From the desk of the Amazing ‘Ainur…

assalamualaikum w.b.t. and kia ora…

i’m happy…really, really happy…just submitted the last of my written assignments last friday…that’s a huge load off my shoulders…now i can concentrate on my upcoming tests and exams…yeah, right…

you guys are probably familiar with the term racism and islamophobia…but do you guys know what the term ‘xenophobia’ means? well…basically it is the feeling of fear or hatred towards strangers or foreigners. prior to my coming to new zealand, i’ve been told that kiwis, some of them anyway, are xenophobics…i didn’t really believe it then because i wasn’t supplied with a justification…now…i can confirm that it’s true…i have seen evidences of their xenophobia…and as Gil Grissom (head of the CSI Vegas team) always asserts , "Evidence don’t lie"…

before you proceed, please note that what i’m writing about only applies to some, possibly only a handful of, kiwis. well…last night, my housemates and i went grocery-shopping…some of us took a cab home…nada and ida chose to walk home (they, ida especially, are very fond of walking, kinda like lizzie bennet in ‘pride and prejudice’, only they don’t wear gowns)…on the way home, they passed a car full of rowdy, and possibly more than just a little bit drunk, guys…one guy stuck his head out of the car and shouted "ARAB BASTARDS", i repeat "ARAB BASTARDS", in their faces…that, ladies and gentlemen, is a classic example of racism, xenophobia AND islamophobia…

come to think about it, that proves the guy’s idiocy as well…i’ve got a useful tip for that moron: the next time you want to open your mouth, make sure you’ve got your facts in order…first and foremost, ida and nada are in no way Arabs…well, nada studied arabic for five years, but that’s about the extent of her "arabness". ida had none, at least not that i know of. secondly, arabs, mostly, are not bastards…pre-marital sex and thus pregnancy are frowned upon in all arab countries…illegitimate children, or quoting the guy’s colourful word: ‘bastards’, are hard to find…shame on you, buddy!

actually, it seemed that he had a problem with people, specifically girls, wearing headscarves…he assumed that girls who don headscarves are all arabs…well, they are not…arabs and asians look nothing alike…they probably think that all arabs are terrorists…again, they are not…i can assure you, that nada and ida did not in any way looked or behaved like terrorists last night…they did not have bombs hidden underneath their scarves or strapped on their waists…what did arabs ever do to this people? nobody, and that includes arabs, deserve to be treated with that much contempt…he did something that is inexcusable…there are certain lines that you just don’t cross but he crossed it last night…and he shouldn’t be judging people based on what they are wearing…wearing headscarves, which to me is a cool thing, doesn’t make them less human…or less worthy of being treated with the utmost civility and respect…and just because you’re ‘white’, doesn’t make you smarter or more superior than the rest of us…you are what you do…you’d do well to remember that…

moral of the story: don’t judge a book by its cover…the ‘pride and prejudice’ novel has a dull cover..but once you open it, you’ll discover a true masterpiece…a gem…inside. and…you probably shouldn’t drink either….when you are drunk, you lost control over all faculties of your mind…you do stupid things…you say stupid things…you get in trouble faster than you can say ‘Arab bastards’…so…stay sober…it’s cool…we should all try it…

i really should stop now…nice to let these things out in the open…ok, then…bye!

p/s: i’m really proud of the fact that i’m a muslim.

