Idul Fitri celebration

Idul Fitri celebration

As an African expatriate in Indonesia, I painfully missed the
joyful celebration of Idul Fitri at my home in Kano, northern
Nigeria. But it didn't turn out so bad afterall. About three
different mosque committees in my vicinity presented three
different envelopes, one after the other. I was told that this
was my share of Idul Fitri alms. I opened the envelopes and was
shocked to find rupiah inside. My response was "Thanks, may this
charity of yours be acceptable to God and may it be highly
rewarded by Him."

My Idul Fitri experiences as a foreigner were rather funny
this year. In the early afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 9 it was
difficult to find food as all the restaurants were closed for the
public holiday. What could I do? I was told that I could only
find lunch at foreign restaurants like McDonald's. So I rushed to
nearby Pondok Indah Mall where I found a number of restaurants in
action.

The next morning an elderly person brought me a special Idul
Fitri dish and told me it was called ketupat (rice cake wrapped
in coconut leaves). I couldn't believe how similar it looked to
the one in my country which is also specially prepared for Idul
Fitri. But tuwo as it is called in northern Nigeria is not cut
into small pieces as ketupat is here. Its size is similar to a
beef burger and it tastes salty.

BUHARI ABDU

Jakarta