رمضان كريم!

(Published in July--dated December because Blogger is a mess. Scroll down for newest post.)

Before arriving in Oman, one of the experiences I was most nervous and excited for was Ramadan. My previous knowledge did not extend past that Ramadan is the Holy Month for Muslims, people fast during the day and eat at night, and that at the end of the month there's a big celebration called Eid.

In DC we learned more about Ramadan, mainly about the customs and how we should act in order to be respectful (little to no make up during fasting hours, dress extra-conservatively, no loud music, don't eat and/or drink in front of people who are fasting).

I am so glad that I was able to live with my host family a week before Ramadan started, as I now can see how daily life changes during Ramadan. Before Ramadan, all the family would be up by 11:30 or so, and lunch would be eaten around 2. Lunch would be the biggest meal, consisting of rice with meat or fish, and salad. In the after afternoon/evening, we would sometimes go out to do some shopping, see some sites, etc, and maybe get a snack. Between 9 and 10 we would eat dinner. One time when there were people over, there were a bunch of delicious salads and curries, but the other nights we usually ate something pretty simple (but still yummy of course, the food here is amazing). During Ramadan, everyone sleeps as late as their schedule permits. My host siblings often sleep until 2pm. Everyone lays around and my host mom cooks. At around 7:00 the Adhan (call to prayer) happens and everyone rushes to eat Iftar. We usually eat on the floor (as is traditional in Oman). You would be hard pressed to find an iftar that didn't include dates, either fresh or dry. Traditionally dates are the first thing eaten to break the fast. As well as dates, there is usually fruit and a fried starchy thing, such as sambusas ( filling in triangular pastry) or loqueymat (delicious deep fried balls of dough, served with honey or a saffron-infused sugar syrup. Here's a picture from a recent iftar, although it was taken before all the food was put out:

The yellow drink containers are leban, a

buttermilk/yogurt drink that almost all Omani's seem to love. Out of the seven NSLI-Yers, only Sophia and I like it. 

This is a picture from last night, where one of the NSLIY girls had us all over. This is the most food I've seen at an iftar!

Going anti-clockwise from the yellow plate: fresh dates, cheesey bread, spicy lemon potato balls, sambusas, fruit, ?, and a type of bread translated as 'beehive bread'. You pull off pieces, and each fluffy piece one has a deliciously honey/saffron soaked bottom and piece of melty cheese in the middle. 

After iftar everyone goes to pray (men usually go to mosque, women pray at home). I've found it really interesting to learn about and see the customs surrounding prayer. I never thought I'd find myself sitting quitely on a bed, watching my host sister and mom and five cousins unfurl their prayer rugs, and I feel so lucky to have done so. 

After prayer there is a larger meal, the contents of which varie but almost always include some form of rice. 

On weekdays, minus Thursday, I tend not to fast, so that's the last thing I eat unless we visit someone. Everyone eats something  about every two hours until the suhoor meal at 3am, which usually includes rice (to fill you up for the next day). I fast Thursday through Saturday, largely to feel more connected with my family, but also because on weekend nights I stay up late and am therefore fed a TON. 

I'm over halfway through my time here. The past almost-4 weeks have absolutely flown by, and I'm desperately hoping the next three go slower. There are so many things happening in that time: tonight is the Ramadan version of Halloween, tomorrow is my midterm exam, I have to finish my final project this week, next weekend we go snorkeling and dolphin watching, and in less than two weeks we have our final and the closing ceremony/presentations. Then we have a bit over a week with our families for Eid. 

Thanks for sticking with this long, rambling post!

Love,

Izzy