All I want for raya is you

My favourite.

I just can't believe that Raya is around the corner. Seriously, if it hasn't been for all the Raya shout outs in Friendster and YM or MSN statuses, I'm quite sure I would've missed it.

This year, I'm celebrating it in Lille with the others and some friends from Grenoble. A 'Kunjungan Balas' I might say since last year we had a wonderful celebration in Grenoble. Though I have to say ours won't be as grandiose as theirs was. Unfortunately, I have 2 classes on Saturday morning so I think I'll be ditching one for the sake of Raya.

This will be my 4th Raya away from home and I certainly hope that it will be the last. It's just not the same. Yes, you can have all the ketupats, rendangs, kuah kacang you want, but the hype is just not the same. I miss the Raya-shopping madness, helping out in the kitchen making cookies (and helping myself up with the leftovers), filling duit raya envelopes, finishing up cookies served for the guests even before the first ones arrive, and finally of course the duit raya hunt (yes I know I'm getting quite old for that).

I don't know why but this year I long to celebrate Raya at home. I really, really miss home. I don't know why. I mean it has only been a month since I came back to France, and my parents are coming to visit me soon, but somehow I want to go home. Is this how homesick feels? If it is, then it's both good news and bad news. The good news is had I felt it when I first came, it would've been much more difficult for me to adapt and to settle down, and who knows how it would've affected me. The bad news is, it shows how heartless I am for taking more than 3 years to finally actually miss home. So if this is homesick, then, I shall admit it without shame that I am homesick. Maybe the ride is just not fun anymore.



Pulang abang, pulang saudaraku,
Masih hijau di desamu ini,
Bayu masih seperti dahulu,
Hujan masih dihias pelangi
Zapin yang hilang - Ramlah Ram