As I type this I'm closing in on my third day of Ramadan.  I decided I would fast with my family to see what it was like; this might be the only time in my life that I'm in a situation where everyone is participating in a fast.  I must say, though, I'm coming at this from a different angle.  It's obviously not obligatory for me and by no means would I be looked down upon if I chose not to fast.  What's been neat is being part of that sense of close knit community that exists when everyone is going through the same pains, physically and mentally.  It's been an interesting line to tote trying not to make a mockery of their holy month, considering I'm not a Muslim.  At first there were people who insisted that I pray with them; of course I prayed, but I was insistent that it was the way I prayed.  Even sharing this part of their faith with them has made me realize that we're all praying to the same God.  Aunt Amy gave me a really great book that has been like a bridge between two religions -- Muslims, Christians and Jesus.  In it the author makes a lot of fascinating links between the religions and has opened my eyes to all the similarities we share.  After all, Muslim means "to submit fully to God" (not a bad mantra for Christians to follow) and Allah is just the arabic word for God (the God we share).  There is a line of other volunteers waiting for me to pass the book off to them (great find, Aunt Amy!).

The experience thus far has been exciting.  I went to bed the night before Ramadan with the same sort of feeling that I had when I was younger on Christmas Eve or before leaving for a big vacation.  My stomach was turning and I was anticipating the great unknown.  Anyone who knows me could tell you that I've never missed a meal and would never in my right mind go 15 hours without eating -- unless it really had purpose.  Before going any farther I must admit that part of my motivation to fast was driven by the constant barrage from my friends in the village telling me that I couldn't do it, Ramadan was too long, or I wasn't strong enough.  Well if any of that was true, them telling me that definitely buried it deeper inside of me and fueled my desire to fast with them.

Day one started at 4am.  I set my alarm to get up so that I could eat breakfast before the sunrise and start the fast -- the fast is sunrise to sunset (roughly 4:30am - 7:30pm).  Per usual, my morning grogginess and burning desire to continue my dreams overrode my anticipation of not being able to eat until 7:30 that evening.  So I started the first day off on a 22 hour fast.  Instead of going in to the health center I decided to hang around with my family to truly take in what a day was like -- I knew it wouldn't be too different; there were too many things to be done around the house for my host mom to just sit around and watch the clock.

Around 10 o'clock we gathered the dried manioc to begin pounding it into a powder.  I took the pestle and pounded away.  The manioc powder is used to make Tow [sic] which the best description I can give is giant snot balls wading in gravy.  I've come to move past the look and texture of food and Tow is actually quite tasty.

That afternoon involved the general household chores for much of the family.  Prayers are at 6am, 2pm, 4pm, 7:30pm and 8:30pm.  The women in my family mostly occupied themselves with laundry, dishes, preparing food for the sundown feast, and cleaning house.  I spent time playing kick with the soccer ball, entertaining my little brothers and sister, sitting and talking, and, perhaps most importantly, napped.

That evening at 7:30pm a group of men came over to the house for the sundown prayer.  After the prayer we broke the fast with Bui (Bwee), which is sort of like a rice porridge, and the Tow.  It a very satisfying time and a chance to relish in the fact that you made it 15 hours without eating.

The rest of the night is when the fun starts -- they plan meals every 2-3 hours to make up for all that they missed during the day.  Supposedly people gain weight throughout the month instead of losing it.  

At about 9:30pm is the first meal which is generally rice and sauce.  The meal is followed by us all sitting around in the living room while a couple of the guys my age make tea and everyone just chats.  It's really neat to see how this month really brings a family together.  There are no other distractions for them -- they simply spend time with each other while they replenish what they missed throughout the day.  The first night I stayed up until the second meal at 12:45am.  It was rice with the choice of two sauces -- so I mixed mine together.  After that we all cashed out and hit the sack.  I stayed with my family so that it was easier to make the 4am breakfast.

At about 4:15am my sister, Ramatoulaye, woke me up so that we could take breakfast.  It was by far my favorite meal.  Egg and onion sandwiches with tea and milk (warm).  There's not much for talking during tho meal, it came off to me as a bit more ceremonial or obligatory.  Get in, get out and get back in bed for a couple more hours of sleep; and I was fine by that!

The morning didn't come as roughly as I'd thought.  I got up at 8am and headed out to the health center like normal, just to do it all over again on day 2.

If there are some things I took away from the first day it was that fasting is an awesome way to center yourself.  There were times when my stomach was begging me to put something in it, but instead of turning to a plate of rice I got down on my knees and asked for the strength to keep pushing.  It also helped that one of the other volunteers told me that humans can go up to 30 days with nothing but water and survive -- 15 hours wouldn't kill me.  Also the neat sense of community and family that exists during this period.  Guineans already have a much closer knit family clan than most Americans do (it was so bizarre to them when I told them my brother and sister didn't live with, or right next to, my parents).  But during this time, that trait is heightened.  Whether or not I take back the tradition of fasting (whether it's during Easter or Ramadan) I hope I leave with the side effects that come with it. En On Tuma. (see you next time).