An open letter

*updated*

Hello Marta,

How are you lately? how have you been keeping on with the two children that you are taking care of? I hope that you are in the pink of health. First of all i would like to say that i am very sorry for keeping it long before i write this entry. I know that i promised it to be a few weeks ago but sometimes i just don't have the mood to write. Again, I'm so sorry. 


First of all, I would like to say that I am glad that somehow we were destined to meet again after the short initial introduction on the plane. As u said last time, everything that happen on our journey to Dublin was a coincidence. The plane sit, the last person going into the place etc. It definitely is a coincidence! However, I would say, serendipity. (Do watch that serendipity movie okay!) Haha. I never thought that I would met another medical student in such a situation. Anyhow, thanks for turning up on that day in front of St. Stephen green shopping centre. Honestly, I did not expect to see you again after the day at the airport. It was quite unusual (if could say) for me and you (i assume) to meet someone that we barely know on a 'date'. Oh, and it was at 8am! :-P

Anyhow, i really hope that you enjoy Dublin back then although the weather was not on our side. Being a tour guide for a few hours with you was really a pleasure. Hopefully you will be able to give some guide to your mom when she come to visit you later. Also, please told her that i am very sorry if i had cause her a great worry last time because i fully understand your situation; being a single daughter of the family, away from home etc. I am glad that the day went well and you can continue working as a babysitter with Alan's family. He is such a nice employer. ^__^

Regarding the lunch last time, i think it was one of the best i ever had. Obviously not the food as i just had a slice of pizza and you with your homemade sandwiches. I would definitely try that again. Never thought that eating on the riverside's bench would be wonderful except that we had to witness that couple fighting. That guy was such a loser. I would definitely find another place for us to eat if I was not rushing for the prayer. Hopefully it was a good experience for you as well.



People say that bringing out topics such as religion, politics and history were a bad start for the first date but i think we proved it wrong! Definitely it was fine if your date also has lots of interest in it! Hehe. I hope I was able to clear a few misunderstanding about Islam that you had and not too corny. Obviously Islam was not too foreign for you as you already knew about Ramadhan (fasting month), prayer and so on. Maybe after this you can do more reading about this world fastest growing religion! I would definitely sit and talk about all these again if we ever had a chance to meet again in the future. or, even thru facebook. Haha. Well...I do have plan to go to Spain in the future and i reckon you can handle the distance between Lleida and Cordoba, do you? :-)

Okay, before I bored you more, I hope that you'll enjoy your stay in Ireland and reach the targets that you have in mind. May you continue doing all those charity works as well. I really envy the effort that you have! The world definitely need more future doctors like you. Keep in touch.

Bye...


Yours truly,
Muaz Adam
Malaysia.

Footnotes:
1. Last day of barcelona will be up within a few days weeks.


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Barcelona part 2

part 2 of the journey in Barcelona (edited*)

The Be Hostel sound that i stayed in has some disadvantage in term of power sockets inside the room. They only have them at one corner (at least in the room that i stayed in) although there were more than enough to be used by 10 person.

since I dont want to act awkwardly by arching over my newly met friend who was sleeping on the bed in order to get to the power socket, i decided to charge my phone in the common room area where the breakfast was served. 
Following the breakfast, i noticed something wrong. My skin was peeling badly especially on the nasal bridge and on the forehead. Probably because of the heat or maybe the sunburn. The next thing i did was i quickly went to the pharmacy and get the facial cleaner that help to de-skin the part that was peeling. quite costly since they dont have the regular Nivea, so i just bought a product from a brand that i never heard of which cost me almost 20 euro! pFFFT!

The 2nd day start at 10 am although i already awake since 8am. it was the 'free' tour guide conducted by a guy named Adam. He was from aussie. There were 2 different guides that happen at the same time. One is call Gaudi Tour and the other one is Gothic Tour. They do this twice every day, one in the morning and one in the evening. so, you can go to either one in the morning and the next one in the evening or the following day.
Famous restaurant. One of Messi's favorite. Specialize in snails cooking.

Picasso was accepted at a very young age here in this building. Some kind of arts university

Adam with the background of old Roman's wall
In my opinion, the good thing about this tour was that it brought you around the gothic part (old city) of barcelona and at the same time went through some interesting history of the history including where Mr. Christopher Columbus brought back some native american to barcelona and met Queen Isabella to tell her about the success of the mission. We were sitting on the stairs where it all happened some hundreds years ago while he went through the history. Plus, the tour also allow you to meet and interact with new people including a lady (sorry Mong. :P) from Malaysia who was actually enjoying her holiday in europe.

At lunchtime, we had a 3 course menu lunch at one of the restaurant in Plaza Real. It was very cheap. Less than 10 euro and you can get a proper 3 course menu with free water. :P Definitely it was a new experience for me as i rarely had any lunch experience as such. Oh, this place was also where all the 'magic' happen on my last night in Barcelona which i would tell more on the last part of the trip.

