Day 11: Cats. Chickens. Cows. Elephants. Bees. Fish.

 Selamat Hari Raya semuah!


Yesterday was the main celebration for the Islamic holiday Hari Raya. Hari Raya aidiladha marks the end of the annual Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca and celebrates Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his own son. In the morning, some of us visited the local mosque and sat outside while our homestay families listened to the sermon and prayed. Then, we all visited the families and friends of our respective homestays (filled with cats and chickens!). For the holiday, each extended family sacrifices a cow in the name of Allah. They then butcher it themselves and pass it out to family and the needy. In the evening, some of us then did some detective work when we saw big blotches of poop on the road, and when we came to a stop we were able to see a herd of elephants on the side on the road! 

Today, we went on an amazing 2 mile hike. There were many ropes to help us keep our balance. The view from the top of the mountain was breathtaking. When we were done hiking, we were in the sun with a bunch of bees before everyone made it down from then mountain. After the hike we had a picnic lunch provided by Emak Tiga (Angah's mom) at a beautiful spot with a view of the national park (Taman Negara). We also learned a bunch of new Malay words. After lunch some went swimming while others put fish food in their toes for a nice fish massage at a fish sanctuary in the river. We all then had dinner made by the mom of one of the homestays (Emily, Sophia, and Tali) and played cards.  






(Our faces when Ms. Buxton asks to take a photo in the hot sun)


- Allen and Kabir

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