Ramadan

9.10.10
I can’t remember if I mentioned this, but for the past month, my host family has been fasting for Qarem (I’m spelling that wrong, I think). This means that they wake up at 3 am, go to a very loud prayer session across the street at 4am, eat a huge breakfast at 5am, sleep most of the day, then come back to life at sundown. Anyway, so it’s been a long month, and 9.10 (Fri) is the fete (Ramadan) to celebrate the end of the fast.


There were a couple of snafus* leading up to my Ramadan activities, but everything turned out beautifully. After school, 3 other stagiers came home with me to hang out with my family. We walked up to my apartment/penthouse thing, and there was a beautiful table set on the terrace for us to eat at.

Maman and Papa got home, and they + other random relatives joined us to eat a big Beninese meal: akassa (fermented pate), grilled fish, tomato/piement sauce, bread, rice, bananas, and chicken (I think) kebobs. Papa apologized for not having real wine (Islam forbids alcohol), and when we assured him that the meal was amazing without it, he seemed really happy.

We had some good cultural exchanges, I practiced my French a little, and we just kind of hung out with the extended family. All in all, I think, a perfect first Ramadan.


*Note: “Snafu” is a fantastic word.