You should come around more often...

One of Gerald's classes on the upper floor with the A-frame ceilings. The students keep typical college hours - with the added element of Ramadan - the Muslim month of fasting during the days. They stay up much of the night eating and playing, fall asleep after the pre-dawn meal, and drag themselves to Gerald's 8:00 class while dreaming about their next nap! Sleeping is certainly the preferred way of getting through Ramadan for anyone who possibly can.

Imagine the American exchange students arriving at the beginning of this month - college-aged boys accustomed to checking the contents of the refrigerator every 2.5 seconds finding themselves in a place with very little food or drink during the day! They do have one cafeteria open on campus - Gerald jokes that it is the "Infidel cafe" serving yesterday's leftovers to the “unbelievers!”

Gerald is teaching his classes plus two more for a professor who is on maternity leave the first two weeks of school...

...and this is the result at the end of the week!

(Overheard - one Moroccan to another) - "You should come around more often - like Ramadan!" Indeed, we shake our heads and say, "Is it already Ramadan again??" Morocco began daylight savings in June but the king made sure we went back to normal time right before Ramadan so that the sun could set earlier and thus people can eat sooner.

A few students asked Gerald about fasting last week. They had a good conversation about it all and Gerald shared some of his observations too - What is the difference between skipping a meal and postponing a meal as some do? What really is fasting? The Chrisitan fasting rules - of not showing others you are fasting... but the benefit of everyone fasting at the same time... What is the point of fasting if people just become angry and ungodly as a result of fasting? In this effort to be godly, aren't people just hurting others? Isn't it more important what comes out of the mouth than what goes into it and what time it goes in? They also talked about the benefits of the month - like having a concentrated time of focus on God. It was one of the first times Gerald has felt OK about being so honest about his feelings on the subject - and it was well received. The girls also mentioned that Muslims often fast 2 times a week outside of Ramadan.

And because of that conversation, Gerald missed the shuttle. But he did get a ride with a friend!

It's always easier to see hypocrisy in another than in ourselves - let's see - is there a month in America where there is a flurry of activity, where everyone is supposed to be more religious than normal, where people end up focusing on all the expectations of the season instead of the reason for it all, where women in particular work like crazy to create seasonal delicacies unlike any other time of the year, where stress is high and people get angry with each other easily, and where everyone is completely exhausted when it is all over? Surely not!

We were invited to our friend Rachida's house for f'tour (when they break the fast at sunset). This is a very typical spread with a few extras - Left to right - fried fish, sweet funnel-cake type snack called shebekia, dates, boiled carrots, fried bread, boiled eggs, and a protein-packed nut mixture. We also had coffee, tea and hirara - the hearty tomato soup that characterizes this month.

Two more weeks to go!