Activities To Do As a Melbourne Student in Ramadhan
It's almost 3 weeks of Ramadhan. This is my very first time experiencing Ramadhan abroad and I find it very different. Firstly, it's different because I'm far from home. Secondly, I live in a Muslim-minority country. Living as a minority plays a big role in this Ramadhan. I've been doing fasting alone lot of time without a family when I was pursuing Bachelor but still fine tho, cause fasting is a common thing in Indonesia. But here, things are different.
Maybe one of the most significant things is you may not find adzan here. Even if it exists, it's just inside the mosque, not broadcasted outside the mosque. So sometimes I need adzan sounds from Muslim Pro apps to remind me that it's iftar time. The other thing is that everyone is eating around you of course. In Indonesia, many food outlets will cover their store to respect fasting people, everyone is also fasting so you may rarely find someone eating in public. Here, there are no such things. Ramadhan feels like isn't because people around you will just live, as usual, eating lunch, breakfast, etc. Even there are food bazaars at noon in some places in the city.
Also one significant thing I feel about this Ramadhan is it's a little bit more tiring than other Ramadhan I had been through. Ramadhan is still the same thing tho, but the homework is not, the mid-exam still continues, and without my mom, I need to cook my own food. It feels like 24 hours a day is not enough. In the morning I need to get up at 4 am for sahur and tahajjud, although I tried to shorten the sahur time by just heating leftover foods, sometimes I just wanted to sleep again huhuuu. And then I have several halaqahs to attend to in the morning until 11 am. After that, the classes started, until maghrib. Sometimes when there are no classes after asar, I will come home to cook for iftar, I really like it tho, I do it with passion. After maghrib I find the time passes by so fast, I usually do studying at this hours until 11 pm. I don't dare to sleep late, because it will affect my health. And thus, after 11 pm, I will just give up studying and continue again tomorrow. A little less time to study this month, because I also wanted to maximize my prayer and fasting. Honestly, sometimes I feel anxious because I miss out on so many materials tho :((( But it's okay, things will get better in syaa Allah...
However, despite all the challenges. I enjoy all my activities day by day. Things are not perfect, but just knowing that I can get through things every day relieves my heart. These are the activities I mostly did so far in this Ramadhan:
1. Cooking
One of my favorite things to do is cooking, I can take hours just to cook. I kind of made it as an escape from studying. What do I cook? Idk, just random things inside my head :D For sahur, I like to make easy-to-cook or microwavable foods, such as wraps, fried rice, chicken katsu curry, chicken soup, frensh toast, or easy-to-make food like oats etc. all are cooked so I just need to microwave it. For iftar, I like to make it more creative, sometimes I cook pasta, noodle (love samyang the most), fish chips, beefy things, shrimp tempura, etc.. I also tried to make new things, just experimenting, like making oyakodon and sushi. I also tried to make Indonesian foods, such as ayam geprek, bakwan, tahu susur, perkedel, etc. so I could feel more at home. I really love experimenting with cooking, if only I have more time to cook, but I also need time to study :((
2. Iftar and Mosque Hunting
Sometimes, cooking takes more time than life provided, especially near the exam week. So iftar hunting is one of a way for me to utilize more time to study. So every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the student union organization gives free foods for iftar. The food tastes really good. They have fried rice (tbh I think it's Indonesian style one) and friend noodles, pizza, croissants, as well as the beverages like juice, coke, and dates. All of them are halal of course. It's really convenient since I just need to come and receive the foods, eat it, and come back to study. Alsoo the foods come in big portions, so sometimes I can leave it for sahur also, very very convenient. Barakallah..
I also found out that some places provide iftar foods too, such as in IMCV every weekend, RMIT every day, and ICV every day. Unfortunately, it's too far away from my apartment. So I just stick to Unimelb :) IMCV provides Indonesian food tho, so I think I'll be there more often on weekend hahaha
3. Join Halaqahs and Find friends
This is one of the advantages of iftar and mosque hunting. So far, I've been through some Muslim communities in Melbourne and most of them are Indonesian. Alhamdulillah although muslims are a minority here, there are so many events held by muslim communities around Melbourne. For example, last weekend I went to Brunswick to attend the "Sehari Bersama Quran" (A Day with Al-Quran, SBQ) in Brunswick. I get to meet a lot of new people and it heals my heart when I am away from home. Those Indonesian people are very kind and will treat us like family. At some events, I will go alone to Brunswick/Coburg and need to come home early so that it won't be too dark on the way home. People will then tell me to stay and offer me a ride in their car to my apartment or accompany me to the nearest public transportation.
Other people also come from far. Sometimes they come from different suburbs and cities in the east or south (which are far from the north). Of course, I will not let it be wasted, I ask for their contact, just in case, I'll travel there one day or willing to just travel around, at least I know someone to contact. And they are very open, even offering me to visit their house once or twice when I am nearby. It's really good to feel at home and meet some of your kinds when you're not actually home.
Despite all the activities I do in Melbourne, I am still involved in halaqah's in Indonesia. For example, I attend several online daurahs and tahsin classes in Indonesia. I also do memorize Quran and murajaah with my peer friends from Indonesia and ustadz in Indonesia. And some other things. Good deeds should be maximized in Ramadhan for sure, and we are benefited from the transformation of technologies, so location is no more be a matter.
4. Studying
One thing does not change before, during, and after Ramadhan is homework, studying, and exam. Even I had an exam during the iftar hour on 12 April back then. So yeah, feels exhausting to keep up the Ramadhan and study together. But what I always believe is with hardship comes big rewards, especially those hardships I need to perform for the benefit of the ummah and the hereafter. For me, no such "choosing" between studying and Ramadhan, you can always do both and both of them are important and I do it for Allah. Just in this Ramadhan, let all the efforts out and do the best in both of them. May Allah accept my deeds.
5. Sitting in the Park
Just strolling and sitting around the park is actually my favorite thing to do in Melbourne regardless of the Ramadhan or not. In early April, I used to do this while studying. It was a really nice time to ngabuburit tho, seeing the birds, trees, and sky. However, it keeps getting colder these days, I couldn't hold it and decided to just spend my time inside the building.
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