Mango Mango Mango Mango Mango Mango Mango Mango

Yes, I’m that excited about mango season, even though it’s still a couple of months off. I can’t wait!

(My Last) Idul Fitri

As a second-year Peace Corps Volunteer, it’s very interesting to compare my experiences from this year to when I was a fresh, brand-new Volunteer. All the PCVs that I’ve ever talked to have said how fast the second year goes by, and after this past Ramadan and Idul Fitri, I completely believe them. As I’m sitting here, I can’t believe how quick this year’s Ramadan and Idul Fitri went by. It seems like it was only a week ago that I was somewhat dreading the start of Ramadan and how bored I would be. Now, I can’t believe that it’s already over. I’m trying to think of what made it go by so fast. Maybe it was the fact that I was a lot lazier about fasting this year? I really only fasted for maybe 1/3 of Ramadan. Maybe it was because this was my second go-around and I already knew what was going to happen? I remember last year how excited I was to be spending Ramadan in a Muslim-dominant country with a big Muslim family. The same goes with Idul Fitri; I was just so excited to witness this “big 2-day party” that my family kept telling me about. It could also be the fact that I was able to go and visit some friends and have friends come visit me, as opposed to last year, when I was “locked-down” at site.

Now, this year, I already knew what was going to happen and what to expect. And the truth is that this year didn’t vary drastically from last year’s festivities: during Ramadan, people woke up at 3, ate, did some chores until 8 or 9, then fell asleep and stayed in their homes until around 3:30 or 4, when it was cool again and then started talking with everyone else who was milling about, waiting to buka puasa (lit: open the fast a.k.a. break the fast). One funny thing: when I went into my ibu’s house to eat late in Ramadan, she just casually said to me “puasa selesai” (fasting is finished). I understood the words, but not the meaning. It was only later when one of my CP’s texted me to wish me a happy Idul Fitri that I understood that my ibu meant that Ramadan is finished and that Idul Fitri was tomorrow. At that time, I thought we still had a couple days left to go, so that’s why I was somewhat confused by my ibu’s words. Suddenly, it all made sense why they had brought out a fancy, soft, new carpet and why my bapak was struggling so much to hang up fancy curtains.

My house’s setup for Idul Fitri. Truthfully this was taken on the second day when we weren’t swamped with visitors.

The ubiquitous Khong Guan Biscuits tin. These things are 1.7 kilos (3.75 pounds) of pretty bland biscuit cookies and are pretty much the symbol of Idul Fitri in Indonesia (kind of like Turkey for Thanksgiving in the US). Also, notice the drawing of the completely white post-WWII American family on the side of it.

For Idul Fitri, a bunch of people who are somehow related to my family came to the house, sat, and talked a lot. This year, a lot less questions about who I was, what I was doing here, how old I was, and why I didn’t want to marry an Indonesian were directed towards me, which I was thankful for. I still went around the neighborhood with my family and halal-bi-halal‘ed (asked forgiveness) from a lot of people. I guess the biggest difference this year was the fact that my vice principal and some of his students from the Islamic middle school in the desa went around in a truck with big speakers strapped to it singing “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) over and over again (this saying is very common in situations such as these). Also, the musholla by my house and the mosque further away apparently did the same thing until the subuh prayer (around 4 AM). Luckily, Peace Corps has given me the ability to fall asleep no matter how loud my surroundings are. I only found this tidbit out when I went over to my VP’s house the next day for Idul Fitri and he told me that his 10 year old son was very sleepy because he was at the mosque until 4 AM. 

Now, all the festivities are done and over for another year. My family has pretty much packed away their fancy rugs and curtains until the next big event, whatever that may be. And honestly, it’s a little sad to think that this will be my Idul Fitri that I will spend here with this family. And this goes with all the other events that will happen this year. Instead of saying “this is my first Ramadan!”, or “this is my first vacation!”, I will now be saying “this is my last Ramadan!”, or “this is my last vacation!”. That word “last” kind of puts a damper on some things, but it also helps to put things in focus and helps to keep the future in focus.

Ramadan-athon (Yang Kedua)

As I’m typing this, I have just finished my first suhur meal of the 2014 Ramadan month. Yes, Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting and abstaining from vices such as smoking, sex, and food as a means of getting closer to God, has descended upon the world once more. For the next 30 days, I will be joining my family in fasting from sun-up to sun-down (approximately from 4:30 AM until 5:30 PM). This also includes no water. Thankfully, Indonesians love their naps as much as I do, especially during Ramadan, so that helps a lot to fight off the hunger while waiting for Maghrib (the sunset/5:30 PM call to prayer). 

Ramadan Fun Fact: Since Islam follows a lunar calendar, that means it is apporximately 11-12 days shorter than a solar year (a.k.a. the year that the Gregorian calendar is based upon). This means that Ramadan shifts its starting/ending days by about 11-12 days every year. Here’s a table of the starting/ending dates of recent Ramadans, courtesy of my friend, Wikipedia. Also, for more info about Ramadan, check out this Wikipedia article too, or just do a quick Google search yourself. 

Selamat Ramadan dan Puasa!