Ramadan is Here!

Yes friends, the time we have all be awaiting is finally here, Ramadan 2011. (We were pretty sure yesterday was going to be the big day, but it was a fake out, the real start is TODAY). It's a bigger and better version of Ramadan 2010, it's going to be hotter and take up more of the month of August than last year! I also have a much better idea of what I am in for.

Last year I posted next-to-nothing about Ramadan because, to be frank, I was not in a good place AT ALL. I was not feeling like my chipper self and I didn't want to share my misery with the rest of the world wide web. This year, it's day one and I am feeling good, so alas, I will post.

Ramadan is the holiest month in Islam. Consisting of 30 days of fasting, praying and abstaining from "bad" things (i.e. smoking). From sun-up to sun-down Muslims fast from all food and drink as a way to show their faith to God and also to begin to understand what life is like for those less fortunate than themselves. Ramadan is a month filled with prayer, reflection and fellowship with family. The breaking of the fast is the most exciting part of the day. After the call-to-prayer, Moroccans gather in large family/ community groups and break fast together with traditional foods. It lasts for many hours and is definitely the most 'active' time of day! Before the sun rises again (around 4 am) another meal is held and then Moroccans go back to sleep. The other key component to Ramadan is alms, or the giving of money/ food/ ect to those less fortunate.

While Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims and a time that is very important and special in their yearly calendar!

A lot of volunteers gripe about Ramadan and all the challenges associated with living in a culture where for an entire month, people aren't eating or drinking water during the hottest time of the year. I am also guilty of this, to an extent. The reality is that while I support and love Moroccan culture, this is one facet that is a little harder to swallow.

I dislike Ramdan the same way I dislike Christmas (FYI, I love Christmas). I love the idea, the fellowship, the sharing of food and gifts. I love the happy and excited feeling that comes in the weeks leading up. I don't like the heightened stress, the short tempers and how some people can seemingly be at their worst. This doesn't mean I don't like Ramadan or Christmas, because I do, frankly I love and appreciate both. There are just limitations. We have to take the good with the bad.

Being in Morocco and experiencing Ramadan is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we in the Peace Corps get to do twice. I didn't fast last year and I am not planning on fasting this year either. Most people in the villages ask "Are you going to fast?" and to them, I usually make up some silly response to avoid flat out answering the question, "no". The reality is that most people I interact with have no concept of a place where people AREN'T fasting and that's okay. That's just their reality.


I choose not to fast because frankly, it's hard, it's hot and it is not a part of my religion and culture. I follow my Catholic/ Christian holidays, observe the sometimes silly rules of the church and do my part to follow my faith. I just see no immediate benefit for me to fast during this hot-as-heck month.

This post was not meant to discount those who choose to fast (either Muslim or not). Frankly, congrats to you all. It is a challenge I am not willing to accept!

This year a group of us have decided to beat the Ramadan challenges (i.e. heat) and head to Spain for some fun-in-the sun and Sangria. Just what the doctor ordered.

To all my American friends, I hope you are enjoying your heat wave, it's just a small taste of what life is like here in the Souss of Morocco, just minus the air conditioning.