Islam-Movie from class

Last class we watched a video about the hajj. The video started by showing us four different people who had decided to take part in the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world. Hajj is also the fifth pillar of Islam. A Muslim is supposed to carry out this religious duty at least once in their lifetime. The Hajj is a demonstration of the Muslim peoples devotion to God.
In the video a lady who had been raised Catholic converted when she got older and became Muslim. She talked about how she found her real devotion in this religion and that she was ready to take go on the pilgrimage. It was interesting to listen to what she had to say about her devotion and the struggles that she faced throughout her journey. You could tell that it was an emotional time for her, as it is for most, but to me she didn't seem as connected to her religion as she said she was. I know it is a little thing to notice, but I noticed she was wearing makeup throughout the video. This surprised me because many people who spoke made it clear that this was a time to not care about your looks. It was no time for wearing makeup, jewelry or nice clothes. The hajj is meant to be a time where everyone is equal and everyone has the same purpose for taking this journey.
The lady also spoke about how it was difficult for her because she was from America but was still Muslim. She said that people gave her a hard time about that and I think that it took a lot of courage on her end to not let it discourage her.
In general the Hajj seems like a wonderful things for Muslims who want to go through this journey. From the video it sounds like an incredibly hard things to do. It sounds strenuous and very emotional. When I was watching I kept thinking to myself, I could never do this. I have my way of showing devotion and Muslims if they choose have this way of showing there devotion. I just can't imagine being among a crowd of thousands and thousand of people from all over the world, walking days and days stopping at different points along the way. I think what got to me the most was watching as everyone made it to the mountain, and when they climbed up sat down and prayed. Watching everyone's faces, seeing people cry and laugh and smile was wonderful. Even though I wasn't in Mecca with all of these people it gave me a little bit of an idea of how this much this pilgrimage means to Muslims.