Selamat Hari Toussaint

This year's raya has got to be the best. At least the best yet. Everything was complete; the prayers, the dishes, the tidbits, the open houses, the balik kampung trip, everything was there.

The raya announcement was made Sunday evening on the Grande Mosquée de Paris site. It was quite a shock to everyone since no one expected it to be Monday since most of our prayer calenders stated that, hisably, it'll be Tuesday. And so far the hisab method has never been wrong (at least not eversince my first Raya).

That Monday morning, I headed to Lille Grand Palais, where the prayer was held. This year, like last year, the Muslim community was given the green light to use the convention center to perform the prayer so that everyone can get together on Eid. The green light however, didn't come free. After the takbir, and before the prayer, the mayors of Lille, Villeneuve d'Ascq and Mons en Baroeul, gave their congratulatory speeches, and of course, since we're only 6 months away from the presidential elections, a small-subtle-yet-there political speeches.

Thursday, we had an open house. Well, more like an open room since it was held in Syazwan's room, and it wasn't really an open house since everyone has to bring something to eat (or to drink). There were 20 of us; 17 Lillois, 2 Valenciennois, et 1 Malaisien qui est perdu (gurau je Teoh). The food was great. We had turkey satay, lontong, rendang, nasi impit, kuah kacang, kek Syazana yang sangat sedap, and my air bandung. (This might sound surprising to some people who really know me, but I ate some of each dishes stated above except for Jepp's lontong because I was too full. Sori eh Jepp)

That Friday, after lunch, a friend of mine asked me if I have had my driving licence, and of course I said yes. He said that I should drive my car, just to see how good is my driving since I told him that I obtained my licence in just one month (which is completely unthinkable in France where normally it takes 6 months to get it). I thought he drives a car like the Kancil that we have back home (which is, in my brothers' words : a metal box with four wheels). Instead he drives a cabriolet. A red 1992 Mazda, but I forgot which model it was. He told me to drive it from a car park to another one about 300m away. That was my second time behind the wheels in France.

Friday night - Balik Kampung! 14 of us; Me, Wan, Zarf, Ajib, Mat Nor (@Johan), Jepp, Peon, Zeff, Ann, Teoh, Ajak, Anep, Eijas and Bapak, hopped into two Opel Zafiras and headed for Grenoble for the Hari Raya Celebration that Saturday. We departed from Gare Lille Europe at around 8. The journey was 7 1/2 hours long, and as the co driver I didn't sleep a bit eventhough we changed drivers twice. We arrived in Grenoble at 3 in the morning, at Moled and Hakim's, where the meeting point was. After about 10 minutes there, Zarf, Wan, Eijas and I went to our hotel: Awad's room. And again, I drove for the third time. Ahahaha. Kantoi aa bawak manual. Mati 2 kali kat tengah jalan. Seb baik malam tak banyak kete.

That night we slept at 5 (except for Awad, menunggu rendang sampai Subuh). Kesian Awad. Normally he sleeps alone in his room, but that night, and the night after, there were 7 of us. So we slept wherever there's space. The next morning, I made my Roti Jala. Tu pun Ajib la yang gatal pi bitau semua orang yang aku nak masak Roti Jala. Ntah bila ntah aku cakap. Tak pasal-pasal aku kena menjala (gurau jek ye Ajib, aku masak dengan penuh sukarela). After a little crisis of finding the right kuali, I finally managed to make 70 Roti Jalas with 1,75 kg of flour.

The Raya celebration began after Zuhur. There was a red carpet session just like at the Oscars where everyone took pictures outside the banquet hall while waiting for others to arrive. I have to say the Grenoblois really know how to welcome and entertain the guests. They thought of everything, from the food to the decoration. Everything was perfect that day. There were soto, beef satay, rendang, nasi impit, kuah kacang, kek Asma' yang sedap, lontong, nasi beriani and of course MY roti jala. I didn't manage to have a go at all of the dishes since I had too mush nasi impit and kuah kacang, but the soto was great, so was the satay, the cake, but the best was of course the roti jala. Hehehe. Jepp, sori aa roti jala aku lagi laku dari satay kau.

When everyone was full, pictures were taken, stories were told, gossips were wispered, songs were sung, and everyone was happy. Thank You to all Greneblois for such a great gathering and for being the coolest hosts I've ever seen so far in France. Dommage takde mesen Karaoke. Ahahaha.

Pictures from top to bottom:

1. The Eid's congregation at Lille Grand Palais
2. The second time I was behind the wheels in France
3. 850 km to go!
4. My Roti Jala
5. Orang-orang Grenoble yang sangat cool
6. Orang-orang Grenoble menunjukkan bakat mereka yang terpendam (kepada orang Grenoble: Aku tak letak video korang, so jangan aa letak video aku, heheh)
7. Siap ada banner tu tak tahan. Lama tak buat banner.
8. Gambar Persatuan Orang-Orang Muda (nak masuk kena kurang 20 tahun)
9. Jepp, next time raya, kita tukar samping OK?
10. Kontinjen Lille yang ramainya mengalahkan kontinjen tuan rumah. Dari Atas ke bawah, dari kiri ke kanan; Bapak, Kimi, Anep, Ajak, Jepp, Wan, Ann, Peon, Zeff, MatNor, Ajib Teoh, Zarf
11. Selamat Hari Raya semua!

Kalau ada ayat-ayat yang tak paham dalam entry ni, harap maaf. Maklumlah baru bangun tidur lepas Asar.