Anablephobia - Fear of Looking Up

April 12, 2017

(removed / transferred from hanisnina.com)

HK, Czech

150325

Phobias can be various. And of course something may trigger that fear.

Don't be scared to look high up.

I was scrolling my YouTube and found this calm, sweet video of a guy, Sam who had fear of looking up. He was bullied by his friends as he was a short boy in school (and still is). Since then, he always wear a cap, with the fear to even turn his head upwards.

Watching the video make me realized how grateful I should be, for not having it. It is quite sad if I'm not able to see the sky (as this is what I love to do the most). There are so many things that people with anablephobia can't enjoy. T_T

Sunset or sunrise
Rain / snowfall
Rainbow
Firecrackers
Aircraft's performances
Birds flying
Hot air balloon
Etc......

And, an important thing while communicating with others; the faces of people. I love eye contact when talking to people.

The video is very long, to be honest. Watch if you want to :)

To escape fear, you have to go through it, not around

I learned this.

I think I shared that I have fear with the traffic lights turning red from green. It is not that I have fear with the red color, as I don't have problem with blood and I saw lots of surgery and bleeding so far. I just don't like the feeling of being in the middle of the road with traffic lights changing colors.

Yeah, it may be weird to some people. Even though I am just a passenger - like I'm taking the bus somewhere, wondering why I still have that fear.

Trying to change, I will breathe more every time I saw the traffic lights. I will try to keep calm and don't rush towards it. After few times using the same road, I managed to see the patterns of traffic. And even, I can roughly calculate how many seconds before the light changing colors. :)

Haha. Suddenly I miss traffic lights in Malaysia where there are countdown numbers.

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I read somewhere that people with this problem don't like to be in the middle of two things. Not sure to agree with it or not, but making a decision is quite hard for me nowadays. Especially decision where other people involved as well. I was firm with my decision before, but it didn't feel good when other people not satisfied with it. I know I can't fulfill other people's hope all the time, but still.....

Susah nak puaskan hati org. Buat cara A, yg ni terasa. Buat cara B, yg tu terasa. So?

Buat je ikut plan sendiri asalkan tak langgar syarak.
— Hanis Amanina (@HanisAmanina) April 10, 2017

There is no ideal decision made by all of us, all the time right?

:)

(removed / transferred from hanisnina.com)

HK, Czech
170412

These Ladies I've Met Shared How Life is More Than What We Think

April 9, 2017

I am currently in hibernation mode. Exam is coming soon, so if there will be any travel stories posted here, please be informed that they are from my previous journeys. :)

Another 7 hours journey to Poland, this time it was by train and alhamdulillah I was not alone. Oh yeah. It was a weekend trip and we actually had a halaqah, inter-locality.

I will always remember this scarf. :) read more to know why.

The train arrived at Warszawa Zachodnia (a train station just before Warszawa Centralna) sharp on time although the train was a bit delayed in Czech. Upon exiting the station, we grabbed a taxi straight to our friends' flat. We can count how many times we took a taxi in Europe... maybe less than the number of fingers on one hand? Yes, walking and tram/metro/bus are our main transportation but this time we were simply too lazy to check the route. Haha.

Warsaw is pronounced as war-saw by foreigners.

If you want to pronounce like locals, it is Var-sha-va.

Warszawa Zachodnia

This is how flats in Poland look like. You can expect similar buildings in Czech as well. One interesting fact is if you are living in a flat (at least in Czech) facing the city center like the main roads, main attractions etc, it is highly recommended NOT
to hang clothes at the front balcony / windows. The city really takes care of its appearance.

After having our breakfast (they served us with lots of fooood haha nasi goreng bubur chacha sandwiches yada yada), we spent some time together in the city center especially the Old Town.

Just for general knowledge, Warsaw is the capital city of Poland. Actually, I've been there 3 years ago (wow, 3 years already?). If you would like to know more about the city itself, you can check my previous posts on it.

Warsaw - Part 1

Warsaw - Part 2

Warsaw - Part 3

After reading those posts again, haha wow I actually shared quite a lot of information and general history of Warsaw.

