Ramadan

Many of you may know that it is the month of Ramadan right now. The UAE, being an Islamic nation, abides by the rules strictly. Here's a quick explanation for those of you who may not know what Ramadan entitles. During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslim people fast from eating, drinking, smoking, gossiping (plus other "sins"), and sexual interaction for 40 days during sunlight. This means that most stores close from 1pm to 7pm to allow time for prayer and reflection, usually with their families. 6 times a day, there is a "call to prayer," a recitation of the Quran that sounds like an ethereal & eerie-like echo/chant/song through a public loud speaker system. (I got really scared when I heard it at 4:30am as I tossed in bed the first day I was here.) For non-Muslim people, it is illegal for people to eat or drink outdoors. Restaurants open at 7pm for Iftar meals. Iftar signals the end of fasting for the day.

Adjusting into a new, conservative country, especially during Ramadan, might sound a bit intense...but, it isn't without perks. Many of us "Westerners" have been staying in our apartments since nothing is open, which refrains me from melting away outdoors and forces me to cook my own meals. Plus, all the stores (open till 1am) are having good Ramadan sales and the Iftar buffets are great! Ironic ay? After sunset and the fast is broken, families stream out into the malls to eat a lot...and shop a lot. I am in no way criticizing the culture, it just shows how much more I need to grow as an individual to fully embrace the cultural differences. :)

For those of you in Los Angeles, hope the fires haven't been too horrible.

Love,
Hannah




P.S This idea of "blogging" on a consistent basis is a weary task. I don't like rereading things and fixing my grammatical/spelling errors... hypocritical of a "teacher" to say, ay?

P.P.S *Note the "ay?" There I are sooo many Canadian teachers here and alllll of them end sentences with "ay?" and I couldn't help but to catch on.. heh.