Ramadhan di Rantau

Ini kedua kalinya kami sekeluarga ber-Ramadhan di negeri orang. Tahun lalu di Onex, Geneve, tapi kurang berkesan karena lagi musim dingin :( Nah yang sekarang di Sharjah baru deh dapat 'the whole experience'. Ternyata kebiasaan orang Arab itu lain sekali dengan di Jakarta. Disini saat Ramadhan jam kehidupan langsung berubah. Baik dewasa maupun anak-anak semuanya jadi 'kalong' alias hidup di malam hari, tidur di pagi/siang hari. Mall-mall tutup dan baru buka jam 7 malam setelah iftar (buka puasa), jadi di sini nggak ada nggak kebiasaan ngabuburit dan buka puasa di luar. Beda banget ya sama di Jakarta, bayangin kalau menjelang berbuka susah sekali dapat tempat duduk di food court Plaza Senayan!!

Di televisi lokal Sharjah, setiap menjelang iftar selalu ada acara baca doa bareng dengan latar belakang orang-orang melambai-lambaikan tangan numpang masuk TV :) Saat maghrib tiba, tentara menembakkan meriam, baru deh Azan. Akram selalu menunggu-nunggu siaran menjelang iftar ini, sambil membalas melambaikan tangan (dia pikir orang-orang di TV bisa melihat dia 'dadah-dadah'...hehehe)

Yang unik juga, setiap Ramadhan ada semacam taman ria dadakan di beberapa lokasi seperti al majaz park, qanat al qasba dan taawun road. Aku setuju banget sama taman ria ini karena sangat mendukung physical activity untuk anak-anak. Jadi permainannya itu macam-macam, ada perosotan, ada trampolin...tapi semuanya terbuat dari balon. Anak-anak suka sekali, mereka lari-lari, loncat-loncat, sampai baju basah berkeringat. Hampir tiap minggu Akram minta ke taman ria ini. Aku sih senang-senang aja, soalnya jadi sehat dan tidurnya lebih nyenyak :)

Lebaran datang juga akhirnya. Kami sekeluarga diajak ke Abu Dhabi sama keluarganya pak Ari-mba Andia. Kebetulan mobil mereka 8 seaters, jadi kita pergi satu mobil rame-rame. Sangat menyenangkan. Abu Dhabi is very different from Sharjah or Dubai. Teduh banget!!! Banyak sekali pohon-pohon di tengah maupun sisi jalan. Hijau sejauh mata memandang, nggak melulu padang pasir seperti di Sharjah. Kami diajak bersilaturahmi dengan keluarga mba Andia dari Palembang. Hmm.. ada roti jala pakai Kari. Sedaaap! Tadinya kita mau ngopi2 di hotel Emirates Palace,bagus banget hotelnya!! Sayang saat itu mereka lagi kedatangan VIP jadi selain tamu hotel nggak boleh masuk :( Akhirnya kita duduk-duduk di coffee shop di pinggir Corniche Abu Dhabi. So lovely! Airnya warna biru turquoise, ada orang-orang naik jet ski, speed boat, terus banyak yang terbang dengan light weight aircraft...wow...pemandangannyaoke deh, pokoknya!

Nggak sabar menunggu Ramadhan datang lagi tahun depan. Pastinya Insya Allah lebih berkesan. Tapi setelah dipikir-pikir...we're going to fast in summer. Mudah-mudahan nggak masalah, yang penting keep the spirit up!

Mother's Cooking

Is there anyone out there who doesn't love her mom's cooking? I bet the answer is 'NO'. Every mom is like a domestic goddess to her children. So is mine. Everything she cooks is just amazing. Now that I'm a mom myself, I try to practice her everyday recipes. Believe me, her recipes are all so easy to follow, use common ingredients, and taste so delicious. But of course they all come with one very important secret ingredient. L-O-V-E!!!

I'd like to share one with you. It' s nothing fancy, but it's my all time favorite. My mom doesn't have a name for this particular recipe, so I invented one. I call it 'Shrimp Sensation'. Nice, huh? :)

SHRIMP SENSATION

Ingredients:

10 pieces of mid-size shrimp
5 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 cm of ginger, sliced
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
3 tbsp margarine
cooking oil

How to make:

* Clean the shrimps and cut their heads off
* Prepare the wok. Deep fry the shrimps in a lot of oil until golden, put aside when cooked
* Heat the margarine in a frying pan, stir fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant
* Add the chopped onion
* Add 1 tbsp cooking oil, put the cooked shrimps
* Stir well until all the ingredients are mixed
* Put the oyster sauce and the sweet soy sauce
* Toss the ingredients thoroughly for 1 minute and serve immediately

ps: cook only when you're in the mood. Do it with the utmost sincerity. Don't forget to add some TLC...

How to eat:

* Prepare lots of jasmine rice
* Sambal terasi (traditional Indonesian chili paste) is a must
* Ice cold drinks (preferably tea with sugar) could help ease your burning tongue
* Gather all family member in one big table and enjoy!

Kisah-kisah Akram

Anak-anak itu selalu penuh kejutan, ya. Akram sering cerita soal kejadian-kejadian di sekolahnya, tapi aku sering bertanya dalam hati, "bener nggak sih yang dia ceritain?" Setelah aku cek ke gurunya, ternyata kisah-kisahnya itu benar terjadi lho. Anak-anak memang nggak boleh di-underestimate ya. Walaupun sepertinya mereka bicara nggak serius, sambil lalu aja...