This is the tallest building in Poland named Palace of Culture and Science :)

On our way back to Hradec Kralove, we shared a train's cabin with another 4 ladies. They look like around early to mid 40's. Our conversations started when they asked our permission to 'drink' in that cabin. Yes, I saw a bottle of liquor there. -_-'

We just nodded by letting them know not to mind us there and we continued eating our lunch. We were starving a bit and we already packed ourselves some food for lunch. It was a 5-hours train ride and we did not want to spend money to buy food on board.

They asked us where are we from etc and just like the responses we always received.. "you guys are brave enough to live abroad, far away from the family." Only if they know we were already living in boarding schools since 13 years old, I wonder how their reaction would be.

One of them gave each of us a scarf. Awwwww.

They were actually on a trip back to Vienna, after having vacation together in Warsaw. 2 of them are Czechs, one is Polish and another one is from Switzerland. The main language they used to speak to each other is German.

1. It benefits you well to know more than 2 languages!

Well, I already know that Vienna was once the largest German-speaking city, but now it becomes the second after Berlin. The first impressive fact about them is they at least know 3 languages! For example, the Czechs with Czech, English, German languages. The lady from Switzerland wins the highest numbers of languages - at least 6 - well, she used to be a linguist and translator anyway.

A thing I kind of regret all this while is I did not use the opportunity to learn Tamil and Mandarin when I was younger. I have multiracial friends yet I do not even like to speak English with them. Tamil and Mandarin were beyond the imagination. Haih, I wonder why I was so patriotic with Malay language so much back then heeeee.

No harm though to master many languages. :)

2. Stay humble.

A thing I realized after living abroad is I can not simply judge a person from his appearance. What can I say when there was actually a maxillofacial surgeon among them and she has been in service for 30 years! So, she actually already pass mid 50's but she does not look that old, honestly!

Well, how can I imagine a lady who is approaching her 60's is now on a trip with her friends? Like, seriously?

When we tried to take our photo together, one of them asked a guy who was walking along the aisle. He really looked like a normal person, for me I imagined him to be a businessman. But I was wrong, he is actually a 15-years-in-service oncologist (a person who knows well about cancer) and he was on his way for a conference about radiation dose in Vienna.

We ended up with a small medical gathering in the cabin. Phew.

Old Town in Warsaw.

3. You are never too old to learn new skills.

The linguist I mentioned earlier is now a psychologist and wow, how can people change their career as simple as that? She said she just want to learn something new through out her life and psychology is a subject she finds interesting. And well, the way she spoke to us really sounded like she could touch the inner part of our hearts. The way she advised us... really showed she has a big heart and she played well with our emotions and thoughts! Hahaha.

Like, how mothers will treat their children. :)

4. You can still enjoy your life even though you are married.

Yes, all four of them are married with at least two kids. On average, their first children are at least 13 years old now. During that trip, most of the kids were taken care by their fathers so that they could have girls' vacation or me-time anything you want to call it.

Impressive, right?

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I have not been in touch yet with them, although they gave us their contacts. I will, soon. :)

A verse that make me very happy to hear from them...

"You are already a gift, your parents must be proud of you."

Allah, please bless them with hidayah. <3

p/s - so many news regarding doctors and health workers. Please pray for us, the medical students here to pass the degree with flying colors and serve the country the best that we can. The future life is going to be hard, I know. I hope with all good memories and tough experiences while we study abroad will make us stronger, mentally. Doakan kitoranggggg :)

Mesti korang penat dah baca asyik suruh doakan je hehe but, I really believe in your prayers as well... ada doa seorang ibu, ada doa seorang pelajar, ada doa orang yang bermusafir, ada yang tempatnya tengah hujan sekarang. Mudah-mudahan. :)

Thanks for reading!

HK, Czech

170409

When Strangers Are Like Family

April 6, 2017

“There're times when strangers are like family, and family are like strangers” - Hlovate.

