Ramadan Kareem!

The best translation of the title is Happy Ramadan! The holy month of started this morning at sunrise. I've learned a lot so far and am bound to learn more as the lunar month progresses.

Ramadan so far...

1. School schedules change, sometimes significantly. Our school day went from 8:10-3:20 to 8:40-2:10. Whoa! Some local schools start as late as 10:30 or 11:00 and get out at 4 p.m.

2. You can't eat food or drink water in public. At school, that means the cafeteria (located under the gym in the back corner of campus) is open, and food is off limits everywhere else. The water fountains are on (some schools turn them off), but kids are told to drink discreetly. About 25% of our students fast, which does not mean that only 25% of our students are Muslim. About 50% of our students are Muslim, but only half that number keep the fast. However, elementary students, mostly 4th and 5th graders, are among the 25%.

3. People gain weight during Ramadan! Every person I've talked to who fasts has told me this. I've been equating Ramadan with the Christian observance of Lent. It's true that Ramadan is also about reflecting on what you've given and gaining a deeper appreciation through self-denial, but there are significant differences. Iftar is a celebratory meal to break the fast shortly after sundown, and, from all reports, people go nuts. Meats, cookies, dumplings, the works! They eat again around 1 a.m. and some get up for one last meal before sunrise. In Saudi Arabia, the whole culture essentially becomes nocturnal, with everyone sleeping and lounging during the day and shopping, playing sports and hanging out all night. (Some Muslims have told me this rather breaks the spirit, if not the letter of the law.) Given the diversity of the UAE, things didn't seem a lot different today, in terms of traffic on the street, and folks going to work. Restaurants are closed during the day, but things seem business as usual so far. Or maybe I'm projecting my hopes into the air because I want the magic couch to come on Wednesday as scheduled.

Super corny quote of the week: "OK, OK, we can put the Ferris Wheel next to the volcano and the holy temple." (overheard in social studies as the kids were designing their own civilizations for future archeologists to uncover)