I am sitting here now, halfway through Ramadan, in a pensive mood. The pensiveness is not necessarily directed towards any intellectual exploration- it is merely a heavy feeling as I reflect on the passing year. This is my second Ramadan here, the second time the holiday meant something more than a brief announcement on NPR. I have survived one year in country. I am a survivor. Once Ramadan number three rolls along I will ready to head back home to the States. I will probably develop a dry, sarcastic sense of humor by that time.
Ramadan, for those of you who are unaquainted, is the celebrated month of fasting in the Muslim religion. Those faithful Muslims go without eating or drinking between sunrise and sunset. The unfaithful ones, or those too sick or young, usually sneak some water and a bite in the middle of the day. If you have never gone without drinking water for fourteen hours, I wholeheartedly reccomend trying. Actually, to get the full effect, try it in the middle of August, with no air conditioning. Try it and try walking everywhere, too. You’ll feel surprised to be alive at the end of the day.
Of course, how can people give a damn about work when they’re consciously turning themselves into raisins? The answer is they can’t. The normally short work window of 9:30 to roughly 1:30 is shortened further. If you can’t get it done by eleven, don’t even bother. If you want to find someone after noon, odds are that they’re sitting exactly where you left them, taking a nap.
Ramadan is supposed to have a cleansing effect and is supposed to teach people to be more compassionate to those who are suffering and who go without. The reality, though is about as far removed as Christmas reality is from Christmas ideal. The mass of humanity does not celebrate Ramadan with cheer and goodwill. By and large people are much like they always are, only more agitated, frustrated, and lethargic. Also, like real Christmas, there’s a lot more yelling than there really should be. So it’s not perfect, but at least Ramadan is a lot holier and nobler than Christmas.
The point is that I love Ramadan. I don’t mean to give the impression that I’m fasting for Ramadan. I don’t drink water during the workday, but when I do get to drink, boy is it good. I do wake up every day not knowing what I’ll eat for lunch. But then I get to decide. It usually turns out to be onions and spagehetti with MSG because there’s no food for sale. I also get to decide what I want to accomplish in the two and a half hour work window left open. It usually involves ‘touching base’. After that... Read a book all day ? Don’t mind if I do... Call it half-Ramadan.
Like me, Americans, have it easy. Not only do they get to eat and drink, but they also have air conditioning and personal transportation. I went riding in an air conditioned car the other day, sitting in a regular seat, listening to the radio. I felt like I was a god. Also, they have water, electricity, and telephone service 24 hours a day. And gasoline. Imagine if, one day, there was no gas anywhere in the country because the US government decided to requisition it and give it to the electric company. Yes, that really happened here.
So why am I pensive ? I haven’t been thinking about my service, or the past year and what’s gone by, or how I’ve changed. I haven’t been thinking about what I have and what’s available to me. Maybe it’s simply the free time on my hands.
Ramadan, for those of you who are unaquainted, is the celebrated month of fasting in the Muslim religion. Those faithful Muslims go without eating or drinking between sunrise and sunset. The unfaithful ones, or those too sick or young, usually sneak some water and a bite in the middle of the day. If you have never gone without drinking water for fourteen hours, I wholeheartedly reccomend trying. Actually, to get the full effect, try it in the middle of August, with no air conditioning. Try it and try walking everywhere, too. You’ll feel surprised to be alive at the end of the day.
Of course, how can people give a damn about work when they’re consciously turning themselves into raisins? The answer is they can’t. The normally short work window of 9:30 to roughly 1:30 is shortened further. If you can’t get it done by eleven, don’t even bother. If you want to find someone after noon, odds are that they’re sitting exactly where you left them, taking a nap.
Ramadan is supposed to have a cleansing effect and is supposed to teach people to be more compassionate to those who are suffering and who go without. The reality, though is about as far removed as Christmas reality is from Christmas ideal. The mass of humanity does not celebrate Ramadan with cheer and goodwill. By and large people are much like they always are, only more agitated, frustrated, and lethargic. Also, like real Christmas, there’s a lot more yelling than there really should be. So it’s not perfect, but at least Ramadan is a lot holier and nobler than Christmas.
The point is that I love Ramadan. I don’t mean to give the impression that I’m fasting for Ramadan. I don’t drink water during the workday, but when I do get to drink, boy is it good. I do wake up every day not knowing what I’ll eat for lunch. But then I get to decide. It usually turns out to be onions and spagehetti with MSG because there’s no food for sale. I also get to decide what I want to accomplish in the two and a half hour work window left open. It usually involves ‘touching base’. After that... Read a book all day ? Don’t mind if I do... Call it half-Ramadan.
Like me, Americans, have it easy. Not only do they get to eat and drink, but they also have air conditioning and personal transportation. I went riding in an air conditioned car the other day, sitting in a regular seat, listening to the radio. I felt like I was a god. Also, they have water, electricity, and telephone service 24 hours a day. And gasoline. Imagine if, one day, there was no gas anywhere in the country because the US government decided to requisition it and give it to the electric company. Yes, that really happened here.
So why am I pensive ? I haven’t been thinking about my service, or the past year and what’s gone by, or how I’ve changed. I haven’t been thinking about what I have and what’s available to me. Maybe it’s simply the free time on my hands.
posted by Unknown at 10:52 AM
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