Well, I agree with the quote somehow, but alhamdulillah my family is not like strangers. At least between me and ayah mak abangngah. :)

Growing older, I realized I became clingy, not only to them but to people whom I started to have emotional attachments. But, I need to remind myself, they have their own life (I mean personal life that I should not interrupt), they still need to work anyway.

To be honest, somehow I like the ideas of Instastories as we can watch or see our friends' updates and I love all the mature changes of most people I know. :) People are moving on with many new responsibilities. This medium even connected me with my childhood friend that I have not been in touch for ages. Girl, insyAllah I will have your back if you need me. <3

Hiking in Pravcicka Brana, Czech.

A weekend in March, I had the chance to spend at least two whole days with this beautiful family of Uncle Razali and Aunty Awa. Well, I called myself as a little Czech ambassador for Malaysians. Haha. Perasan. I knew Aunty Awa since early September I think, of course via blog and we keep in touch till now, insyAllah.

She was planning for her Europe trip and to my surprise Prav?ická brána was in her plan. :) So impressed to know that, I tried my best to help with guides. And another surprise, she invited me to join her family trip in Czech. T_T

Segan tu jangan katalah, dah kenapa nak masuk family trip orang lain kannn?. -_-'

I kept reminding myself, my intention was to make someone's journey in Czech smoother, well at least I believe in the saying of 'tetamu tu bawa rezeki'. Hehe. I've been living here for quite a while and even my study is covered by Malaysian taxes (although I'll have huge debt at the end of my study for at least ten to hundred thousands ringgit haha die die) so, I think of this as contribution to the people as well.

Prague Castle, Czech.

At first, deep inside I was homesick.

Can you imagine, you met a family similar like yours and even the sequence of children is the same as your own siblings? 2 elder brothers (Ariff, Azmi) and the youngest is a daughter (Aliya). Even the eldest studied culinary just like my late abanglong did. :)

Hard Rock Cafe, Prague.

I am thankful I met them, alhamdulillah.

Alhamdulillah, guiding them around was not a problem, I had experiences travelling with my parents for our Europe Trip last two years and those moments taught me a lot how to deal with parents aged 40's at least... well my parents were slightly above 50 when we traveled together. :)

Both of uncle and aunty are friendly and chill, they treat me like I am a part of the family. This reminds me of my parents as they love to treat other kids. Once upon a time when I was younger, I was jealous with those kids as well. :p HAHA.

Azmi (Adik), Uncle, Ariff, Aunty, Aliya, Me.

We were lucky to have the chance to climb this high as I've been told that the route was under renovation just a week earlier. Let me share with you the interesting facts of Pravcicka brana:

Pravcicka brana means Pravcice Sandstone Gate
It is the largest natural sandstone arch in Europe.
Chronicles of Narnia (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) was filmed here.
It was said that this area was a sea full of sea creatures and after million years, it transformed to what we can see today.

To Uncle & Aunty, thank you very much for those lovely days, it felt like home to me. :)

HK, Czech

170406

4 Life Lessons I Learned From Korean Drama Defendant

April 4, 2017

Another K-Drama review, I guess? Haha.

I am a fan of Ji Sung for his works and talents that are pretty amazing. I had the chance to watch Defendant (actually after it finished airing). Some websites refer it as Innocent Defendant, anything you wish. I think I read about this drama in few blog posts before. Even though it is very tense and mind-challenging to me, I skipped many scenes as I can't spend too much time on it.

-_-'

Credit

Okay, maybe a little bit of introduction about this drama.

It is a thriller drama about a prosecutor named Park Jeong-woo who is accused to kill his beloved family (his wife and daughter). With temporary amnesia, he can not remember what happened to him and why he is in prison, to be more specific he is on death row! So basically this drama is trying to show how Park Jeong-woo tries his best to recall every single memories he has forgotten and to find out what actually happen to his family.

There are few things that are mind opening for me from this drama. Let's check on them together :)

1. A lie will lead to another lie.

Be yourself, even though we think we are full of weakness. To believe that we are special is already a great achievement, honestly. Even though most of times we need to refrain ourselves from saying the reality in a bad way, I believe it is good to show our true colors and be honest to people. Eventually we will realize our bad habits and try our best to improve our life qualities.

