IDDS 2011 - Ramadan

The last week of IDDS also marked the beginning of Ramadan, a month-long fast in the Islamic calendar where they do not eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset. Since IDDS is a great place to learn about other cultures, several of us decided to experience Ramadan first hand. Each night at our Iftar (the first meal after sunset where people break their fast together), there were three Muslims and four or more non-Muslims (at one point, there were ten of us fasting together). During the day, we would support one another as we counted down the hours until we could rehydrate since the heat in Ghana makes it especially challenging (and in my case, until I could recaffeinate, since the huge drop in caffeine intake gave my system a bit of a shock). The 4 AM breakfasts were not as well attended, since most people just opted for a midnight snack and uninterrupted sleep, though I did go one morning when Mustafa and Saba (both Pakistani) made some delicious French toast.

Fasting was rather challenging for me as I had lots going on (well, we all did). I had that one day where I was helping to run three sessions and most of the other days we were in the machine shop or running around Suame the whole day. I was pretty much running on fumes at the end of the day and often found myself just trying to lie down in the late afternoon. At one point, two of my teammates were having a protracted discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of male circumcision (using a marker with and without its cap to avoid being too explicit) and I just didn't have the energy to steer the conversation back to oil-related topics. All in all, though, it was really rewarding and those of us who were fasting felt a very strong bond through our shared experience. And best of all, Habib from India would bring huge quantities of delicious mango and watermelons for us every evening. I miss those dinners a lot.

Introduction
My Project (Part 1)
My Project (Part 2)
Other Work
Delivering Content
My Team
Language
Where We Stayed
Suame Magazine
New Longoro
Maker Faire
Food
Potluck
Ramadan
Transportation
Accra