I just finished grading a speaking assignment for my students on the importance of sharing customs with other cultures. The topic has largely been focused on the holy month of Ramadan, and the traditions associated with the month. One thing, among many, which I love about my job is that I don't
only teach but constantly learn from my students.
Ramadan is a very big deal at work
because a large majority of the population of our students is Muslim. Obviously intrigued, about three weeks ago I began rapid-firing questions to everyone at work about the concept of fasting at
Ramadan. The reasons for the fast seemed incredibly admirable. Many of my students
cited that they fast to remind them of the people who are starving and to
practice discipline and self-control from all things, not just food and
water.
However, I didn't quite conceivably
understand how someone could go a 14-hour day without allowing anything to pass
their lips... no food, no water, nothing. Given the length of the days in the
summer time and the heat of a Floridian sun, even an explanation didn't make
much sense. To my students in my speaking class, I asked "How do you
stay awake? What do you eat in the morning? How much do you drink? How do you
focus during the day when you're hungry? Don't your eyes get dry?"Eventually, the questioning hit a point where no further explanation could be offered without trying. So, last Tuesday, I decided to learn from Ramadan the only way I could: by partaking in the fast myself. Wednesday morning, I woke up at 5:15am and drank four glasses of water and ate two yogurts. I went back to bed until my normal wake-up time an hour later. The day at work was fine, until about 3:00pm at which time my head began to ache and I had to take a "Ramadanap". I woke up around 5:00pm, went out to get some food from one of my favorite restaurants, graded papers, even did some painting. The last hour before the breakfast I didn't even feel hungry, just focused. Then, at 8:30, I finally, slowly broke the fast some more yogurt... and then some very non-traditional pho.
The four following days have been equally
challenging. The second day I had an intense throbbing headache, presumably
from the the low blood sugar and I lost focus. I made it clear that I was
inconvenienced to my co-workers, which in hindsight was a mistake. Acknowledging
the pain, acknowledging the inconvenience was self-serving, and because I have
chosen to take this journey on my own, garnered no sympathy from anyone who I
told my head hurt. So, I went home and dealt with the headache the only way I
knew how: on my own, with quiet, without idle talk, just thought. Pushing
through proved once again rewarding and it made me worry less about things
which had been bothering me at work and in my personal life. I think, at this
point, while obviously still in progress, the abstaining from indulgences is empowering with a level of understanding that had not previously deemed possible.
This week in my speaking class, discuss
the sharing of the practices of Ramadan. We read an article about the
principles of Ramadan and discussed it as a class. The insight and
open-mindedness of both students who practice and don't practice Islam has been
staggering. Overall, both they and myself agree that it is a valuable way to
learn about another culture and that the process goes far beyond fasting, that
it will clean yourself and allow you to give love to all people without
judgment.
How beautiful is that?
How beautiful is that?
