Snapshots of Ramadan

 The sun was setting.  People were rushing to get home.

 

Then, while everyone was breaking fast, we went to the mall to the food court to see if anything was open.

Abandoned coffee shop.

Abandoned. 

Abandoned.

Abandoned and very trusting, I might add.

I might also add, that it's not just this time when the streets are empty.  During the day, they are empty, too.  

After that 3ish am call to prayer, there is not a lot of activity in the streets until 4pm ish.

By the way, this is a GREAT time to learn to drive in a new country!

However, when the sun sets...

Party in the streets.  

This was taken at approximately 3am.  The kids were popping fireworks and making so much noise, that I went on the roof to see what all the excitement was about.

Nothing really.  Just another night of Ramadan.

Men, drinking tea and playing games down at the corner about 1am.

Kids were just sitting outside my gate as I walked up around midnight.

One night we invited a local friend to a restaurant for dinner.  She made a reservation for us and told us that they would allow us to start eating before the set time.

She misunderstood.

We were seated, but we had to wait 45 minutes before we could eat.  In the meantime, the waiters were filling up everyone's table with food and drink.

And when I say filling it up, I mean FILLING IT UP!

These were the appetizers.

Believe it or not, we never said a word about what we wanted.

  

We never even ordered.

  

This is the common fare for everyone who comes in during Ramadan.

Crazy, right?

Awesome crazy!

It was like being on a cruise and ordering every appetizer and entree they have on the menu and the waiters don't even bat an eye.

We made it through another Ramadan, and we were more prepared this year.

Last year, everything was new.

The day before it started.

Learning that life doesn't happen during the day.

Learning about the night life.

And participating in my first "end of Ramadan" party. 

Here are the kids dressed for Eid al-Fitr.  It's the first day after Ramadan is over, and we visit neighbors and friends. 

The conversations were better this year.  Our neighbors know us a little better, and we know how to say things a little better.

It's all a process.