#salamperantauan from cardiff

They say we celebrate Raya for a month right, so Selamat Hari Raya from Cardiff! I apologise if there's anything that I did that might have hurt you directly or indirectly. May our deeds in Ramadhan are accepted by the Almighty and we'll have a blessed Ramadhan.

If I were back in Malaysia, I would wake up, shower and get ready to visit Nenek's grave and head to Eid'ul Fitri's morning prayers. After prayers I would change and get ready to entertain our guests until everyone's left.

This year, it's different. Although I'm away from my family and always at the edge of bursting into tears, I am thankful I have friends to celebrate it with. One of my friends, M, invited me to stay at her house pre-Raya and have a cooking session. 

Our last meal for Ramadhan

I also took the opportunity to cook nasi impit (compressed rice) with kuah kacang (peanut sauce) all with the help of mama over the phone (thank you technology!).

Kuah Kacang turned out a little bit salty but nothing that cannot be fixed

My pot was too small so I had to split these nasi impits up

M and I made carrot cake, roti jala, chicken curry, beef rendang, and peanut sauce then went off to bed at 2AM. Woke up the next morning at 7AM to get ready for Eid'ul Fitri's prayers organised by the Malaysian Cardiff Community (MCC) at Cathays Community Centre.

Oh we also almost didn't make it since most taxi drivers were off in the morning for the prayers as well (or at least that was our theory). We managed to get a taxi at the last minute and arrived just in time :D

Apart from that, I also accidentally cut my fingers from trying to unlock the bathroom door. It was so hard to open it that I exerted extra force. Unknowingly, my right thumb was cut during that process and I only noticed it when I was in my room trying to open the door. Out of all days.

Wearing Bella Ammara's sequin jubah and satin silk Duck Scarves in Peppercorn (I think).

My doctor E. Gah! Can't wait to see you again

I was surprised to meet my best friend, E there too! We were supposed to meet few days before to catch up on things but I had to help my aunt and cousin pack their things before they move out hence the cancellation. But Alhamdulillah we managed to meet before her graduation ceremony! So good to see you E.

I was FaceTime-ing and texting my family the whole morning too. Had to hold my tears back when I saw Atok on my phone screen. That feeling when you want to just reach out your hands to your family but you can't is one of the most frustrating feeling ever. 

My handsome Atok

Atok saw me wearing the head scarf while we were talking on FaceTime and he blurted out,

" Keep that on! You look good with that"

:|

Inshaa Allah Atok. Will do once I'm ready :p

M and I head back home to catch some sleep before we take the train to Treforest for Raya celebration with the Malaysian community and students from University of South Wales. Then it was picture time! 

Baju Raya from my favourite online store, FashionValet! Purchased on Wednesday morning, got it on Friday afternoon. Even faster than Poslaju okay. Free shipping to UK for orders over RM200. Go shop there now!

Most beautiful packaging of all!

Outfit from MalaquexFV

Selamat Hari Raya from South Wales. I'm enjoying all the #salamperantauan hashtags on Instagram I had to post one too. Once in a lifetime rightttttt.

One with M! Thank you for being such kind soul. May Allah bless you with all things wonderful :*

When I was feeling all happy, then my family decided to send a picture of them. Ish, now I'm about to cry again T_T

We had another invitation by Kak Faizah, a lady I often place my order from if I'm craving any Malaysian food. Had Assam Laksa and it was SO GOOD! Thank you Kak Faizah for inviting. 

Another thing I love about Raya is that you get to meet people that you have not met for months or years. I finally met Kak Laila who turned out to be my grand-aunt's colleague. We planned to meet earlier on but something came up and it just didn't happen. But lo and behold, I met her at Kak Faizah's house :D

All in all, I'd say it's not too bad having Raya here. It is first time being away from my family but when you have friends around, they sort of make up the missing members you always have back home. I'm so going to miss all these experiences. For now, shall we enjoy our last moments here.

#SalamPerantauan from Izzah at Cardiff, representing Cardiff University in Wales, UK.

Update: Two months til I head back home. Can't wait! :D