Reason of Wearing Scarf

This morning, I went to Osaka Immigration Office to extend my period of stay in Japan. I submitted my application form together with some documents such as latest photograph, passport, residence card, certificate of scholarship, a seal from my faculty, and research student transcript. I was surprised when the officer asked me to fill in an additional form of statement about my reason of wearing scarf. They said it is necessary since I submitted a photograph that does not show my hair or full part of my head. I was frozen for a while, looking at a piece of paper with blank space to write down my reason.
I threw back to my past when I decided to wear scarf of so called hijab in a committed way. It was in my last year of senior high school. After finishing the final exam, I did not have any formal lesson at school, so every day I just came to school to see my friends and talked about things we wanted to do that time. We were also busy in preparing college entrance.
Before that time, I just wear hijab when I have to, for example, when I am praying, studying Qur'an, or when it was Friday of my junior high school era. At that time, my mom also do the same thing as me. No one pushed me, or even asked me to wear hijab everywhere I go or every time I meet non family members man. Even my family never force me to do so. I also never went to Islamic School where you have to wear full body uniform. I always study in public government school so no school rules that force me to cover my head.
And it just happened easily in 2012, my heart moved. I don't remember what things that moved my heart or my brain to change my behavior in dressing. I just feel it was the perfect time. Fortunately, my uniform skirt is long-designed so I don't need to buy a new one. I just need to add jacket to cover my short sleeve shirt and also a white hijab to cover my head. At that time, my mother still did not wear hijab when she went to work. And she asked me whether I was totally ready and aware of my decision, because she said some girls are not ready yet so they choose to come back (dressing without hijab) after wearing hijab every day. My mother was afraid that I just make a short term decision and become rebel again. But I convinced her, and then she, up till now, decided to use hijab as well.
So go back to the question: the reason to wear hijab
I had no reason back then, I just feel that was the perfect time to start. But after thinking again and again, reading the Qur'an more, I realized that Allah gives us the command clearly to cover our body to protect us and so we are more easily to be recognized.
I do not need another reason. My reason is Allah, and I am a moslem.

Life after death part 1

Discussing about religion and God is never gonna be a light topic. It's just like this afternoon, when my friend in lab, asked me about what do I believe in Islam. It was a very interesting talk, and maybe she became curious after one day I allowed her to join me to go to prayer room in our campus. No, I do not intend to ask or encourage her into Islam. She just bored and had nothing to do in the afternoon, so I offered her to join me walking to the prayer room. And days after that, we began this conversation (it is not exactly what we talk but the points are the same).

She: You know, in my previous lab where I do so much work with the mice, I sometime think I was like a God.

Me: Eh? Why do you think that way?

She: Because their lives are in my hand. They live in a cage, I can kill them, let them mate, or breed and even change or modify their genetics. But you know, then I think that, what if it turns out that I am the real mice in a cage? Like what if something bigger outside rules me in all the way I live?

Serpihan ingatan di Eropa

Baru sadar belum sempat menuliskan cerita perjalanan ke benua biru dua tahun silam. Setelah diingatkan oleh Kak dr. Fafa, yang ternyata juga suka nulis blog, aku coba mengais ingatan salah satu Ramadhan paling berkesanku. Pertengahan tahun 2018 lalu, aku dan teman-temanku pergi ke Groningen, Belanda untuk mengikuti konferensi ilmiah. Berbekal abstrak skripsi jaman S1 yang qadarullah diterima untuk presentasi poster, aku untuk pertama kalinya menghadiri sebuah konferensi ilmiah internasional di belahan bumi lain. Waktu itu aku berangkat bersama Nana, Bella, Nadia, Ridha, Rissa, dan Syifa. Berbagai persiapan kami lakukan mulai dari pembuatan poster, mengurus paspor, visa, tiket, itinerary, penginapan, dan lain sebagainya. Alhamdulillah walau ada banyak drama di sana sini, kami berangkat juga!

Setelah kurang lebih 17 jam perjalanan di udara dari Jakarta-Istanbul-Amsterdam ditambah 2 jam perjalanan menggunakan kereta dari Bandara Schipol Amsterdam, sampailah kami di Groningen Central Station. 

Sudden or expected death?

Since I became a medical doctor, I started to frequently think about death. Being around hospital makes me familiar with death, some of which are so suddenly happened, while the rests are following a very long painful uncured disease. Long before, I think sudden death is easier, because you don't need to suffer and you will not make your family busy with your disease. I saw so many chronically ill patients that must face their disease alone because they have no close family or just because their family do not really care anymore. Some people have to deal with very intense pain following a cancer, disabilities following an injured limb, or maybe depression following a rare disease without no available cures. I also see parents in their very late age that still have to take care their sick child, or husband that stays beside his sick wife. Some do it willingly and unconditionally, but some others don't. Some take those chances for granted, and just considered the patients' illness as a burden. In fact, taking care of sick patients is not an easy thing to do even for a family member. So I think it will become different if someone dies suddenly. If I suddenly die, no one needs to take care of me, except for my dead body. There will be no such medical cost that have to be spent for my cures and I just go or maybe leave some memories (only if people still remember me).