think she cared to understand that part:). She got butter out of her fridge and started heating that up. Then, she put milk in it once the butter had browned and let the milk simmer. And that was it, LOL she said that its for a cough, which he didn't have, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. I don't know what it is with being sick and people saying drink warm milk. What the heck does that do? Kill the bug inside you??? I feel like I need a logical explanation for that one, I'm not a kitten,LOLOL. I do think I'll be making it again, being as though my husband though it was the best thing on earth lolol (once I added some honey to sweeten it up). That was very nice of her, and I thanked her when she came knocking 10 minutes later to borrow garlic, LOLOLOLOLolololol (1 something in the morning).
My husband is already acquainted with her husband and he actually took me to his store to get some household items. When I went over there the other day, I told her I had to go when it was around Maghrib time (evening prayer, around 7:20). She says whyyy, and I told her that's what time we eat, and she looked at me as if that was strange. She then explained that she eats around 2 or 3 with her husband, I guess before he goes in for work (he doesn't get home until 1 or 2 am. So like anyone else would think from America, Wow thats extremely early, that's more like lunch. Well I told my husband what she said, and immediately he's like LOLOL are you crazy she means 3am, that's typical in Saudi. I told him no way, they may eat late here, but thats considered early in my book, it being 3am and all lololol. Well I soon realized he was right when she knocked at my door at like 1:30AM for some garlic LOLOL crazy huh. we'll Im adjusting to there culture but I'm for sure not changing dinner time to 3am, NOT gonna happen.
Anywho The friend we have in common is actually from Uzbekistan, so again shes the first person I met from there as well. Shes very nice too Mashallah and she also was recently married. She knows a little English so shes a great help, and teaches me a lot.
Alhamdulillah ( All praise due to God), I feel good. I'm slowly adjusting to the culture and life here in Saudi Arabia, which isn't as drastic as it seems. Once I get some of the language down, I know I'll feel wayyy more comfortable. Now I'm struggling to communicate my thoughts and feelings, so that can be a little frustrating, but I'll be patient Inshallah and get the langauge down sooner then later.
I was telling my husband the other night that a long time ago I use to listen to a lot of music and then it would be stuck in my head for days after. It was typically for people to say " Halimah, why do you know every song that comes on ". Now Alhumdulillah Instead of having a song that I heard either on the radio or in a store stuck in my head I now have Quran stuck in there Subhanallah ( glory to Allah). I study so much that when I'm done studying that's the only thing I hear in my head. The actually words of Allah, it's a nice feeling, wayyyy better then Alicia keys or any other artist, LOL. At the rate I'm learning I should be able to learn the last section of the Holy book which is about 36 chapters. Inshallah that's my goal so we shall see if it's met before I come back to the states (Not sure exactly when that will be).
I love you all! have a good one.

As we literally walk through the streets of Medina

Bismillah,
Fridays here is equivalent to an American Christians Sunday. It's a day where Muslims go to the Masjid for congregational worship. Since my husband and I don't have a car, its an event that pretty much last the greater part of a day. Last Friday like all the other Fridays since I've been here we had to walk to the main street that goes in the direction of the Masjid to bum a ride. Once again we waited less then 5 minutes for a complete stranger to give us a lift for 6 riyals which is about a $1.50 (I'm sure I mentions that before but I still cant believe it). I guess I'm getting use to it, but still will never do that alone. After we make it to the congregational prayer called Jummah we usually walk to the famous saudi fast food joint called Al baik and get a bite to eat. Surprisingly this time there weren't a million people in line so we got our food pretty fast, Alhumdulillah.
Something that I have to get use to her is the people and manors. For one, they have no sense of personal space. As I stand in line to order, I'm continuously bumped around by all the hungry women it's ridiculous. My husband told me that you can't be nice and now I see he's totally right. I feel I'm natural a polite person, and at first I attempted to stay true to who I really am, LOLOLOL But seriously, you can't. If I didn't push back 20 women would openly cut in front of me as if i was invisible, Seriously!!! So here is where my height is used to my advantage. I simply stiffen my arm out and its as simply as that, I don't even have to say anything, (although sometime I say in English hold your horses, the foods not going any where)LOLOL. Thats just how it is here, you can't be shy here that's all I have to say.
So once we eat and enjoy the nice air conditioning inside we go right back to Masjid nabawi for Asr(the third prayer of the day). We spend some time there watching the people, which is quit entertaining. Mashallah the atmosphere around the masjid is like no other, you get a since of contentment in your heart, and I guess your just happy to be around the beloved saw. It's not uncommon for someone to take your shoes though, by accident of course(wink wink, I don't want to accuse anyone of stealing). My husband had his shoes taken I believe three times since he's been here, Subhanallah. Let me remind you all that the masjid is surrounded by marble, so imagine how hot that gets when its 115 + degrees outside. For sure you could have your eggs sunny side up, or scrambled with cheese:). But Mashallah there are people out there that do things fisibillah, for Allahs sake. My husband and I literally stood and watched this nice man stand outside the masjid passing out flip flops to people who had LOST there shoes:) You should of seen him, he was on the prowl looking at everyone's feet in order to spot out a helpless victim walking swiftly due to the burning of the marble on their souls. My husband was like, "Man I wish that guy was here when I didn't have any shoes" LOLOLOL. I just wanted to tell the man that what he was doing was great:) I love to see people helping one another, its a beautiful thing. Kindness is universal, all praise due to Allah!
So after our live entertainment was done we started walking toward the street that leads us to our house. I like walking here, despite the weather because lately I haven't been that active, so I feel like I'm doing a little something when I walk. I'm use to working out, but until we buy all my workout equipment, the walking will have to do. So we walked, and walked and walked some more, until finally we were both ready to try and get a ride. Well that didn't happen as easily as all the other times and we ended up walking ALLLLL the way home LOLOLOL. Its funny because as we walked I joked and said to my husband," what if we walked all the way home" and he replied "yea right". Well That happened, not without me being clumsy of course, LOL. Not paying attention, I accidently walked right of the curb and into a NASTY water puddle, EWWWWWWWWWW it was soo nasty! My husband and I laughed, and he said " don't worry it will be dry in no time, LOLOLOL, I wasn't even worried about that, I was more concerned with how stupid I looked, LOL. And before that my wonderful husband led me through a pile of crushed glass and it went through my slipper. Alhumdulillah I only had a tiny cut! Now I know to wear better shoes anytime I go to the Masjid because those slippers felt like I was bare foot after 30 minutes. overall I had a good time, despite all the happenings and would do it again in a heartbeat )with proper shoes of course:)), I don't know if my husband feels the same way though,LOLOLOL it was almost a 2 hour walk! But I told him to appreciate this walk and be happy because it's time well spent with one another, and the likelihood that we do that again once we get a car is slim to none. So Alhumdulillah for everything.