To make a lie true, you need seven lies. When a lie produces another lie, and that lie bears another lie again, you became a lying machine.
— Hanis Amanina (@HanisAmanina) February 26, 2017

2. Greed will turns someone blind.

When we are too attached or too focus on something until the moment we think we are not able to bear the consequences of losing anything...that is when we need to rethink the purpose of we doing something. Obviously it is actually greed.

Credit to UsefulGen

Greed for money.

Greed for status.

Greed for attention.

It is definitely hard to do, but I'm trying my best to think that everything in this world is temporary whenever I feel like I am greedy for something. For me, it is good to have desires anyway, just we need to control them.

3. Love of a man and a father.

Somehow throughout the early episodes of the drama, I was wondering if the prosecutor really killed his family members or not. And if yes, what are the reasons? Homicide is something I used to learn in forensics and it usually happens due to intense continuous arguments, psychological problems etc.

But Park Jung-woo did not seem to have any of these problems and apparently he had a great life with family despite he was so busy.

Credit

He tried his best recall his memories to understand what was going on. He tried his best to get his daughter back. You can really feel the struggle of him for the sake of love to his family.

4. Adapt ourselves with the environment.

Living in prison is something unfavorable. Prisons are obviously nightmares for commoners like me.

Credit

From this drama, you can watch and feel how the lead tried his best to get into the community of the prisoners but at the same, he planned well how to get out of the situation. He learned well how to deal with other prisoners who can be cheaters as well. At the end of the drama, I love the idea of most of his cellmates are free from prisons and they still keep in touch with each other.

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There are many other life lessons we can learn actually. The drama itself is not disappointing, Ji Sung and the rest of actors nailed their characters, with the similar feeling when I watched Ji Sung in Kill Me Heal Me. :)

How about you? Have you watch this drama? ^_^

HK, Czech

170403

Mengimbau Kenangan

April 1, 2017

Wah, terkejut tak bila nampak post kali ni bukan dalam English? :D

Ada lagi soalan-soalan Sunshine Blogger Award yang belum selesai dijawab sebenarnya. Memandangkan kali ni soalan dari Muteq dalam bahasa Melayu, jadinya post ni pun dalam BM. :) Saya pun dah tak ingat sejak bila dan macam mana kitorang mula baca blog masing-masing. Hee.

1. Pernah buat nakal kat sekolah tak? Korang buat apa?

Jujurnya saya budak baik lagi berdisiplin masa sekolah. Jujur. Hahaha.

Saya sama sekolah dengan ayah ataupun mak (banyak sangat pindah sekolah). Tak siap kerja sekolah pun, cikgu report kat mak ayah. Itu belum masuk kalau tak aktif dalam kelas, lambat masuk kelas lepas rehat yada yada. Saya pun tak faham, kenapa cikgu-cikgu lain suka report. Haih.

Lepak tepi longkang lepas habis sekolah sambil kupas kelapa kering kat pagar rumah terbiar pun mak ayah boleh tahu. Ppffttt.

2. Pernah buat mak korang menangis / marah tak? Apa jadi lepas tu?

Hmm pernah. Dan ni pun satu sebab kenapa orang nampak saya baik je. Kadang-kadang sebab benda kecil je... lagi-lagi age / generation gap, pemikiran berbeza sikit. Setiap kali 'lawan' cakap mak, tunggu la balasan. Tak payah tunggu lama, memang selalunya on the spot.

Jatuh longkang. Jatuh dalam lubang sampah yang api tengah menyala-nyala. Nyaris kena langgar dengan motor. Plug charger laptop patah. Flask air pecah T___T

Itu yang sekarang ni, nak buat nakal pun minta izin mak ayah. Haha. Biasanya diorang redha je dan melepaskan anak perempuan diorang ni buat macam-macam. As long as they know and well informed.