Lunch with Mong
So, at about 3pm, we both went back to each other hostel (after some quick strolling at the La Rambla) and have some rest before going out again at 4pm for another tour. The Gaudi Tour. This time, Ola (she is from Poland) guided us through the whole tour and we visited almost all the important work arts of the great architect, Gaudi. By going out with the tour group, you don't just see the arts but also know a little bit about them in which if you have great interest, you can visit again at your own pleasure although it would cost some amount of money. At least 10 euro. many are actually cost about 15 euro+. On this tour, i met Mickael, Fred and some other people. Below are some pics from the evening tour.

@ one of Gaudi's masterpiece
@ the famous market. Off la rambla
@ Sagrada da Familia
One more interesting part about this 2nd day was it somehow fall on the San Juan Festival. So, although it was only 6pm when the tour finished, many of us already headed towards the beach area where the celebration took place. In fact, two of the people from the tour already wore their beach shorts on the tour! As for me, I decided to go back to the hostel immediately after the tour, prayed asar and then went to the beach with the other group as Mong and Mickael decided to go for Tapas and something tour (more like a traditional dinner and some dancing show going on at the same time). it cost only 20 euro! ;p

So, as day went by (post quick kebab dinner), we eventually reached the beach at around 10pm. Initially there was only 4 of us just sitting on the beach and talking with the background of locals that keep lighting up the firecrackers. At about 12 midnight after the other finished enjoying their tapas and something-that-i-forgot-the-name, we all sit together in a group of about 10 people and started to enjoy the scenes. The Catalan really celebrate this event which some said was even merrier than the Christmas celebration (without the santa). They said it was considered as some sort of new year celebration which could be true as people did went to the beach with tents and barbecues and the most important of all, firecrackers and fireworks!



Apart from people skinny dipping in the Mediterranean and getting drunk, the rest were fine. We stay on the beach almost until 4am when everyone decided to go back as some  of us need to catch bus and flight to their next destination. Overall, it was fun just sitting and talking, sharing experiences and knowing a little bit more about everything and one another. :)
I slept soundly after performing the subuh (morning) prayer before begin the journey on my last day at Barcelona as a lone ranger . ^__^

p/s: I'll put more pictures later as those pics are on my other comp. wait for the FC barcelona, park gueil and last night dinner experience. bye..


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Friday

Wisdom: Saying/doing the right word/thing at the right moment at the right place

Agree? Although it could be something unpleasant or hurtful, sometimes it just need to be done/said.

In seerah (history), a man once came to see prophet Muhammad SAW. He confessed that he drank alcohol, involved in gambling and so on. He wanted the prophet to advised him. So the prophet told him, 'Don't lie'.
Short and simple.

The following is probably a longer version of the same story. See how a short message could lead to a very deep meaning if it was conveyed at the right moment in a right way.

TELLING THE TRUTH : Telling the truth is a very good habit. If you always speak the truth, you can save yourself from a lot of trouble! Here is a story of a man who did a lot of bad things, but his promise to tell the truth saved him.

Once a man came to the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) and said, "Oh prophet of Allah, I have many bad habits. Which one of them should I give up first?" The prophet said, "Give up telling lies first and always speak the truth." The man
promised to do so and went home. At night the man was about to go out to steal. Before setting out, he thought
for a moment about the promise he made with the prophet. "If tomorrow the prophet asks me where have I been, what shall I say? Shall I say that I went out stealing? No, I cannot say that. But nor can I lie. If I tell the truth,
everyone will start hating me and call me a thief. I would be punished for stealing."

So the man decided not to steal that night, and gave up this bad habit. Next day, he felt like drinking wine, when he was about to do so, he said to himself, "What shall I say to the prophet if he asks me what did I do during the
day? I cannot tell a lie, and if I speak the truth people will hate me, because a Muslim is not allowed to drink wine." And so he gave up the idea of drinking wine.

In this way, whenever the man thought of doing something bad, he remembered his promise to tell the truth at all times. One by one, he gave up all his bad habits and became a good Muslim and a very good person. If you always speak the truth, you can be a good person, a good Muslim whom Allah likes and favors. If Allah - our Creator - is pleased with us, He will reward us with HEAVEN, which is a place of happiness and joy.

Make a promise: I shall always speak the truth.



I believe it is essential to advise people in a way that is best for them. Yes, it is hard to tell which one is the best for them but sometimes, just do it is also probably the best. The most important is not to humiliate them in front of others. Do it in  away that preserve their dignity although whatever they did might be very unpleasant for us that we feel the urge to yell 'STOP' at them immediately!

Okay, that's all for now. I need to continue reading as exam is only 4 days away. Pray for my success lads.
May Allah bless all of you on this very special day, the Friday.

************

I'm actually reading this one novel called 'One day'. Never thought that i would love an English novel in my life other that the Harry Potter Series. This one just captured my attention. Maybe because of the genre (romantic) or the urge to finish it before the movie adapted from this international bestselling  novel came out this early August! Ho yeah!


Barcelona part 2 will be out after July 6th okay. Bye...


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