This was from a conversation between two classmates years ago when I was in high school. Thinking about it today still makes me laugh and I wonder if either of them might one day stumble upon this and remember, too. (Names changed for privacy.)
Alan: What does you mom do?
Judy: My mom is a freelance photographer.
Alan: What does that mean? Free of job?
Judy: No! It means she works whenever she wants to.
Alan: . . . Yeah. Free of job.
Before Hajj, I would have been glad to know a few things about the way it works over there. The following is a list of stuff that I wish I new before I started Hajj and that would’ve help me prepare better, or at least brace myself.
Between Jeddah’s Airport and our arrival at the hotel, we received free food and/or beverages several times on the bus. Don’t store too much food from home in your bag if you want to keep what you don’t eat. Wasting good food is sinful, but it’s also hard to find someone willing to take it. The beggars on the street only want your money, not your food. In fact, I’ve seen what appeared to be perfectly fine food rotting in the streets of Mecca plenty of times. It’s really sad, but part of a larger global food waste problem.
Hello Readers, I’ve just come back from Hajj, the yearly pilgrimage for Muslims and the following is a list of things that, should you ever go, you’ll be glad you brought along.
The hotel we stayed at in Mecca was run-down, dirty and down right gross sometimes. I pray you don’t have the same experience that I do, but if you, you’ll be glad you brought extra bedsheets. I don’t know when the ones in my room were last washed and even the new “clean” ones they gave me smelled questionable to say the least. Using my own sheets at least gives me some peace of mind in that regard. If you don’t want the extra baggage, you could also probably buy some in the market. In addition to your hotel, they could prove useful at Mina and just praying in Jammat with a bunch of other people when prayer rugs aren’t available for everyone.
