Ramadan Kareem!!!

Ramadan has started. This means we only have to work 6 hours everyday! Yahoo!

For those of you who do not know, I'm here in the Middle East which consists of Muslim people of course. So, one of their Muslim practice is the Ramadan. Ramadan is their time of reflection, devotion and fasting. They fast from sunrise to sunset. They abstain from any pleasures of the body like eating, drinking, smoking, etc. During the end of their fast, they have this meal called Iftar wherein they have like a small feast.

Of course,when they are in fasting, ALL fastfoods and restaurants are closed from morning till night. They will only open after the sound of the canon was heard. The sound of the canon signals that their fasting has ended.

So, you see,for the whole day, there's no life. Even if we're only up to 1:30pm, there is nowhere to go and nothing to do. Non-Muslims here have to wait till our fellow Muslims has ended their practice. Here in our office, you can't eat in your seat of where you can be seen by other Muslims. You have to go to one place,like in our case; we have a kitchen here, where we can go there and close the door while we eat. Meaning, you cannot eat publicly to pay respect. Or else, they will get mad. It's like insulting them.

The good thing is our working hours are shortened. Maybe it's to give time to our Muslim co-workers a time to pray. Good for us non-Muslims right? Hehe.

This will last for one month and after, they will have a three-day celebration called the Eid. They will have their grandest feast and celebrations on those days! And no work for us for three days!

So, I bid you all Ramadan Kareem! (Kareem meaning good).