This post is focused, primarily, on Ramadan, which began on August 1st and continues until the end of the month. Here in Amman, everything changes for Ramadan, and it's kind of amazing to see the whole city just shift gears for a month. Because the fast goes from sunrise to sundown and forbids food, water, and smoking, workdays are shorter, people stay out later at night, and everyone started off the month just a tad bit grumpier than usual. The children to whom we teach English just sleep until 5pm and fast for the 2.5 hours until the Iftar meal, which breaks the fast at the moment of sundown, signaled by the singing of the muezzins stationed in each of the city's mosques. Then, they don't go to bed until 5-6am in the morning, after eating the lighter meal that precedes daybreak. Basically, they flip their schedule for Ramadan, something that, of course, not everyone can do...for example, our Arabic teachers just have to power through 10 hour work days without food or water, but they say it has grown easier since the initial days, which I kind of believe, except that I tried fasting the first day in anticipation of breaking the fast with our psuedo-host family, and it was HARD. No water? 100-degree heat? Not fun. Thank goodness our program space is air conditioned...
I'm kind of in love with Ramadan time here though, especially now that we aren't purely living in a bubble of American students here in Amman. I love the solemnity of Ramadan, and the emphasis on family time and charity, the delicious seasonal food, the lights and celebrations. The kind of social cohesion that becomes so apparent in Amman during Ramadan is, to be quite honest, different from the everyday Amman you see all the other months of the year. Except during Ramadan, the cracks in society between different economic and social classes seem to de-emphasize any sort of Ammani identity, but Ramadan reaffirms a core of solidarity that is, in some ways, more cultural than religious. It's nice to see that this city is united, if only for this one time.
Anyway, that's really about it...also, just finalized plans to go to Beirut in a weekend, so I'll def. post about that before I turn around and come on home :) I hope your summers are ending with just as much excitement as they began, and I cannot wait to see many of you when school starts again!
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