Ramadan Chapter 3

I've been fasting for a week now and I'm kind of surprised at how easy it has become. I have no problem getting up at 4am to eat (as if I'd turn down the chance to eat) before going back to bed for another 4 hours or so. However, if I was doing something more physical with my day, like a labor-intensive job, I'm sure I would have a really hard time with fasting. I've heard about professional athletes who fast during Ramadan and still compete and I just don't know how they can go without water! That's definitely the hardest part. The first three or four days were the worst, as I was tired and light-headed for most of the day. Studying was grueling, as my brain did not want to fire any synapses and I gave up on trying to memorize my new vocabulary words. Nothing was sticking in my head. However, now things are much better and aside from having a dry mouth almost constantly, I'm fine with the fasting. As long as I don't have to read any long texts in class, I really don't even think about fasting. It's so strange how the body can adapt so easily to changes in environment. Of course, I'm probably totally screwing up my metabolism, as I'm completely inactive all day, then eat a bunch of high-fat foods, then go to sleep. Not really great for the health, but it's an experience.

The foods that we have for Iftar (the meal at night when we break our fast) are some of the least healthy foods I've had thus far in Morocco. It's pretty much fried bread (stuffed with meat or cheese sometimes), or different fried bread covered in honey and butter, mini pita sandwiches with tuna or ground beef, cookies (made from dough that is deep fried, soaked in honey then coated in sesame seeds), harirra (a Moroccan soup with the possibility of vegetables in it, but I'm still not clear on that), dates (sometimes soaked in honey) then sometimes a second soup, or like tonight, lentils. There is an astonishing lack of fruit or vegetables (surprising since they are so cheap here and really good) and almost no meat. It's pretty much sugar, flour, fat and more sugar. It's only been a week and I'm craving something green and vegetable tasting. So, even though I'm fasting, it's not like I'm taking in any fewer calories. If anything, I'm probably gaining weight on this little adventure. Great. Only in Morocco can I gain weight while fasting.

Before, I was looking forward to the end of Ramadan so I could have a damn drink, now I just want a carrot or something. My how priorities change. Ok, well maybe not that much. I'd still give up a carrot for a beer.