Saturday 23 July 2005

Her Best Friend’s Arab Wedding

Half an hour before boarding, I received the call. She sounded happy and excited. It’s the last of a series of calls that we exchanged before R, my sayangmama number two, left for Cairo. She is attending her best friend’s wedding, a childhood friend from schooldays. R left with the groom as her friend, Aisha left day before yesterday with her parents.

Needless to say, we are excited for her and want her to experience and see Cairo and experience a different kind of holiday that she was used to in Europe. She had been to France with the school, Spain and Portugal with the uni, and now she is going to have a taste of the Middle East.

Having spent her primary and secondary school at The King Fahd Academy, a Saudi school in London, she is quite fluent in Arabic and quite wise to the ways of the Arabs. That is the least of my worries, at least she’ll be brushing up her Arabic with the locals. In some ways, she is more Arab than Malay. At one stage, her sense of dressing, her manner of speaking were so Arabic that we questioned our decision to school the children there.

Anyway, I was excited at the thought of her visiting the pyramids, the Al- Azhar mosque where the nikah will be conducted, and the busy and colourful market place that I have heard so much about from Maknenek and Nefertiti. Her father had actually hitchhiked to the Middle East during his student days and had plenty to tell.

Before she left, she had packed her kebaya’s and other traditional Malaysian costumes as she wants to wear them at the function. A touch of Malaysian in an Arab do! I know it’ll be fun. From what I gathered from Maknenek’s account of her own wedding, its also hilarious! With lots of dancing and yoddeling Arab style! And so I gave her my digital camera to record everything. I dont want to miss anything.

But this morning, I woke up to the news of another big explosion - car bombs – in Sharm el Sheikh- killing 49. This is another place she is visiting.

This has been one of the worries when she announced sometime ago of her decision to go to Cairo. This place has not been very safe for tourists. Although she will be staying with a family there, she will still be visiting touristy areas and I have this tight knot in my stomach that will not go away.

While she was in London, we sms each other to check that everyone is alright, in the wake of the current development. I worry so much about the whereabouts of my children. And now, I have this extra worry as I watched the images on TV.

My phone just buzzed and it was an sms from her. She is in Cairo having landed safely there, Alhamdulillah. But I want her to take the same plane back. I want her home now. I didn’t hug her hard and long enough when we parted.

Take care, sayang mama Posted by Picasa

R in my graduation kebaya, doing the ulit mayang, with brother,with sister,
looks good in my wedding dress, and happy celebrating my birthday.

UPDATE:
After the Nikah ceremony at the mosque yesterday, R and wedding entourage had lunch on a boat cruising down the Nile. How nice!
Trip to Sharm-el-Sheikh has been cancelled.

37 comments:

anedra said...

KakTeh, R will be ok, insyaAllah.. This is gonna be so much fun for her, just tell her to be careful! sigh...can't believe that A s getting married! Soon it'll be R!

YOU take care and don't worry too much!

Anonymous said...

Dear Kak Teh,

Have been following your blog a bit. Kira, I have become a fan. My heart goes out to you in light of the Cairo bombings. But God is there every step of the way. Jane SunShine

Anonymous said...

macam muka mak dia aaaa.

laaa..udah anak mak dia kan..?

Apa la Po nih.

hana_kirana said...

insyaAllah she'll be fine.... Sama-sama kita doa.... :)

Blabarella said...

We can all tell you to take care and not to worry because everything will be ok, but it's easier for us to say because it's not our child that's exposed to the danger kan? If there's one thing I know, it's never to underestimate a mother's role and need to protect her children, no matter how old they may be.

But as friends, we will still continue to reassure you and pray with you for all to be well and for R to return safely into your arms.

Be safe.

Kak Teh said...

anedra, she called and asked wehether she shd come back..but thn that will mean coming back alone. Just doa..and she'll be okay - Insyallah. Yes, A IS getting married.

Kak Teh said...

anon: thank you and after abt 10 sms am stillw orried.
po: ya lah...apa lah po ni!
nana & blabs, ya kita sama2 doakan untk keselamatn semua di mana2 saja. she had just lefta nd i cant wait for her to come back!

Ruby M. said...

Kak teh, inshaallah she will be ok. let's pray for her safety. husband said, maybe she should not go to sharm el shaikh..dont know what can happen next. stay in cairo with that family je. we will pray for her of course. i know she is in good hands with her friends. dont worry ok.

Kak Teh said...

maknenek and walid, thanks - she just sms'ed (must be 10 already this morning) to say sharm al sheikh trip cancelled and will go elsewhere isntead. she promised me she will be with the family only. nsyaallah

Sunfloraa said...

Kakteh Insyallah she will be safe.

Anonymous said...

I pray for her safety makteh. and for your whole family

Anonymous said...

I pray for her safety makteh. and for your whole family

Iskandar Syah Ismail aka DR Bubbles said...

eh..eh ada lagi sorang ya?

insha allah she will be safe...

err nak suruh I sana to jaga?
tak suruh pun pergi tau!

lots of love,

anak menantu

AuntyN said...

