Fasting, and Breaking Fast (Part 3)

This is my third and final post in the series dealing with Ramadan. The first two posts dealt with the daily schedule, and the food of Ramadan, respectively. For this final post I will discuss Ramadan as an experience, and how I feel going through it.

For those of you who did not already know, I have been fasting completely during the month. No food and no water until the evening call to prayer. The no food thing has been easy after about the first week, your body just gets used to it. However, the no water situation can get to be tricky, especially if one is travelling, or in a hot location etc. Luckily for me, my village is in the mountains, and the hottest it gets here maybe 95 degrees. That is few and far between, and with very little humidity. So traveling was the difficult situation, which I will touch on in a minute.

There are different interpretations of the Koran, just as there are for the Bible. When it comes to Ramadan, this can make things tricky. Let me give you an example. One interpretation for Ramadan is that nothing is to pass your mouth during the fast. This includes rinsing a dry mouth with water, or brushing your teeth. I brush my teeth everyday twice (I should do it three times I know). Technically, some people view this as breaking fast. But I am not swallowing anything (water/toothpaste), so what does this actually mean. Other people say that it is okay to brush teeth or rinse mouth out and spit. The confusion also goes for traveling, as some believe if you are a certain distance away from your home you do not need to fast (you do however HAVE to make it up after Ramadan is over). Others feel that travelers should fast as well. In my travel experiences, most everyone fasts. I mean, I live in a country where people can be arrested if they are seen breaking fast in public (Moroccan citizens that is.)

As an overall experience, I was happy to fast during Ramadan, in order to see and feel what it is like. Generally, fasting helps your integration into a community. People on the street ask me all the time if I am fasting. They then confirm by saying “no water too.” They then give me a little pat on the back. We then have a little discussion about how Ramadan is a “difficult time.” Sometimes people will pick up on the lack of energy I had some days, and just pick up on the fact that I was fasting.

Health-wise, Ramadan is not good for your general health. In my case, I would fast all day, and then breaking fast, I would gorge myself, as it was my one meal of the day. Not good for the system to be deprived of food, then given everything at once. Also, most of the food I ate was carbohydrate intensive, so I was not getting my daily amount of fruits and vegetables. So to supplement, I would buy fruit like figs and just eat them at my house. Most Moroccans eat a midnight dinner as well, just before going to sleep. Eating before sleeping is also unhealthy, as your body does not digest the food as well when you are sleeping.

When it comes to water, not drinking it during the day is certainly not good for the body. Your body needs to flush out toxins and needs water to break down food. I found that the lack of water was the most trying thing at times, especially on the days where I had to travel or do work outside. One of the first days of Ramadan, I had to travel through Fes, on a day where it was 110 degrees easily. It was difficult. I can only imagine what Ramadan is like for the people in the south of the country, where it reaches 120+ degree temperatures during the day.

Overall for me, my health was pretty good. I tried to take care of myself supplementing fruits, and making sure to drink water and juices to get vitamins. I got sick one day during Ramadan, and I lost any water I had, and just became weak. I also found that in general, my focus was lacking. Maybe it was my body telling me I needed to give it important things, but I found that I could not concentrate on things for very long. So doing things like reading for extended periods, or writing emails or blogs became difficult.

I do not think that generally, most Moroccans are educated on the issues of health during Ramadan. I heard a number of times that fasting is good for your health. Maybe it is good due to the added assistance of the guy above. But certainly, Ramadan is a very unhealthy month.

There were some really great experiences during Ramadan as well. I mentioned above that people would ask me if I was fasting. I enjoyed being asked this question, as I sometimes would get the follow-up question of “why?” I would tell people that I was fasting because everyone in Morocco does it, and it is just the culture, and I respect the culture and the religion. It was a good opportunity to help integrate myself a bit more.

Also, the feeling of solidarity that I had was great (especially in the beginning.) Everyone is fasting, and so you are all in this together. I would meet people for the first time, and they would ask me about fasting, and then instantly we would have that bond. Knowing that millions of people not only in the country but around the world were fasting created this solidarity. Religions everywhere have things that create solidarity and a support network, but it was a greater extent than I had experienced before.

While most everyone was happy and fine during Ramadan, there were some situations where this was not the case. I saw fights and arguments almost everyday during Ramadan. Seemingly little things got blown out of proportion. There was a lot of yelling. People had very little patience, and would not care if people were ahead of them waiting to buy food at a store or a ticket at a bus station (generally, Moroccans are not known for their line standing skills, but during Ramadan this is exacerbated). There were times I felt like people were just using Ramadan as an excuse to blow up on each other. I mean, I was fasting, and while I felt impatient at times and irritated at times at people, I still controlled myself. So I felt the contradiction that people were fasting for religious purpose, yet they seemed to be using it as an excuse to get aggravated and relieve frustrations.

I think that is all I wanted to discuss. If you have questions about Ramadan, let me know (email me or skype, I have internet now). I learned so much in the past month about Ramadan and the religion itself. It was a great experience to be in an Islamic country during the holy month.

Much Love,
Me

Current Book: 1491 – Charles Mann
Current Music: Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon at the End of the Day