Grad School: First Impressions & Thoughts

When people ask me on my birthday if I feel any difference in terms of maturity, wisdom or desperation I usually answer no. But if someone were to ask me if I feel differently now that I'm in graduate school I would say definitely, yes.

I am still transitioning between undergraduate mode to graduate mode but I'd like to recap a little about my thoughts so far. In my classes our professors treat us more like colleagues rather than just another student. I felt that way in some of my undergraduate courses because of their large size but now my class sizes are much smaller. We have a nice little grad community going in our department and we are planning a potluck to get to know each other better. The nice thing about smaller classes is that you make friends easily and learn to help each other out, whether it's with homework, a hard concept, or general advice. 

Book Review: In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Prophet Muhammad by Tariq Ramadan

Available on Amazon

     In the Footsteps of the Prophet tells the story of Prophet Muhammad in a very straightforward, refreshing way. It reads more like a novel than just a fact laden biographical account since there is narrative interwoven throughout. What I liked about this book is that the sections are short and the organization is easy to follow. It begins with the story of Abraham and then the story of Muhammad starting with his birth and ending with his death.

     Many passages throughout the book are accompanied by verses from the Qur'an and hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) which helps give them context. Often times verses or hadiths are difficult to relate to but learning about the environment in which the Prophet lived and the thought processes that people had during his time helps to understand them better.

Muslims are like X-Men

Growing up one of my favorite cartoons was X-Men. I found it fascinating that people could fly, walk through walls, control fire, manipulate metal, ice, wind, water, read minds, and have countless other superpowers. These people who have superpowers are referred to as mutants in the series. I secretly wanted to be Rogue because she could absorb any other mutant's power and use it herself. But this came with a price, she couldn't touch anyone without hurting them. Her first kiss with a guy put him in a coma. I also liked Rogue because her outfit was green and that is my favorite color.

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.