RAMADAN KARIM, YA SHABAB!

I had just given up on sleep when I received this text message from my nearest volunteers, a first-year married couple that lives an hour and change away from me.

Did Ramadan start today?  Heard a strange call from the mosque at about 3am…?

The fact that these volunteers didn’t know that Ramadan started this morning (it technically started last night, but we don’t need to split hairs) is bothersome, and in my humble opinion, doesn’t reflect well on our community, which insists again and again that we (read: Peace Corps volunteers) are not tourists but residents of the westernmost-Islamic kingdom.  With all of the technology that our program here possesses – the ability to email, call and send mass-texts to every volunteer in country with relative ease – it’s a shame that notice of the month-long, daily life-altering holiday did not go out.  As it stands, I myself had to ask a small child and then send a “hey, are we fasting tomorrow?” text out to a friend for confirmation.

But in the spirit of the holiday (and because I can’t yet sleep in past 8a), Ramadan karim!  May your month be filled with patience, moderation and a few delicious dates eaten at sunset.