The Longest Month

As you can see I've escaped to Kaedi to send you a clandestine message via the Internet. Well, it isn't secret really. Actually I think this is a public blog. So my little village is very welcoming, although very little and very isolated. Ramadan has started, and it's a rough ride. From sunrise to sunset, no one eats or drinks (excepting the children, the pregnant women, and me). As the day wears on, people slowly become more and more irritable (and less and less patient with my Pulaar). Mostly everyone lays around all day, and I for one don't blame them for that. People continually ask me if I am fasting, to which I reply "No, I can't. I'm not strong, like you!" My own personal answer to that question would have to be "Not in a million years would I go without water for a day when I have water to drink. This is AFRICA! It's HOT! I'm dripping sweat as we speak!"

Because it's only the kids eating, they prepare gosi (which is a sort of overly sweet, slightly tart milk porridge) or, for variety, boiled rice paste. I have taken to preparing food in my room because the only meal I like porridge for is breakfast (and even then I prefer oatmeal). And boiled rice paste? Do I need to explain that one?

Breaking fast is a big deal. It happens at sundown and in stages. Right at sundown, someone comes on the mosque loudspeaker to announce that everyone can eat and drink. We drink bissop (an awesome juice made with leaves, tastes a little like cranberry juice), Nescafe, tufam (a type of slightly sour sweetened milk), and sometimes other beverages. We eat bread, and some dates too, but mostly just drink until our stomachs are full. Then a bit later comes a meal, typically fried fish and sauce and something like fries and onions. We eat that with bread. But wait there's more... A third meal, which can be many things but is often also fish, but with rice and veggies this time. By this time it is between 9:30 and 10:30 or much later, depending on the family. I try to break fast with different families, it's a great way to meet people, and they love it when you visit.

So, until Ramadan ends, these are my days: trying to avoid angering the crabby people all day, then trying to refuse too much food all night. In case you were wondering, it's impossible to eat enough. No matter how much I actually eat, they say "You didn't eat!" and "You need to eat" or just "EAT!" Which was actually the first word I learned for sure in Pulaar. :D

I've been writing a lot of letters, so start expecting those in the next month or so. Hugs and kisses!