Ahalan wa Sahalan! Welcome to my new blog! I thought I would try my hand at writing a bit. Since living abroad in a predominately Muslim country, I have had the experience this past month to live through Ramadan. Ramadan is considered a holy month where an individual is expected to fast from dawn until dusk in order to spiritually cleanse themselves and become closer to God. It is believed that during this time the Heavens are open and Hell is closed. During the fasting period each day, a person is expected to refrain from all worldly and bodily temptations such as food, water, smoking, drinking coffee, sex and generally be a more kind, generous and spiritual person. Children, the medically fragile, pregnant women and women on their period are not required to fast.
With that said, it has been the most boring month of my life! My sleep habits have become topsy turvey. I usually go to sleep around 5 or 6am and wake up around 2 or 3 pm. And this is normal for the entire village/country of Jordan. Because people usually break their fast around 7:30pm and must eat breakfast before 4:30 am (or the first call to prayer of the day), most people eat dinner and then stay up all night watching TV and visiting. Children and teenage boys set off firecrackers at all hours of the night, and men shoot off guns. Women and men sit on their front porches or in front of their shops and chain smoke and drink coffee until its time to start the fast again. As a result, people tend to finally go to sleep around 4 or 5 am.
I had such good intentions at the beginning of Ramadan to become more spiritual, exercise more, better my Arabic, etc. Well....that didn't happen. Perhaps it was because of my crazy sleep schedule, or the fact that it was always dark when I was awake that threw me off, or maybe its just excuses. Mostly I slept a lot, visited a lot, and watched a lot of movies. I did however, start planning the curriculum and activities for the upcoming school year. I am ready to get back to school....I think, I hope.
Even though Ramadan wasn't the most "productive" month of my life, it does provide a good time for reflection. One beautiful and quiet morning, while I sat on my front steps breathing in the crisp morning air and appreciating the calm morning sunlight, I again gained confirmation that this is exactly where I am supposed to be in my life. Its seems like Fate has had a strong hand in directing me where I am supposed to go on my life path, and although I have fought against it at times, I am happy and grateful where life has taken me. Being so far away from everything familiar to me has made me that much more grateful for what has been gifted to me, namely my family, education, a good profession, a privileged life (compared to village life here) and my own strengths and talents.
The contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government of the Peace Corps