Memori dengan mak ayah masa Europe Trip | Brussels, Belgium.

3. Apa cita-cita waktu kecik? Masih sama?

Petani moden.

Ya Allah, masa belajar Kajian Tempatan pasal cara-cara tumbuhan membiak tu, the best feeling ever rasanya masa kecil. Semua cara nak cuba, serius halaman rumah sewa saya sekeluarga yang kecil tu memang penuh dengan pokok.

Kacang hijau boleh tumbuh atas kapas yang basah tu pun dah boleh buat saya kagum. Belum masuk pokok ubi kayu yang ingatkan boleh makan daun je, lepas tu masa nak pindah rumah... ayah korek tanah sebab nak ambik ubi bawah tu. Pokok setawar pun, kangkung yang boleh menjalar kat pagar, semua jenis kekacang (kacang panjang, kacang bendi, kacang botol). Pokok durian pun saya pernah tanam (masa ni atuk tolong jagakan).

4. Nanti dah besar nak stay mana?

Fuh, susah soalan ni.

InsyAllah yang pasti, saya stay Malaysia. Setakat ni lah...insyAllah. Tak tahu la kalau nanti migrate tu lebih baik. -_-'

So, goodbye frozen Labe.

5. Buku apa yang paling best pernah baca?

Quran.

Lagi-lagi bila jumpa verses yang fuhhh menusuk kalbu.

6. Lagu paling best?

Hmmm. Entahlah nak jawab macam mana. Saya jenis dengar semua lagu (except geng head-banging). Lagu tenang-tenang okay je.

7. Movie paling best? (Nampak tak aku malas nak buat soalan baru? Haha.)

Haha. Ni satu lagi soalan entahlah nak jawab macam mana. Saya prefer yang romantic comedy kot. I am okay with heavy movies, macam yang perlu fikir banyak asalkan jangan ganas sangat lah. Potong kepala, tembak sana-sini...sakit jantung. T_T

8. Apa harapan untuk Malaysia pada masa akan datang?

Perangi rasuah dan orang-orang yang mengetuai Malaysia masa tu akan cuba letakkan semua perkara pada tempatnya - adil la senang kata.

9. Kalau mati nanti nak tinggalkan apa?

Memandangkan belum fasa berkeluarga untuk dapat bahagian anak yang soleh tu, saya akan usaha kerja lebih untuk dua yang lain tu. Ada beberapa idea dalam rancangan hidup dan blog ni pun harapnya salah satu medium bermanfaat yang saya akan tinggalkan.

10. Nak buat apa dalam hidup ni?

Banyak bendaaaaa. :)

Cuma, kena selalu ingatkan diri dengan tujuan hidup. Menjadi 'abid dan khalifah atas muka bumi.

'Abid = hamba yang patuh pada Allah. Allah tak halang pun kita nak buat apa sahaja yang kita nak, asalkan tak langgar syariat.

Khalifah = wakil / pemimpin. Mungkin nak jadi pemimpin dunia tu... jauh sangat impian tapi sekurang-kurang kita kena jadi pemimpin untuk diri kita sendiri.

Carilah barakah dalam kehidupan kita.
Agar hidup yang pendek ini, terasa bermakna dan bermanfaat
— Muharikah (@muharikah) March 4, 2017

11. Nak mati macam mana?

Fuh, soalan.

InsyAllah saya yakin semua Muslim nak mati dalam husnul khatimah (pengakhiran yang baik). Ameen.

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Jumpa lagi post akan datang :)

HK, Czech

170330

[Photos] 7 Things I Did in Zakopane, Poland

March 31, 2017

There are for sure many other travel tips on Zakopane that you can find online, I referred to them as well :D especially Trip Advisor (my all-time favourite). But in this post, it is more about me reminiscing memories of my solo trip to this southern part of Poland.

I shared here some ideas that you can do in Zakopane, Poland within a day :D

My hostel provided simple breakfast every day as early as 7 am, so my day in Zakopane basically started with breakfast and a book to read.

