J'ai Faim!!!!!!

In case you are wondering "J'ai faim" is French for I am hungry.

Ramadan for those who do not know, is the month of fasting in the Islamic religion. The idea is to become more disciplined and spirtual as you abstain from eating and drinking from dawn until sunset. Now as a Christian I have never participated or celebrated Ramadan but since I am in Senegal which is a majority Muslim country I have decided to fast. Why not ascribe to the cultural traditions while I am here and besides, there is no food to eat in the house really until the breaking of the fast which is also called Ndougou.

At the Kane's house they keep the table set for Ramadan every day, somethingi I was not initally aware of and I accidently ate from the table and used cups from it my first day because I was hungry...another mistake but now that I know better I will do better.

After the sun goes down (thank God) we eat at the table to break the fast. It is not dinner, just a bit of food before the meal. The usual food for this is bread, varying bread spreads, dates, tea and water. We've had soups and fruits generally as well at the Kane's house. The actually dinner is not at a table. It is in the living room at a very low table that we all sit around on small stools. Each meal has been different. The first meal I had here was chicken and couscous which was served in a very large silver pan that we all ate from. You eat from the food in front of you traditionally with your hands. Tear a piece of chicken and a handful of couscous, then squeeze it together in a ball and eat it. You should not touch your mouth with your hands so what I did was raise the portion over my head and drop it in. It actually ended up being a bit messy. The meals are generally very communal which is not my style but "nio ko bokk," we are all in it together.

The official meal of Senegal is thiebou dieun-- fish and rice cooked in palm oil. It's very good although when the fish was served it still had the head on it and that freaked me out a bit. I got over it and dug in. Not everything is sanitary here, sometimes there are flies and they may land on the food but in the end you simply realize that you're hungry and the flies cannot eat it all.

The fasting gets easier they say, so that you could see a full table of food and not want any of it. This is what they tell me but I am not so sure. It gets so hot here and you really just want a refreshing taste of cool water but you can't if you're fasting...sometimes my stomach grumbles and I get so angry.

I can't wait until Eid-al-fitr, that's when they eat. It's not that I dislike Ramadan, I think it takes much strength and dsicipline to complete such a fast but it's hard to abstain from food for so long during the day. The first meal is around 5:30 in the morning which means we have about four hours before we need to get up again. Usually I find I can't go back to sleep. I lay on my back watching the sun rise in the window. Various birds chirp outside the window, feet shuffle and then I hear the steady bang of a hammer.

I like to listen to the sounds; and think about God and life and what the day will bring. Enjoying the morning is the most relaxing feeling. Perhaps that is what Ramadan is truly about.