Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Merry RIS mass part 1

Ok its the post you've been waiting for but when I got back from RIS I had not only a bad cold but also a toothache. So the big joke on facebook is to call RIS, RISmas. I'm going to call it RIS mass because there was a mass of people there! Like hello, 20,000! The last time I went was 2 yrs ago so it felt really packed to me. I think 2 yrs ago it was only 13,000. So it was like a mini-hajj.The first thing that happened was we couldn't get into the building and this little bus pulls over and the driver waves us in. We look at each other (my daughter and I) and get in. The bus brings us to the back entrance and we pass the moose and the Christmas tree and go down the escalators. After that  I waited in the line with my daughter in the pre-booked ticket area for people who already bought their tickets online and I saw my friend there S. I never saw her again for the next 3 days! The woman who served me at the counter was a Malaysian student who was volunteering. It was nice to see a Malaysian volunteering. This year the arm bands were great! They didn't fall off at all as they had these snap things to keep them in place, apparently they had them last year too but I didn't go last year. So this year I didn't lose my arm band and have to pay another $45 to replace it. Alhumdullilah.
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9 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2011 at 11:55 PM

    ummm...whats RIS?

    salaam...

    ReplyDelete
  2. EvaJanuary 11, 2011 at 11:55 PM

    Assalamu Alaikum,

    the bus thing was so hilarious but such a blessing :)

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  3. QiyamaJanuary 12, 2011 at 2:58 AM

    Asalam Alaykom!

    FINALLY!!!! just joking LOL, inshallah you have fully recovered from your cold and toothache. Looking forward to hearing more about this. I wish we had something similar here, but personally, I hate over crowded Muslim/arab places, unfortunately most arabs are very inconsiderate and get on my nerves with how they display their manners. Hope you didn't experience this. Did you only get to bump into 1 sister or did you see and meet more? Inshallah you had a blast :)

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  4. CJanuary 12, 2011 at 7:44 AM

    Asalaamu Alaikum Umm Ibrahim

    RIS stands for Reviving the Islamic Spirit and its a conference. I've added a link now, just click on it to take you to the website with all the information. They are now held in the US too for the past 2 yrs I think.

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  5. CJanuary 12, 2011 at 7:46 AM

    Wa Alaikum Salaam

    Yes Eva it was so funny, like we were in a comedy or something.

    Asalaamu Alaikum Qiyama

    I will answer your questions in my upcoming posts insha Allah.

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  6. HudaJanuary 13, 2011 at 11:31 AM

    LOL, I always called the RIS crowds "Hajj training"! But for the last couple of years the fam has unanimously voted for legging it before the end of the night to escape the crowds.
    Sorry to hear you were unwell when you got home, hope you're fully recovered now in sha Allah.

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  7. CJanuary 13, 2011 at 12:08 PM

    My cold and tootache are gone but tooth isn't fixed yet. I also have a circulation problem and don't know what's causing it.

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  8. Hajj PackagesJuly 26, 2013 at 7:25 AM

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