Ramadan

Ramadan began 5 days ago on Saturday. I had thought about fasting since last year when we arrived around the end of Ramadan. It lasts a month, and this year started a little early as compared at least to last year, as it is based on moon cycles. The month name is "Soumaye" and those fasting would say "mi don souma." (I am fasting). Or maybe it's an irregular verb and would be "mi soumi." I'm not sure. (not to be confused with mi sommi which means I'm sleepy).
So I'm taking it day by day and seeing how it goes. I missed the first days, being in Yaounde and forgetting, but then upon returning have been fasting sunup to sundown. It is a really neat experience. Although I am not strict fasting. I am just refraining from eating, and allowing drinking. My Muslim brothers and sisters here do not drink anything, even water, and saliva also should not be swallowed (the result I remember comically from my homestay brother, as when we were walking everywhere he kept spitting every few feet.) I figure I am still a temperate American and it is still hot here--going all day working in fields or walking around without drinking water might not go for me personally right now. Fasting from sunup to sundown means that you rise early while it's still dark to prepare breakfast. I remember in my homestay waking up and hearing the call to prayer and hearing the women up and about, people coming by, cooking, eating, like a party, while it was still dark. And then you eat a big dinner again when it is dark. Sunsets here around 6:30pm. I remember also in college going to the Arabic house a couple of times to celebrate the "iftar", breaking of the fast, and it was such a nice community feeling, all coming together so much good food, sharing. So with breakfast and dinner, it is really just fasting from lunch, and any snacks during the day. Fasting generally is a good practice and one I personally have not practiced much. It is good to know what it is like to be hungry. It is a blessing to know that at the end of the day there is food if I want it--to buy or prepare. It is a good experience to know a little more about what other people practice and believe and experience. And I also believe that it opens you up to possible spiritual lessons God might want to teach you. It also teaches you so many other fun things, like how crabby you can be (and how to be nice and sweet and gentle even when you feel crabby and angry and hungry) when you don't eat every few hours! It is a challenge, true, but a good challenge. And think of this: so often volunteers dream with salivating mouths about all the food available in America, which is not available here. We often dream about food. So now picture how fasting from Cameroonian food, during the daytime, going hungry, how much that makes you appreciate what is available here! I am so happy to eat nyeri and haako and beans and beignets and eggs and bread at the end of the day, even if there is little variety!