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