I’m currently sitting here in my hut on a rainy Tuesday, which also happens to be the first day of Ramadan, cooking myself a lovely little lunch of mashed potatoes and hiding from the world. For those of you who are unaware of the outside world and don’t know what Ramadan is, it is the Muslim month of fasting to teach humility, patience and submissiveness to God (thank you wikipedia). They are permitted to break fast every evening, and in Senegal we do so with coffee dates and bread. I was in homestay last year during Ramadan already, so it is not a foreign holiday to me now. However in training, the family was briefed on the fact that we had just gotten to country, had no resources and didn’t understand the culture or language, and they were expected to cook us lunch. Here in the village, no such briefing or expectation occurs, and as a full-fledged volunteer, you’re on your own.
Many volunteers choose to fast along with their families, and people in the village often expect that you do fast with the rest of the community. However, many of us also resort to hiding in our huts and treating ourselves to all the foods we generally don’t cook for ourselves on a regular basis in village. I talked to a couple of Senegalese friends and family members about this, and the understand. Yes, the villagers will joke about me having to fast with everyone, and yes, I have to be very discreet, but according to my Senegalese uncle Babacar, they understand that I’m not Muslim and there’s no real spiritual gratification in it for me. I can try to be integrated to a point, but in the end I’m still me, and when all my friends are getting out of village to go on vacation or COS, I really feel no remorse if I’m still here in village and I don’t want to starve myself.
So that will be my August. Hiding to cook myself lunch, breaking fast with the family each day, and being jealous of everyone going on vacation. However, the AC converter was fixed a little while back, giving me the ability to charge my computer once again, so maybe I can pass the time by blogging more often.
~E
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Kim. I am a RPCV who served in a Mandinka village near Tambacounda. I guess I was fortunate because, even though I did not fast most of the time when I was in my village, the women in my compound gave me food that was also prepared for the children. They understood that I was not a Muslim and that I was not required to fast. Back then Ramadan occurred during the month of August, too. So the heat made it very difficult for me not to drink water. Good luck and stay healthy and hydrated. :)