‘ainur rahmah ellias    

assalamualaikum w.b.t. and kia ora…

hello, people! what are you guys up to?…not that i can hear you…anyway…nada was asking me just now about whether i like my new life….my new life being my life in wellington…and i said "no"…i don’t like my new life…it’s kind of DULL…this is what i do everyday for the last three months: i wake up, shower, have a quick breakfast, go to class, sit in the lecture theatre for 50 minutes (i find a suitable seat, i open my notebook but instead of writing down notes, i’ll just scribble my lecturer’s name all over the page), go home, have lunch, watch tv…….sleep. this is what i do everyday, i swear…saying that my life is ‘dull’ is probably understating it…i really wish that your life (wherever you are and whoever you may be) is better and more ‘happening’ than mine…

do you guys know that mother’s day is coming up?…have you guys bought a card for your mom yet?..i have…going to mail it tomorrow before class…do you guys love your mom?…do you miss her?…i think my mom is the best…but then again, don’t we all think that our moms are the best?…and believe me, they are the best…which is why i think we should send them cards or call them to show that we think they are the best…so they feel appreciated…and loved…mommies are special creatures, aren’t they?…one of my classmates brought her baby to class today…the baby, being babies, couldn’t stop moving…and making unrecognizable sounds…but Gita (i think her name is Gita) was very patient…she played with her son while trying to participate in the discussion that was going on in the class…she let him play with her eraser…she let him yank her hair…she let him crawl all over her…and when she looked at her son, she had this kind of expression on her face…like she thinks he’s the most beautiful baby on earth…which is kind of sweet, really…and touching…i spent most of the lecture looking at them instead of the lecturer…couldn’t help it…the baby’s cuter than the  lecturer…u understand…

ok, back to my point…moms are great…i love my mom…and i’m sure you do yours…let them know that you love them…they’ll love you for it…not that they don’t love you now…of course  they do…it’s sort of their job…they’ll love you more for it…ok?

"kasihanilah Tuhan…ibu yang telah melahirkan diriku…bagaikan kasih ibu sewaktu kecilku…moga bahagia ibu di dunia dan di akhirat sana…"

‘ainurrahmahellias

assalamualaikum w.b.t and kia ora…

by the way, ‘kia ora’ is the only maori word tht i know. n i think it’s a beautiful word…

these last few days, i’ve been thinking about ‘logic’. i find it interesting to note that what i think is perfectly logical, is not perceived the same way by my friends. n i don’t necessarily agree with what they think is logical. u with me so far? sometimes, i am baffled by my friends’ sense of logic. have u ever been in a position where u couldn’t quite see the connection between

ur

friends’ sentences?

i have a few examples here:

"wey, die kaye la." "mane awk tau?" "sbb die ade Singaporean girlfriend"

"mak saye suruh saye sambung buat master in islamic studies kat UIA" "knape UIA?" "sbb UIA ade swimming pool"

"tapi kawan sy tu mmg sesuai pun kawin" "knape pulak?" "die pandai jahit butang"

"wey, die org terengganu eh?" "eh, jangan…die bijak tu!"

"wey, abg tu ade girlfriend tak?" "eh, jangan…die pandai masak…"

when my friends said this, i went "huh?"…i really2 couldn’t see the logic of these sentences…the overall effect is of course hilarious…i don’t know about you guys but i think that those excerpts are funny…as in stomach-cramping, foot-stomping , head-banging funny…

plus, i have developed a new obsession here: collecting my friends’ funny oneliners, such as:

"mane-mane pun babi" (someone said this when we were talking about the kiwis’ obsession with pork)

"aku tak sangka aku akan kawin semuda ni dengan lelaki setua tu"

"wey, susu ni rase macam lembu la"

"tengok budak2 ni (pointing to a group of 5 year-old kiwis), kecik-kecik pun dah fluent english"

"kalau sy nak bercakap tentang lelaki, mestila ade lelaki untuk dicakapkan tentang" (yang ni paling menang, zue!)

see? my friends do say the darndest thing…they say the unexpected things at the least expected time…which makes them sort of ‘cute’ in my eyes…which again proves one thing: jokes are everywhere…you just have to find them…and when you do, do not deny the laughter that would follow…just laugh…laugh out loud, if you must…good muscle exercise…plus, it makes your eyes sparkle, which in turn makes your face radiant…and laughter’s supposed to be the best medicine…so let us all find things that we could laugh about…

‘ainur