Yesterday, 15 August 2009 marks a full 2 months that we are here in Hannover. Time flies and while it may seem that we are enjoying our stay here, I wouldn't trade Malaysia for anywhere else on a permanent basis.....wellllll.... UK maybe (Jaja...remember our plan....)...coz UK is da besttttt....Anyway, we went to town yesterday, again to get school stuff for the kids as they start this coming Wednesday.
I also made a stop at Oxfam outlet in Hannover to try get some English story books coz the bookshops here don't carry stock of English books and the website for English speaking community in Hannover recommended that I check out Oxfam. To the uninitiated, Oxfam....short form for Oxford Committee for Famine Relief started in Great Britain in 1942 and is an international charity which is focused on fighting poverty. 13 partner organisations belong to Oxfam working with a number of affiliates in 100 countries to provide everything from donations of clothing to legislative advocacy. Like other charities, Oxfam relies on donations from individuals, other non-governmental organizations, and governments. In addition to accepting cash, the organization also accepts supplies which are used in its worldwide projects or sold in its charity shops to raise money to fund the organization's programs. I am very familiar with Oxfam as it reminds me of my student days in Cambridge during my A Levels there where we had to survive on 38 pounds per month as we were placed in a boarding school. Makan, tempat tinggal semua taken care of so the money was supposed to be pure pocket money. Mana nak melaram on that kind of budget...so selalu la frequent Oxfam for some good quality second hand bargains. Mat Salleh ni yang eloknya if they donate unwanted items, all are in good condition bukan macam Malaysians yang take the opportunity to dump their "garbage"....the likes of old undies yang dah koyak rabak pun ada orang Malaysia donate sad to say....apa punya orang! Anyway, I found my book and I'll definitely go there again as the things that they stock up at this outlet including shoes and jackets are mostly in mint condition...nampak macam baru.
Since this will be the last week before Ramadan, we went to the Kiekeberg Open-Air Museum today, some 140 km from Hannover, towards the south of Hamburg. It exhibits houses and lifestyles of the 17th-19th centuries from Lüneburg Heath.The Lüneburg Heath has extensive areas of heathland (a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly infertile acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation), typical of those that covered most of the North German countryside until about 1800, but which have almost completely disappeared in other areas. I have a feeling Imran and Syirah were bored throughout the trip tapi they're too nice to say it out loud...for fear of Mama mengamok and tak nak bawak depa jalan lagi.....yer la the countryside is not actually their cup of tea, they miss our weekly "quality time" back home window shopping at One Utama, Mid Valley, Subang Parade...kat sini mana ada shopping malls of that kind. So I hope to change the kids' idea of "fun" and get them to appreciate nature. At the museum, one can see how the people of this region lived with houses and farm apparatus dating back as early as 1500 and you can experiment with them as they hold demonstrations and real live activities....Hakeem definitely enjoyed himself, playing in the huge sand box, old tractor and swing as well as learning how honey is extracted from the hives of bees that feed on the flowers of the heathland flowers. The verdict....memang sedap as there is a unique flavour to it...he queued three times to sample the honey....sampai 3 kali bukan namanya cuba, test try dah tu....It was a good educational trip for us, made more wonderful by the good weather prevailing throughout the day.
So, that ends my musings this weekend. With the onset of the fasting month, here's our warm wishes to everybody for a blessed Ramadan......Ramadan Al-Mubarak! May our fasting, prayers and other good deeds be pleasing and acceptable to Allah SWT dan dijauhkan dari perkara-perkara yang mungkar.