Bon Ramadan

Ramadan started Wednesday based on the appearance of the new moon which means most Muslims are not eating or drinking (including water) between sun rise and sun set for the next 29 or so days. It's interesting to see the change in society: No one frequenting the restaurants, the streets are slightly more subdued (especially mid0day), people are fatigued and show it, during lunch break at the university people converge around a bench in the courtyard absentmindedly kicking things on the ground. A student offered one of the Quranic school beggars a banana and he covered his mouth in horror. Today as I was the lone person waiting for a sandwhich from the sandwhich stand a guy comes up and blazeningly orders two sandwhichs and two orange sodas and then arrogantly precedes to ask everyone to "gouter" (to taste). They all refused, I took a big gulp of his soda, and asked him why he wasn't fasting. He says he works too hard to fast during Ramadan and showed me photos of some metal bird statues he welds and sells by the road. He still kept tempting the rest of the workers with bites of his sandwhich and drinks from his soda and I told him he wasn't very nice but he just laughed.

A few of the American students are fasting and I considered it mostly just to discover the impact it would have on my body. But I decided it's tedious enough trying to maintain my health here that I worried by not eating well during the day and specifically not being able to drink water all day might push me back again. I have gotten the range of reactions from Senegalese about my decision from "It's not necessary; it's not your religion; don't worry about it." to "Why aren't you fasting?! You should at least try it! You can't celebrate Koride (the end of Ramadan party) if you don't!"

Apart of me wishes I could join in. It's very much a social event where everyone wakes up and breakfasts and then spends the day without eating to assemble at sunset to break the fast with dates and a rice dish and bisap juice (juice made from a local berry). It's grueling and stressful and tiring but you're sharing the experience with a lot of others and you have the euphoric moment at the end of each day when you get to eat.

And without the religious aspect for me I would have trouble justifying it and staying dedicated to it (how about that mid-morning coffee?). But I did feel guilty this morning when I heard my family getting up at 5:45 to eat their breakfast and rolled over to dream about my later-breakfast at 7:30.