Viewing Pics

Hey All! So I set up a website at flickr so that you can see my photo albums. To get there from this web page you need to scroll down to my profile picture and click on the 'view complete profile'. From there click on the 'my web page'. That should take you to the flickr account. I haven't downloaded all my pictures, but I'm working on it. Hope you enjoy!!

Ari

Ramadan Salla

Hey Friends!! So since I last posted Ramadan has come to an end - thank God!! Fasting was really starting to get to me. I have to admit, I was expecting a little more from the fete. My villagers had told me that everyone gets all dressed up, and you spend a big part of the day greeting people, and at the end of the day we feast on meat. I was thinking that maybe there was more to it than that, maybe lots of dancing and singing, or a big morning prayer where everyone attends. Not so much. It really is exactly what they said it was, getting dressed up, greeting people, and eating meat. Here is how my day went...So I got up in the morning and put on normal everyday clothes to go out and get breakfast, I wanted to see what everyone else was wearing before I put on the outfit I had made for Salla. So I went out and some of the men were all dressed up, but that was about it. So I went home, and did my housework that needed to be done - carrying water, sweeping, pulling weeds - then I decided it was time, I just needed to suck it up and put on all my fancy clothes and step out. (I've never before worn a full complay out in my village, so I knew that as soon as people started seeing me all dressed up, it was going to be a big deal.) As soon as people saw me, they just got these goofy smiles on their faces, and were like, "Now you are like us! You need to dress like this all the time!" I was really happy that they were all happy, however, I was the only adult woman dressed up! I was like, "Why aren't you dressed up?" Well, I didn't get the memo, but the women didn't get dressed up until the evening. I got over it pretty quick. :) So I spent most of the day greeting people and taking pictures - I think I took like 150 pictures that day. It was fun, but it can get crazy, because everyone wants there picture taken. That evening we feasted on macaroni and goat meat - and it was so good!! That was pretty much it, there were some girls dancing for a little while, but that isn't unusual by any means. And that was it, the Ramadan Fete was over. So that was my day, it was enjoyable, but needless to say, I'm glad another Ramadan season is a whole year away!

Until we meet again.
Cheers
Ari

A Hard Month

Hi All! Just got back to Zinder, after almost three weeks of the village. It was probably up there has one of the hardest times out in the village. The Ramadan fast is hard! Let me explain... So I had originally planned to do the full 30 days of fasting along with my villagers, however that didn't work out because I wasn't in my village at the time the fast started. Not a big deal. So then I planned to fast along with my villagers the entire time I was out in my village. The plan had good intentions, however, once I got out there and started fasting, I quickly realized, I was definitely not going to be able to do it the entire time. When fasting the day starts at 4 am (my neighbor, Jummai, would wake me up everyone morning), I would get up and make myself some oatmeal and try to drink as much water as I could, after that I would go back to bed with the knowledge that I wasn't going to get anything else to put in my stomach until the sun went down at 6:45 pm. This is terrible! I am definitely one of those people, who has strict feeding times, and let me tell you I can get cranky really quickly if I don't get to eat. So not only was I not getting to eat, it was also well over 100 degrees out, I wanted to die! OK, so I'm exaggerating on the dying part, but it was terrible. As Washington couldn't tell a lie, nor can I, I did cheat a little, I usually broke down around noon and had to drink a little water, I have no will power. Still, those little sips of water got me through the day, which is what counts, plus whenever I stole a drink, I sent up a little prayer to Allah telling him I was sorry, so I drank with the heart of contrition. So far I have completed 14 days of fasting, and have one more to do. Luckily everyone is almost done, 5 more days! Despite the agony of fasting, there is a really awesome part of the day, that I think is greatly overlooked at most other times - dinnertime!! Everyday I go over to my family's house and bring along my water bottle and some delicious pankasou (fried balls of wheat flour dough, with squash sauce on the top - AMAZING!). My mom, my sister, and I would all just sit there and stare at each other, the look of hunger in our eyes - and every minute ask - "Is it time yet?!" It was the hardest part of the day, followed by such sweet bliss. Despite this, I am happy the fast is almost over, honestly fasting in the desert - crazy! Well I hope all is going well! Until we met again!

Cheers!
Ari