1. The start of Ramadan is determined by the moon so its exact start is often up in the air until just before it begins.
2. The date changes every year. Islam functions on a lunar calendar. So while Muslim holidays are always the same day on the Muslim calendar, they happen on different days on the Gregorian calendar –typically moving 11 or 12 days earlier each year. In 2010, Ramadan began on Aug. 11. This year it started on July 31 or August 1 I forget.
3. During Ramadan, observers are expected to abstain from food, drink, and other pleasures from dawn to dusk. Removing these comforts from daily routine is intended to focus the mind on prayer, spirituality, and charity and to purify the body and mind.
4. In countries where Muslims are the majority, Ramadan has a drastic impact on daily life. Egypt pushes the clocks back an hour during the holy month so that the fast feels like it is ending earlier and the evenings are lengthened. Work days are made shorter during the month to accommodate the additional time spent in prayer and in enjoying festive meals to end the daily fast.
5. Several different groups are excused from fasting during Ramadan: pregnant women, people who are mentally or physically ill, and sometimes women who are breastfeeding. Children are not obligated to fast until they hit puberty, although many choose to observe the fast at least part of the month in preparation for later years.
My favorite part of Ramadan ironically was the eating! From time to time I helped my muslim friends break their daily fast in the evening by partaking in the fast-breaking staples of bouille (a rice or corn drink) and beignets (fried dough), and then whatever other food was prepared as well. During the day if I was eating or drinking water in front of a Muslim I tried to be respectful by asking first if it would bother them. For a non-muslim, like myself, the best part is the fete at the end to celebrate its completion. Lots of food is prepared and men spend the day visiting each other and inviting others to eat at their house. Everybody is dressed to impress! Jessica and I spent the afternoon with our Muslim women friends and their families and the evening at the home of our close friend Idrissou.
Spent the morning before with a bunch of other muslim women getting my hands and feet painted. They typically do this anytime there is a celebration or marriage.
Close friends that do alot for us. Jupiter our Anglophone friend, Abdoulaye the accountant at my bank, and Idrissou the head of one of the bus companies here. They only look this serious because I tried to get them to stop making faces.
Day afterwards, made the 120k (3 1/2 hour) trek out to Kentzou to see Julia. She is an English teacher like Jessica, and a person I am continually grateful to have in the East.
Prison bus travel, crazy huh? The partition separating the cabin from the back is how it got that nickname. One of two travel/vehicule options for me and the only option from Batouri onward. They are found only in the East and Adamawa regions where travel can be on rural dirt roads. Since we are currently in rainy season the roads are a lot less dusty than it was when this was taken back in February during the dry season. Thus I am not arriving with my otherwise typical "orange glow/fake tan." Typical outfit when embarking on this prison bus travel - head scarf, check. Glasses-check. Jersey-check. Here I am arriving on Julia's porch.
And as I look at that date, better not forget to say...
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