Ramadan

This past Sunday marked the end of the Muslim fasting month, Ramadan. Living in a Muslim country Ramadan is a huge part of life here. Muslims, who follow the teachings of Islam, fast from food and drink from around 5:30am until right around 7:38pm. The fast each day starts and ends with a call to prayer. We hear this 5 times a day and sometimes a person at the mosque will be speaking in Arabic throughout the day as well. Not being able to eat or drink in this very hot environment has got to take some adjusting!

I had the chance to break the fast with friends on a couple of different occasions. Locally this time is called "berbuka puasa" which literally means "to open the fast." While some opt to break the fast with their families at home, others choose to go to a local restaurant. In order to get a seat at a restaurant, you need to get there around 6:30 to 6:45 and sit at the table waiting on the call to prayer. The food is brought to the table usually pretty early and everyone sits and talks until it is time to eat. It was pretty interesting to take part in and I am grateful for friends who let us tag along with them. After the fast is broken, everyone usually goes back to the mosque to have another time for prayer. This may be different in other parts of the world, but that is the general practice here. Restaurants will stay open all night long serving food to those who choose to eat either really late or early in the morning before fasting begins again.

There were a couple of things that I loved about Ramadan. One is the discounted food everywhere and the night markets called "Bazaar Ramadhan," that were held each afternoon. I love mingling with the people and trying new things. Also, different restaurants would offer different Ramadan specials. I got kind of used to them and now I miss it! For example, at Subway you could get one of three 6 inch sandwiches, a cookie and a coke for 10 Rm. That's about the equivalent to  $3.30 in US dollars. I think I am adapting more to the culture here because everyone loves to talk about food.

At the end of the month of fasting, there is a huge celebration called "Hari Raya," which means "day of celebration." The official celebration lasts for two days, but people usually celebrate all week. We were invited to one of our friend's house to celebrate with them. It's kind of like one big block party in the village or neighborhood. Here are some pictures from that day. 

 

This is some traditional food eaten at Hari Raya. The food on the right is a spicy rice noodle dish called Laksa. The sauce on top had a fish in it as well. There was also other types of cookies and crackers to eat as well. The food on the left is a type of cubed rice and you dip it in the peanut sauce that is in the bowl beside it. That was really good! 

We celebrated at the home of our first language teacher. My friend Aaron and I decided to dress in some traditional Batik which went over well with our friends!

During Hari Raya children will visit their neighbor's homes where they are given a small amount of money as a way to celebrate with them. This is called duit raya. I wanted to get in on this action!

Another tradition during this week of celebration is fireworks. They are shot off pretty much all night long. These are not your typical fireworks either. We are talking about the M1000 type that sound like a shotgun going off. No idea where they purchase them either because I have never seen them for sale. Apparently the people in our apartment complex have a stock pile of them because they do not seem to be running out any time soon!

This month also served as a great time to pray for the people here. I love these people a great deal, and hearing the call to prayer reminds me of my need to pray for God to pour Himself out on this country and the World.