Goodbye Summer, Hello Ramadan

Well, I am back at work and have quickly realized that summer is over. After getting here and settling into my house, I spent time soaking in the last days of summer and LOVING it. Sleeping in, staying in my pajamas til 10, sometimes 12, reading, hanging out with friends, long dinners filled with much laughter. But all of that ended yesterday when all the teachers went back to work to start getting ready for the students to come. School starts again on Monday, August 16th.

The fasting month, called Ramadan, also started yesterday. For the next thirty days most Indonesians will be fasting, both food and water, from sunrise to sunset. This means that they get up really early to eat a big meal before the first call to prayer. They also gather after the sun sets at 6pm to "buka puasa" or break fast together as families and eat another large meal.

These cultural traditions have never been so real to me as they have over the past couple days now that we live in the kampung. Our neighbors, who I can hear crystal clear through my bedroom window, began the first day of Ramadan by shooting off fireworks, making lots of noise, and calling for everyone in the neighborhood to get up so that they could make sure to eat before sunrise. After being awoken by all of this, I looked at my clock and it was 3:30am. I was tempted to go out and join them but opted to just lay in bed, awake and unable to go back to sleep.

Last night I was awoken a little after 2am, not to noise outside my window, but to the realization that my bed was shaking and quite hard. It took me a few seconds and then I realized that we were having an earthquake. It felt like it lasted a long time and as soon as it was over I could hear all my neighbors pouring out of their houses (which is a typical response for Indonesians to have to an earthquake) and begin chatting in the street. Then just a couple hours later they were all up again, calling everyone to start their day and eat.

It is going to be an interesting month. Please pray for good rest for me, especially as the school year gets started so soon. And pray for us as we respond to our friends and neighbors during this month of fasting.