When Two Worlds Merge Into One

I've been looking forward to this day for quite some time... one year to be exact. That's how long I've promised to 'berbuka puasa' with my Muslim students. We tried to organise an outing last year when I first proposed it but due to a combination of conflicting schedules, it never materialised. Well, I'm glad to say that it finally has!

It was supposed to be a group of five but again, conflicting schedules arose. Still, the three of us, Huda, Amalia and I, managed to fulfill this simple mission - to share one day breaking fast together. My mission started early Sunday morning, as I munched on the last bits of my Chachos corn chips and Cadbury chocolate wafers, and gulped down large amounts of Glucolin Glucose

and water, until I heard the morning Azan prayer, which signaled the end of Sahur and the start of my quest. So, I brushed my teeth and off I went to bed.

I'd figured the best way to overcome my hunger and craving for food would be to sleep it through. So, I only woke up at 2pm. Haha! I wondered for a moment if I was allowed to brush

my teeth after waking up (since I might accidentally 'drink' some water) but the thought of smelly breath spurred me on to the bathroom no sooner than I'd yawned.

I then went downstairs and saw my parents sitting on the couch, watching TV. Good. No temptation from seeing them eat or smelling the aroma of food. Still, with my stomach growling, I pondered just how difficult this was going to be. 'Sigh... can't drink water to start my day either' as I loitered around the kitchen. Okay, time to go back into my bedroom and lock myself away from any further sight, sound or smell of food. Then came a thought, 'Ahh... a DVD' - the perfect distraction! So, I watched a movie on my laptop, which I hoped would distract me from thinking about food.

It wasn't long before my eyes wandered off to look at my watch, anticipating the end of my fasting. It was 4:30pm when my alarm finally sounded. Yes, time to go! So, off I went to Kota Kemuning to fetch Huda and Amalia. In the car, the three of us were talking about how I was facing up to my challenge. In between, I clarified certain issues regarding this fasting month such as 'Sahur, Imsak, Magrhib, Tarawih, Zakat and uhm... Uzur (er hem).

We met with some minor traffic hold-up as we approached Bangsar's famous Jalan Telawi Satu. This was where one of the many Ramadan Bazaars was to be found every year. Thankfully, parking was a breeze and we proceeded to walk past the numerous restaurants, cafes and boutiques that Bangsar is famous for. Then, we saw (and smelled) them! - the rows of food stalls lined up along the street. What a sight to behold!

OMG! It was driving my stomach crazy! Haha! Happily, we went shopping for food, picking our way past the numerous stalls. I started with grilled squid, then some keropok lekor (gotta have those!) before ending with Portuguese grilled stingray. In between, the girls and I also picked up some roti john, chicken kebab, apam balik, kuih and of course, drinks! Huda had to get some of her corn juice fix while I settled for cincau.

By 7pm, we were done with our food shopping and walked back to my car. Along the way, I took a wrong turn into Kota Kemuning. That was certainly torturing as we wanted to reach Huda's home by 7:25pm to break fast. Luckily, despite the scenic detour, we managed to reach the house just in time. Phew! No sooner had we reached were we busy unpacking all the food and placing them on plates, on the dinner table. Just as we settled down, the call for Maghrib prayers sounded and I said a little prayer of my own before I dived into all that glorious food! Ahhh... that overwhelmingly good feeling of food and water in my mouth; and I began to experience a new appreciation for food! Even normal tasting cincau tasted like 'THE BEST CINCAU IN THE WORLD'!

Here I am, posing with 'THE BEST CINCAU IN THE WORLD'!

I took a long time to slowly indulge myself in all that food and drink and I was happy to sit at the dinner table for as long as I could stuff myself silly. Haha! Well, I didn't go overboard in the end. I had what I would call, a decent meal, considering it's the first and only meal I had today. As I drove home after spending some time chatting with Huda and Amalia, I thought about all the important lessons I'd learnt today...

One: We should always be grateful for what we have.

Two: We can never know what the other person is going through until we experience it for ourselves, and Three: We should always learn to accept each other's differences and discover that we actually have a lot in common - after all, despite the fact I'm Chinese and a Christian, and Huda and Amalia are Malay and Muslims, when our two worlds merge into one, we realise we're all one and the same - Human.