Today marks the first day of Ramadan in Guinea, and so many
observant Muslims are beginning a month of prayer and fasting during the day – no water,
no food, no sinful thoughts or acts – and breaking the fast with sweet things at night.
I don’t plan on fasting at all this year, as I am not Muslim and I already know how it makes me feel to not drink any water all day. (During both Ramadans I spent in Senegal I fasted for one day only, out of curiosity and solidarity with my host family and also just to show that I was completely capable of fasting if I chose to do so; I wrote about Ramadan 2011 here and Ramadan 2012 here.) Honestly, the whole idea of being compelled to not drinking water all day in a hot climate doesn't sit well with me, but for many people here participating in the fasting and praying is a profound experience that strengthens their faith and their sense of community, and there are provisions to exempt people who should not be fasting - children, diabetics, pregnant and breastfeeding women, drivers of big buses full of people, and so on.
I don’t plan on fasting at all this year, as I am not Muslim and I already know how it makes me feel to not drink any water all day. (During both Ramadans I spent in Senegal I fasted for one day only, out of curiosity and solidarity with my host family and also just to show that I was completely capable of fasting if I chose to do so; I wrote about Ramadan 2011 here and Ramadan 2012 here.) Honestly, the whole idea of being compelled to not drinking water all day in a hot climate doesn't sit well with me, but for many people here participating in the fasting and praying is a profound experience that strengthens their faith and their sense of community, and there are provisions to exempt people who should not be fasting - children, diabetics, pregnant and breastfeeding women, drivers of big buses full of people, and so on.
I’m interested to see how Ramadan plays out here, but don't imagine that it will be wildly different than it was in Senegal. I am expecting that things at work will be slow, that some people
around town will be more tired and cranky, that roads will be more dangerous, and
that shops and vendors will be closed more often than usual, but I've been though it twice before and it wasn't so bad. Since I have my own private little kitchen set up now, I don't think I'll have to change my own little routine any more than I want to, and I can always head over to the Peace Corps office if I get tired of discreetly ducking out to eat lunch by myself.
