Celebrating Lebaran in Pekalongan

It was Saturday, the first day of my school lebaran holiday. I, my brother Iban, and my sister, Erin were so excited when we heard the news that om Wiman, my uncle, is coming to Semarang with my cousin, Rafi, on Sunday. Iban was so excited; he wanted to join om Wiman all the way back to Pekalongan! I thought it was not such a good idea. So, only Iban went with om Wiman.

Soon, about 2 days later, om Wiman, again, came. This time, Erin and I decided to go with him to Pekalongan. We were so exited. After finding clothes and buka puasa at Pizza Hut, we bought donuts, said bye-bye to Ayah, and prepared to go. That night, Erin said, “I miss Ayah”.  When we’re getting further from Semarang, I felt thirsty. “Om Wiman... I am thirsty”, I moaned. 2 minutes later, we spotted Indomaret. We bought a bottle of cool, refreshing water.

Later we saw a house, which om Wiman triumphfully stopped in front, which made me fall out of my chair, since I did not buckle up. In came another man, which looked even more cheerful and sounded funnier than om Wiman. He was om wiman’s friend. Hours later, we, again, stopped at Indomaret. om Wiman stopped harder. That time it happened, I spun round and found myself lying on the car’s floor. Om Wiman’s friend came out of the car to buy coffee. Om Wiman let me block his friend’s chair so his friend could not sit. After a while we thought... How if we leave his friend alone, so we could see how he reacts. He just waved. Hahahahahahahahaha. “Hey, why don’t we buy ice cream”, Om Wiman said. So, we did. We bought magnum gold, magnum classic and a cup of strawberry and vanilla. We had a competition. om Wiman’s friend was first, since he did not get ice cream. Then om Wiman, me and Erin.

Longer, we arrived at eyang’s house. Eyang is my late grandma from my mom. Om wiman, tante Ria, Rafi and his family lived there. Found you! I managed to find Rafi and Iban there.

The next day, at sahur, I awoke when tante Ria, my auntie, wobbled me back and forth, pat my back, and tickled me. I hung like a wilted plant as I walked to the table. Hungrily, I scooped a spoonful of bright green vegies and white broth. I chewed and chomped it until empty. I repeated each spoonful. Soon, I felt like my eyes were heavy and my tummy started getting bigger and bigger. It was a sign that I was full.

In the morning, I played with Iban, Erin, Rafi and also Najmi, Rafi’s brother. We played plants vs. zombies’ game. After mama, ayah, and Alaina, my littlest sister, arrived in the afternoon, we went to Anti’s house. We slept over there. Anti is my grandma from my ayah. We did not visit Rafi so often after that because Rafi was at his grandpa’s house as well. I played with my other cousins, Rara and Novan instead.

On Lebaran eve, just before I went to brush my teeth and sleep, I heard a sound. It was like, bok, bok, bok. We rushed out of the back door to see. It was fireworks. We rushed up to the rooftops for an even better view. Cool. Later, just before I fell asleep, a lampion parade marched right in front of the house. We rushed out the front door to see. We saw lanterns; lots of children brought various shapes of them. We once saw a giant camel. It was amazing. I fell asleep seconds later.

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

It was Sunday, the lebaran day! I woke up early to sholat Id. I took a bath, put on a new, polka dotty dress, scooped up my sajadah, and put on my mukena. I went to the mosque with Anti and Erin. After solat Id, I ate lontong opor. Then, we visited lots of people. They were my grandpa’s sister and brother. It was so boring. After that we had a family gathering with my Anti’s sister and brother. Then, again we went around. It was even more boring. It was a busy day, I was so exhausted. After I took a bath in the evening and put on my clothes, I fell asleep until the next morning. It was 14 hours!

On Monday I went to another family gathering. Then, we went to more houses. It was super boring. On Tuesday, to another 2 family gatherings we went. It was extra boring. On Wednesday, we again visit another houses. That’s the last of them.

On Thursday, we were free! I was so happy. I went to Meduri Park with my big families. I played ATV, mini boat, flying fox, and more. It was so much fun. Then, on Friday, I went back to Semarang. Home sweet home.