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.

In the meditation room at the airport

I was kind of in a daze because of my sleep deprivation so I walked around the airport to pass some time. It was strange to hear everyone talking in a language other than French. When I spoke with people I kept wanting to respond in French and then catching myself right before. I needed to find a place to pray so I asked a worker and he directed me to the meditation room. It was so quiet and peaceful there. I liked how interfaith-y the room set-up was with a corner for Christians that had a Jesus statue, a podium in the center, and a corner for Muslims to pray in with a sijadah (prayer rug) and compass included.

Although I had a wonderful time in Québec and definitely plan to return there one day, I was really happy to finally be home with my family. As I type this the smell of cooking Iftar (breakfast) is permeating through the doors, I love Ramadan!