At 10am, I walked out to the center.. to be more specific to Krupowki Street. I need to change some money as I ran out of Polish zloty and after surveying the night before, the exchange rate in Krupowki Street was better than other places (like the bus station) even though this street is always full with tourists.

1. Took pictures with this huge Zakopane board.

On my way there, I saw this huge ZAKOPANE board :D a good one to take pictures. Well just look at the background... whitish snowy mountains, something I can not see routinely.

To get here, walk to Dolna Rówień Krupowa - this board is located here (a small park along Tadeusza Ko?ciuszki street)

The same park.

2. Walked along Krupówki street.

Krupówki is pronounced as 'crew-poof-key'

After few minutes walking, I arrived at Krupówki street, the main street in Zakopane. As expected, many people were already there but not as packed as Charles Bridge in Prague. Hehe. You can expect building along the street - they can be souvenirs shops, banks, restaurants, hotels, historical monuments, church as well.

It was lovely to walk along it, especially when it served you with good atmosphere. If you are into shopping, this is the place you should go - almost all shops are here.

Not easy to get picture without people here :p

Classic street.

I have no idea the meaning of this statue.

Ko?ció? ?wi?tej Rodziny - a Catholic church. Poland is more religious than Czech anyway.

3. Walked along Na Guba?ówk? street (Gubalowka Hill Market).

From Krupówki, I walked across the main road towards Gubalowka Hill. Along the way, there were a lot of shops with variety of stuffs you can buy - pastry, clothes (especially leather jackets), shoes, bags. From my reading, the market is open every day from 8am till late evening.

I forgot to survey the prices though. Haih.

The market looks like this.

4. Took a funicular to the top of Gubalowka Hill.

I had the idea to climb the hill, but naaah it's okay.. I took the funicular instead. The funicular is kind of similar to the one in Penang Hill, but of course the view is different ;)

Empty station before few groups of school children came. Haha.

18 zloty for return trip.

The best view was obviously from the bottom cabin.

The best part of this hill was it provided free WiFi! Hahaha.

I know it is better to disconnect to Internet to connect with the place I am travelling to. But, it was a solo trip, I made calls to people instead and shared the view. Lol, I was trying to be creative. The views were as expected to be mesmerizing. From the hill, I could see panoramic views of Tatras Mountains and the town of Zakopane itself.

SubhanAllah!

Another one!

Suddenly, groups of school children came. :D

It was snowing that day.

View from the funicular.

5. Watched people gambling.

On top of Gubalowka Hill, there were many shops selling souvenirs and I could see a ski areal as well. At first, I had no idea why so many people gathered there so I joined the crowd. Since the camera was always on my hand, I tried to record the situation. Hahaha, then I was scolded by one of them. Only then, I knew they were gambling!

Like, seriously gambling in an open space like that?

Please do not take part in any of gambling activities, here or anywhere else! You will surely lose the money, stolen by these people!

6. Ate Crème br?lée in Góralskie Praliny.

This creme brulee was recommended by my junior who is studying in Poland. It is a dessert made of custard with a hard layer of burnt sugar caramelized by a butane torch. Wow.

It is tasty, but quite sweet for me that I need to remove the sugar layer.

7. Bought Pierogi.

Pierogi = Polish dumplings.

Most Eastern European countries have their own dumplings but I still consider dumplings in Poland as the best, especially if you bought them in Zapiecek. Wow, that confidence. HEHE

But, there is no Zapiecek in Zakopane... so I bought the frozen dumplings instead.

My favourite - dumplings with mushrooms.

Finally, I am done with Zakopane's posts :D
Yeay!

Till then,
Salam.

HK, Czech

170330

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HANIS AMANINA

Anablephobia - Fear of Looking Up

April 12, 2017

These Ladies I've Met Shared How Life is More Than What We Think

April 9, 2017

When Strangers Are Like Family

April 6, 2017

4 Life Lessons I Learned From Korean Drama Defendant

April 4, 2017

Mengimbau Kenangan

April 1, 2017

[Photos] 7 Things I Did in Zakopane, Poland

March 31, 2017

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