Words to live by: Silence

Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said,

"He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must not harm his neighbour, and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day must show hospitality to his guest, and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent." (Bukhari and Muslim)

I wonder if the underlined part is also related to another hadith narrated by Ibn Umar,

"he who covers up (the faults and sins of a Muslim, Allah will cover up (his faults and sins) in this world and in the Hereafter." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Are you speaking good if you're speaking badly about others? Even if it's minor things? For example "She talks too much." Is there a such thing as a neutral category? It would be interesting to spend a whole day analyzing everything that comes out of my mouth and classifying it as good/neutral/bad and then eliminating all the bad stuff. I wonder how much silence would ensue thereafter.

Lentil Soup: A Ramadan Staple

One of my favorite things about Ramadan (a month of fasting during the daylight hours for Muslims) is all the yummy food. Every Ramadan I look forward to eating lentil soup (shorbet addes). It is so hearty and delicious that sometimes I get full breaking my fast on just this soup.

Lévis: journey to the best ice cream ever

Ferry ticket station

Riding the ferry was probably one of my favorite experiences in Québec. My friend and I decided to go to Vieux-Québec to cross the St. Lawrence River to get to Lévis. We were supposed to meet our other friend there around 3:30 but got there around 5. We had some delays because we got off the bus a couple stops too early and got a little lost. Luckily we asked a woman at the bus stop the way to the port and she said she was riding the ferry also so we could follow her. It's convenient that the monthly bus pass I had worked on the buses as well as the ferry.

À bientôt Québec

One day I will return to Québec, insha'Allah (God-willing).

I stopped updating this blog about halfway through my trip because I was too busy but I will try to rehash some of my experiences in the coming days. I think I'll be able to remember most of it by sifting through the 2000+ pictures I took while there.

My flight left around noon and the departure was an emotional one. It was a beautiful sunny day in Québec. We gave our host-mom a framed picture of all of us as a parting gift. I was tired because I had only gotten 5 hours of sleep in the two days before I left but the traveling went pretty well. I had one connection of 4 hours before returning home. I was kind of nervous for airport security because it was at Newark which is close to NYC, because of my hijab. I got to the part where you had to walk through the metal detector and the guy directed me to stand in an area designated for patting down and then he called for a female assistant. When she arrived a few minutes later she instructed me to pat all over my head and neck area then she wiped my hands with a cloth and put it in a machine. I asked her what it was for and she just said bluntly "It tests for bombs." She was really friendly though.

Panoramas

I haven't had time to write a blog post for a while, and I don't know when I will, so for now I will leave you with some panoramas I have taken while here in Quebec.

Summer festival in Vieux-Quebec

On the ferry on the way to Levis

In Levis

On the way back to Vieux-Quebec

View of the bridges from the Aquarium 

L'autobus

The bus is my main mode of transportation here, except when I miss it then I hope my host-mom is able to give me a ride. For the first half of the week I took the bus to and from my home-stay with at least one of my roommates. Then the time came when I had to take it...alone.

Classes and Jumah

I'm taking 3 classes here, one about French grammar, oral expression and phonetics. All my teachers are humorous and encouraging to their students to improve our French. My grammar class is mostly doing exercises and going over them in class. Also if you arrive to class late you have to sing in front of the class. I was the first one to be late because I had to go to the clinic in the morning, but luckily she let it go that time. Oral expression is mostly discussion based and for the final we have to participate in a debate. Phonetics, my favorite class, is about the 'musique' of the the language. I'm learning so much about why words are pronounced the way they are and about the rhythmic nature of speaking French. If French phonetics is this cool Arabic phonetics must be awesome.

Books for my classes

Le pique-nique au Fleuve St. Laurent

There's a river called Le Fleuve St. Laurent or St. Lawrence River about 5-10 minutes away from my home-stay and we had a picnic on the riverbank. 

Roomie birthday

My host mom is so sweet. For my roommate's birthday she put a poster with "Joyeux Anniversaire" (Happy Birthday) on it and balloons on her door the night before. For dinner we had homemade pizza and for dessert this awesome chocolate cupcake mountain thing, which by the way is even better because the frosting was my two favorite colors!

My residence

The house I'm staying at is very pretty and quaint, like many of the houses in Québec. There is a beautiful garden in the back which has many different kinds of plants, bird feeders and birdbaths. I've seen really cool yellow birds and red birds chilling back there sometimes. We usually eat dinner on the patio table which makes for a great atmosphere, except for the voracious mosquitoes who seem to like my blood more than the others.

First day in Québec

In my home-stay breakfast is served around 7am everyday. For the first day I ate some crepes with Nutella, some fruit, and some water. Every morning I have to keep an eye on the time because the bus which takes us to university only comes every hour. I'm really glad the other 3 girls and I left together because I wouldn't know which bus to take or where to go once I arrived at the school.

Laval campus- Pavillon Louis-Jacques-Casault

Québec, le debut

As I was waiting at the gate for my flight during my 3 hour connection on the way to Québec, I was creeping on people that were coming to the sitting area, trying to see if they were Canadian or not. I had my eye on this one family for a while that looked like Québecois but when I got closer to them I realized they were Germans. I lost hope. But then a little later I saw more people coming and lo and behold they were speaking French! More and more French speakers were arriving as the time to board approached and I was getting really excited.

To Chicago

Real Tacos

I've lived in this city for almost 3 years and I had no idea that just around the river bend there were authentic Mexican food stands waiting to be discovered.

So there it was, just sitting on the side of the road. The server spoke Spanish and he was really friendly and I felt like I was in Mexico. I've never been there but I imagine it would have felt something like that. 

Love me some Jesus

Muslim who loves Jesus

Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him):

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Jesus, seeing a man stealing, asked him, 'Did you steal?' He said, 'No, by Allah, except Whom there is None who has the right to be worshipped.' Jesus (peace be upon him) said, "I believe in Allah and suspect my eyes."

Bukhari Vol. 4 : No. 653

Legit.

Lemony Goodness

Lemon squares are one of my favorite dishes to make. 

They're so easy and make the perfect summer-time dessert.

Korean Adventures

Kimchi

It all began when my friend got me into Korean dramas. She would always talk about how amazing they were with their story lines, acting, and superiority to American shows. But I was told there was a downside to these dramas. They were extremely addictive. In a weak moment I texted her for a recommendation for beginners. I was hooked instantly. So I am currently in the midst of my obsession with Korean culture. On a trip to an Asian market I decided to pick up some kimchi, a spicy medley of pickled cabbage and other vegetables, to try to make some kimchi fried rice. I thought it would be fun to invite the girls in the drama cult over for a Korean dinner night, and soon 2 or 3 became 10 or 12 all in my little apartment.