AIZA SURAYA Welcome to my blog!

Monday, 15 January 2018

Winter Break 2017

Assalamualaikum and hello guys!



I didn't update my blog for a long while because I was too busy enjoying life. Hoho! Alhamdulillah, I've been staying in the US for almost 5 months and always trying to cherish every moment in life. I observe myself growing older and wiser (hopefully) day by day. I'm forever grateful to be surrounded by good friends and I would say that they make me closer to Islam :) Anyway, my second semester (Spring 2018) is going to start tomorrow. Pray for me guys! 

In this post, I want to share about my activities over the Winter Break. I finished my finals on December 20 and my flight to Denver, Colorado was on the following day. I flew to Denver with kak Farina, kak Tia and Husna for an annual Islamic convention called Muktamar 2017. I was pretty much excited about that event because it was held at a 5-star hotel (Omni Interlocken Hotel)! The total cost for Muktamar was very reasonable. Fyi, Muktamar was organized by Malaysian Islamic Study Group (MISG) and Indonesian Muslim Student Association (IMSA). The theme for Muktamar 2017 was Living Under the Light of Quran and Sunnah. The best part of Muktamar was being able to gain as much Islamic knowledge as possible from Malaysian and Indonesian speakers. And my favourite speaker was Dr. Rozaimi! Walaupun saya selalu tersengguk-sengguk dalam ceramah tapi saya suka isi dan cara penyampaian beliau. That's all for Muktamar 2017. 

Now, let's talk about the Roadtrip!! Alhamdulillah, I feel blessed for joining the post-Muktamar road trip with Kak Hazirah, Abang Khalil and other friends from Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, and Purdue University. Thank you to my ADP friend at OSU who told me about the road trip to Southwest USA. We visited a few attractions in Colorado, Arizona, and Utah in 8 days. We also stopped by at Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, and Indiana on our way back to Purdue University. They dropped me and Teha at Purdue University (Teha's Uni) and I stayed there for a few days before going back to Minnesota. I had so much fun with my good friends who are studying at Purdue University and also a few other friends from Wisconsin and Delaware who came over to visit. I took a bus from West Lafayette (Purdue) to Minnesota on Saturday, Jan 6 and arrived at Minnesota on the next day. I had another one week of break before the semester begins. I spent the rest of my winter break for a full-time job on campus. Thank you Boynton for being nice to me. #misikumpulduitbalik

Yesterday, I went to Nickelodeon Universe in Mall of America with Husna, Diana, Kak Ainaa, Yasmin, Kak Zie and her sons, Hassan & Hamzah and enjoyed the unlimited rides. The normal ticket price was $35 but I got 6 tickets for only $84 which means $14 per person from UMN Free and For Sale facebook page. Ye, saya memang suka scroll page tu bila bosan to get good deals on any stuff.

Alhamdulillah, I've covered 9 out of 50 states for now. Any suggestions on where to go during Spring break?!

#winterbreakwellspent


Minahsota (Kak Farina, Tia, Husna, Aiza)

Bergambar dengan Ustaz Sallim Fillah (Indonesian speaker) during Muktamar

Bergambar dengan Raef (American singer). Macam Maher Zain gitu. Saya sebenarnya baru kenal & dengar lagu beliau. Sejak habis Muktamar suka pulak dengar lagu beliau. Tajuknya You're the One.

Road trip Day 1: Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

Ada gaya macam ratu padang pasir tak? lulz

Road trip Day 2: Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Road trip Day 3: Horsehoe Bend, Arizona

Gigih weh nak ambil gambar tepi gaung ni. Nasib baik tak jatuh.

Road trip Day 3: Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona

Road trip Day 3: Utah (complete, semua orang ada dalam gambar)

Road trip Day 3: Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument, Utah

Road trip Day 4: Zion National Park, Utah

Zufar sangat comel dan manja ye.

Angels Landing. Fyi, 6 orang dah mati dekat situ. Alhamdulillah saya bukan orang ketujuh.


Road trip Day 5: Grand Canyon, Arizona (sebenarnya Teha sorang je member Taylor's Uni saya. Yang lain semua kawan baru tapi boleh ngam gitu)


Grand Canyon East Rim

Ayah & mak saya bila whatsapp sepanjang travel tu asyik tanya, "dah sampai Grand Canyon ke?". Haa inilah dia Grand Canyon. 


Road trip Day 6: Antelope Point Marina, Arizona

Road trip Day 6: Upper Antelope Canyon, Arizona



Post-road trip: visiting friends at Purdue University, Indiana



Member-member ADP Taylor's University

Mira <3

The end. Thank you for reading!