Kisah I

A: "Bu, di sekolah aku punya teman namanya marupa. Dia sering dimarahin sama maryam (nama gurunya, red.)"
I: : "Kenapa Marupa (dalam hati aku bilang, "marupa ini nama macam apa pula? kok rada-rada aneh ya?") dimarahin? Emangnya dia nakal?"
A: "Dia maunya digendong nama Marika (nama teacher's assistant) terus. Nggak mau turun-turun."

Besoknya pas mau naik bis sekolah, aku tanya sama gurunya Akram. "Do you have a student named Marupa?" Terus dia jawab, "Oh you mean Marufa. Yes, she's from Bangladesh."
Oooh...ternyata bener tokh! :)

Kisah II

A: "Bu, tadi aku di sekolah pipis sembarangan."
I: "Hah? Kok bisa? Kenapa Akram nggak bilang dulu sama teacher?" (sambil aku pegang celana-nya basah atau nggak. Agak basah sedikit, sih.)
A: "Aku bilang 'please', tapi teacher-nya nggak dengar."
I: "Ya udah, besok-besok jangan ngompol lagi ya. Bilang sama teacher, jangan ditahan-tahan kalau udah kebelet pipis, nanti bisa kena penyakit batu ginjal."
A: "Oh iya ya ya, aku nggak mau kena batu ginjal."

Beberapa hari kemudian aku bikin appointment sama gurunya Akram untuk membahas soal progress dia di sekolah. Setelah ngobrol-ngobrol panjang lebar, aku tanya soal insiden pipis sembarangan itu.
The teacher replied, "Oh yes, Akram had an accident a couple of days ago."
I: "Did he try to inform you? He told me that he said 'please' to you."
T: "Yes, he did say please, but only after the accident happened."
OOPS! :)

Kisah III

Aku dan Akram lagi ngobrol soal temannya yang nakal di sekolah, namanya Usama (hmm..coba ya, ada apa dengan nama Usama???).
I: "Akram, kata teacher teman Akram ada yang nakal, namanya Usama, benar? Nakalnya gimana, sih?"
A: "Iya, dia suka nendang-nendang. Tadi dia nendang-nendang aku, lho."
I: "Masa, sih?"
A: "Iya. bener. Aku balas aja...."
Tinggal ibunya deh speechless......

love lesson

Lagi asyik-asyik menunda beresin rumah, nyalain TV, eh ada acara bagus. Feature tentang married couples, ada yang baru 5, 15, 25, sampai 50 tahun bareng. Ternyata itu acaranya martha stewart, tapi dia nggak nongol sama sekali, cuma pasangan-pasangan yang berbagi cerita. Aduh, bagus banget!!! Aku terharu biru gitu nontonnya. Kalau ada acara bermutu begini, biasanya langsung deh self-reflection. Memang kadang-kadang kalau sudah menikah, ada rasa seperti terjebak dalam rutinitas. Getaran-getaran yang dulu ada pas masih pacaran agak melemah, deh. Nah, aku langsung ingat kalau 'marriage is an effort'. Bener banget deh perkataan ini. If you do love the person you're with, you're willing to make those efforts.

Kadang-kadang karena udah tiap hari bareng, kita juga suka take our partners for granted. Iya nggak sih? Jujur aja acara tadi bikin aku mikir, mikir dan mikir. How lucky I am, punya pasangan yang sabar, nggak banyak menuntut, pintar, baik, nggak neko-neko, nggak pelit (pasti dia bacanya sambil senyum-senyum...heheh). I should be grateful and I am. I thank God for sending me such an understanding partner who bears with me in all kinds of situation. I know ten, twenty, or thirty years from now ( insha Allah) I'd still be in love with this person. We've been through the best and worst together. And like those words in a fridge magnet he once gave me..."I want to grow old with you..." I really want to spend the rest of my life with him.

a taste of home

It's been too long since I last wrote something on this blog. Happily got distracted by my family's long awaited visit. Akram was thrilled to see his grandma again (and vice versa). I'm out of his list for two weeks. Well, you never know you'd really miss someone or some place until you left them, that was what I felt when my mom and dad were here. In a matter of minutes, I became the spoiled little girl again. My mom did all the cooking, cleaning and of course taking care of her precious little grandson.

We didn't really go to a lot of places because mom, dad, mama melly and papa dad (my parents' best friends) were already too tired from their previous umrah and turkey trip. The most memorable trip we had was the desert safari (too bad ma melly and pa dad already went home to Jkt). The driver was crazy!!! I never thought dune bashing was THAT scary! This daredevil driver named Abrar was just fearless and reckless. We had flat tires twice but it didn't really matter because we were just mesmerized by the beauty of the desert. Akram was as usual drawn to the sand. My dad were busy taking pictures, and I was eagerly trying to be in each picture...hehehe..I just couldn't imagine how the people before us survived living in the desert, I won't last five minutes there in the scorching heat.

Done with dune bashing we went straight to the camp. There were already a bunch of tourists waiting for the main attraction of the night, the famous belly dancer. Akram immediately made friends with a young Indian woman (who turned out to be a teacher in a school in Sharjah), and called her Princess. The belly dancing performance was amazing. I kept wondering how the full-figured dancer could make her lower body vibrates without moving her upper torso? Even Beyonce and Shakira couldn't match her performance... :)
We went home with a nice surprise....the day after were the first day of Ramadhan! How great to celebrate it with my parents!

Now that it's just the three of us again, I must admit that I feel a bit lonely. We're back to our daily routine. Taking Akram to the bus, do some housework, picking him up in the afternoon, etc...etc...Sigh. Just can't wait 'til next summer so I can come home...be with the ones I love, eat all the food I long to eat... :)