She is like her mama in more than 1 way Kak Teh. You missed the London explosion by minutes or something, she is the same. Both of you are in Good Hands, She will be fine OK Take care Kak Teh.

shidah said...

a mother will never stop worrying. that makes us special.

Anonymous said...

kak teh, tengok si iskandar tu.. dah mula lah tu :) ulat gonggok dah tunjuk belang..haha..

stay safe R. inshaallah, she'll be back dengan selamatnya kepangkuan mama and keluarga.

-klmuk-

Anonymous said...

whoa, yr anak dara is very de cun. tak takut ke nanti pak arab sana berkenan.

am praying for her safety

Kak Teh said...

sunflora and mas: yes, I called and loads of sms - she seems alright and looking forward to the ceremony tomorrow.
arwanzeefor: terima kasih banyak. kita sama-sama doa.
Is: ish tau saja kalau ada gambar anak kita!
auntyN - ya - mudah2an dijauhkan segala bahaya!
shidah - true and they say we dont care!
klmuk, hmmm memanglah dia tu!
atn: ya lah...kat sini pun tak larat tepih!

Anonymous said...

insyaAllah.. evrythg will b fine. R n evryone else are in our prayers. Allah will keep them safe n sound. bykkan berdoa Kak Teh.

R is one sweet girl ay. she fits nicely into yr kebayas. bangga ma dia no..

Atok said...

tak dok mende eh, dong wori. jjalang mmolek...tengok ddepang blakang kkghi kanang; ghama pok arak peghanga udoh.

Nazrah Leopolis said...

InsyaAllah she will be fine.

Yang memelihara akan terpelihara oleh Pemelihara.

Kita doa sama2.

Nadia said...

masyaallah K teh, sejuk hati tgk anak dah besar yek. :) only Allah can protect us and miracles happen when the time of death is not there yet. I used to worry about hubby going somewhere if something will happen to him etc but then pk2 balik, ajal tu sampai regardless of everything. Insyaallah she will be fine. Dua is essential. May Allah protect her and all of us. Ameen ALlah has bestowed on you precious treasures masyaallah. hugs :)

MA said...

Cantiknya anak Kak Teh !

Like mother, like daughter.

She will be alright.

Kak Teh said...

nef, after the nikah at the mosque, they had lunch, cruising down the nile..syok, kan? yang mak di sini dok risau!
lilheaven, nasib baik dia boleh pakai, mak dia lengan pun tak boleh masuk lagi.
atok, bagi translation sikit.
nazrah - insyaallah
nadiah - amin...ya, tiap2 hari dia kena report via sms
zaireen - yes, i hope so.
MA - thanks - ya lah , kita saja yang risau!

Anonymous said...

Wah dah besar seh anak Kak Teh and you still look young!

Gee Kak Teh, I was actually planning to go to Egypt in Dec!Insyaallah until the news of the bombing..now ma own mama is telling me to have second thoughts..duh...

5xmom.com said...

I guess we moms do that all the time, worry every moment. I suppose only faith can keep me in a straight line and not go beserk. That God will help us take care of our children.

Lollies said...

lawanya bajuuu..lawanya diaaaa.


and yes hopefully everything is ok.

oh how I wish I could experience culture like that

Kak Teh said...

de kapai - kak teh paling jauh pi singapore, haadyai...mana ada jalan jauh!
nour, insyaallah when you go , dah selamat.
5xmom - yah , now we know how our mums feel..
lollies: thanks..yes - she is enjoying herslef.

iJun said...

Kak Teh bley chat ngan dia pakai webcam kan?

Honeytar said...

Kak Teh, very pretty daughter you have there! Like mother like daughter. Mana tak tumpah kuah kalau tak ke atas meja... ;-)

OOD said...

Kak teh,
you are such a globetrotting jet set family! And the daughter is so cantik!

Selagi anak tak balik dok depan mata, selagi tu lah risau kan kak teh? Thank God for technology, can sms can internet.

Hope she will have fun and take care, and be safe and hope you will not be so resah risau (and have fun and take care and be safe too).

Kak Teh said...

ijun, ish!
honeytar, aha, sebab tu lah meja tak beralas...selalu tumpah! :)
OOD - memang enjoying herself sampai hari ni tak sms pun.
akalfikir , thanks for kind words..ish dah tersegan pulak!

lion3ss said...

Comeynye anok dia..

Insya Allah she'll be just fine!

Kak Teh said...

lion3ss - thanks...yes, she sms me yesterday to say that she is in somewhere beautiful, can quite describe it in sms form. but worry as she is not someone who uses the camera much. I want to see, what she is experiencing.

Ely said...

aiyoh kak teh, i am the one yang terlambat bus. baru dpt chance baca this posting.

glad that ur daughter is ay-ok there. shes so pretty!

suzequatro said...

sweet :)

Kak Teh said...

ely and sooz - thanks - she is still in el gouna and spending my money!!