I need to pass the time so instead of doing something reasonable like studying for finals, I'm blogging.
The struggle is real.
As some of you might know, Ramadan has started! If you have never heard of it, it's a month where muslims abstain from mundane human needs and turn towards God and their own spirituality every day, from dawn until dusk. So you don't eat, drink and a bunch of other things, to make time for more important things.
At least, that's the idea. In reality it's more like this.
So a typical day in Ramadan begins with getting up in the early morning hours (or staying up because like hell I'm going to get my ass out of bed after just two hours of sleeping. Not gonna happen.), still full from last night's iftar (dinner) but forcing yourself to eat some more to make it through the day. Seven minutes left until fast starts? Better down another glass of water, can't be safe enough. Repeat ad infinitum (or until the sun rises). Go back to bed and sleep until noon.
Wake up feeling groggy, already a bit hungry, and most of all (if you, like me, sleep with your mouth open) absolutely parched and try not to go into the kitchen and mechanically grab a bottle of water. Go brush your teeth, though it won't make much difference anyway, since not eating all day will make your breath stink like death and some more. Occupy yourself and try to not think of food too much.
Afternoon - Go grocery shopping. Don't let all the glorious food on display fool you. Don't make my mistakes. Don't buy seven different kinds of fruit, you won't be able to eat them until they spoil. No, you don't need that cake or four jars of peanut butter. Put them down. Grab some vegetables and meat and get out of there before something worse happens.
Early evening - This is the worst part of the day. If you're hardcore (like me), you'll spend some time scrolling through food blogs and looking at all the glorious pictures.
About an hour before iftar - only a little bit more to go! Pat yourself on the shoulder for making it this far, but not too long because it's time to get cookin'. Try not to lick your fingers as you do so. It doesn't even matter how much effort you put into it, since everything will taste like a gift from the heavens as soon as you start eating.
And finally, IFTAR TIME. Sit yourself down at the table, say your prayers and carefully watch the clock (I swear this thing keeps getting slower with every second). And when it's finally time to break your fast, dig into that marvellous food because you've earned it.
There are probably better muslims than me out there...
It's a lot more fun when you're with other people who fast as well, though. The past two or three years we've been with our extended family in Macedonia for Ramadan and it has always been really cool, so much kumbaya when everyone shares the same misery. Getting together to eat in the evening just makes for an amazing mood. And there's really good food every day, a lot of it.
But in the end, no one is forcing us and we do it for ourselves. And after a month of hard ramadaning comes a three(!)-day-long feast with so much food and desserts and family reunions and gifts and general giddy-ness. It's 400x better than Christmas, I tell you.
It might sound crazy, not eating and drinking for 18 hours a day, but it's something you have to experience to really know what it's like. And no matter how much one might complain about it, it's not half as bad in the end, really. It helps the body, too. At least, that's what I tell myself as I pat my belly after gaining yet another pound.
Any of you fasting as well? How's that going for you? I'd love to hear your stories :D
Until next time!
Lots of love,
(a very hungry) Besa
