Some of you may know what it's all about, and some may not. I had no clue. It's an Islamic holiday, celebrated by a month long of fasting. It is illegal to be seen eating or drinking (even water) in public during the daylight hours from dawn till dusk. At dusk (around 6:30pm), the fast is broken and they eat from that point on. From my understanding, they stay up and hop from house to house, eating until morning. The dates change from year to year, based on the moon. This year, it began Aug. 11 and is scheduled to end on Sept. 10. So, we have just a few more days to go. The last week sounds like it is just one long party.
Obviously, we are not fasting (though I could stand to lose a few pounds and probably should!) But, it does still have an impact on our family. The store hours are all open at very strange times. For example, open at 10a - 4p, then closed and reopened at 8p - ?? The restaurants are all closed as well, until after the fast breaks. Those of you who have kids understand where I'm coming from. It's hard to shop, which we need lots of household items considering we just moved. I don't know how to get anywhere and am scared to drive which doesn't help matters. Plus, we can only go out during certain times with no snacks to help entertain the kiddos! Feel my pain? It doesn't sound all that bad now that I'm typing it, however experiencing it is something totally different.
We've been advised not to drive during the hour or so before fast breaks. It gets a little crazy with everyone hopping from place to place and restaurants opening up while they are all starving. Of course, we've found ourselves out and about several times during that exact hour.
I honestly have taken no more pictures. I promise I will get some on here soon. I'll eventually take some pictures of our apartment, but I want to get some decorations up first. It's slowly but surely getting there. The kids get tested for their school this week and we are trying to settle into a routine. School doesn't start until after Ramadan is over for my kids, September 14. Yep. It's been a LONG summer!
2 comments:
No snacks in the car??!! I don't know what I'd do! We call that hush money. I feel for ya! Sounds like you're living a very interesting life style over there and I love reading about it! Please keep on writing. You're experiencing something that the vast majority of us will never even come close to experiencing outside the movie theater. It's all very interesting.
I agree - it's very interesting! This is probably the most I'll ever learn about Kuwait or any Islamic country.
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