Sunday, July 12, 2015

An Awesome Day

I woke up at 3am today since I had to eat for the fast because it’s Ramadan. For those who don’t know Ramadan is a sacred Muslim month in which we fast for 30 days, so basically we eat before sunrise and don’t eat again till sunset. Yesterday I got the lowdown on what accommodations the university can provide for the fast. So basically I can get a to-go box from the dining hall for my sehri( which is eating before sunrise).But I got all this information after the cafeteria had closed so I had no food to eat at sehri. At that point I had no idea on what to do now since I had no food with me. I was really touched when one of the administrator offered me some of her own food. I felt a little guilty but I was also extremely grateful to her.

Later I woke up around 8am and decided I was going to play ultimate frisbee, which is an activity the RA’s had planned.We all met up at the lobby and headed out to the field. While  there I got to chat with a lot of new people. Even before the game started I knew I was going to be horrible at it since I am not really a sports person but still I wanted to try. Later I was proven right as once the game commenced my aim for throwing frisbee was horrible, also I slipped once. By the end of the  game I was exhausted so I decided to head back to the dorms and take  a shower.Then I just kicked back and relaxed for a while.
Pretty awesome view from the dorm.

In the evening, we had a meeting with our RA regarding the transport. It was really brief and to the point. After that I met two other girls who have the same course as me which was super nice. Now I have somebody I know in my courses. I was glad to know that one of them is actually from Bay Area, California which is where I am from, so that was pretty cool. We talked for awhile and it was nice to find somebody I could relate to since she like me is also a little bit homesick. I feel like it’s too early for me to be homesick but I really do miss just knowing where everything is and the area in general. Here I feel as if I don’t know anything and I feel a bit lost.
Today we also had a mandatory so I headed out with the group to the Kent hall. On the way there we met yet another student who shares the same course as us. We all decided to walk to the classes together tomorrow so none of us gets lost. The meeting was brief and basically just went over rules, regulations, and how to be safe on campus.

After the meeting I ran into Karima who is also fasting. So I kind of got a general idea of what to do. I found out that she is also from Bay Area, California. It’s like I keep running into so many people from the Bay Area, to be honest i didn’t expect so many people from there to be here. Anyway me and Karami decided to meet up and open the fast together so now I would feel less lonely while opening my fast.

I spent the next two hours just hanging out with Karima and her roommate and the time flew by. Finally it was time to break my fast. After eating a lot of fruits I headed to our lounge to see what our RA made for us for our study break. I was happy to eat the Mac n cheese Katie made but I also felt very tired. I checked in for the curfew and then headed out to my bed. Overall today was a good day, I got to meet a lot of new people and overall I enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.

1 comment:

  1. Aisha -

    The first few days will feel overwhelming as you are figuring out where everything is on campus. But then, it will start to feel familiar and hopefully your homesickness will dissipate. Enjoy it - this is a unique experience that you will look back on fondly for years to come!

    I will see you on Thursday...

    ReplyDelete