From the Outside Looking in...

This morning I woke to a sunny, springlike day.  The morning sun shining into the apartment warmed it. With the warm sun on the balcony, I was able to clean up the balcony and salvage a few plants that survived the winter.  I made a compost bin the first summer, and the compost was perfect for topping off the planters on the balcony.  Things are starting to green a bit, and barring any real cold weather, I should have some green plants before I leave. 

From the balcony on a sunny spring morning

The willows are leafing out in front of the lower elementary building

I had a wonderful morning walk after working on the balcony.  It is jacket weather when the sun is out.  It does cool down in the evening, but it has not been dropping below freezing.  There was a clear view of Ljuboten, and the snow melt there is not visible yet, but it won't be long.

I met some students from Bob Elementary on my way home from school yesterday.  I had met some of them before at the end of last school year.  The one girl asked me if I remembered her, and I did.  She has excellent English, and I remember talking with her.  One of the boys asked me if I was fasting, and she said that he shouldn't ask me that.  She told me it didn't matter whether I was Muslim or not, because we should accept all religions.  I think she is a really smart and tolerant young woman.  This is not always the case among the students I teach.  I enjoyed walking with her until we reached her apartment building, which was across from the bus station.

We are now over halfway through Ramadan, and it is a struggle at school.  Even the morning classes are sluggish.  As an outsider to Ramadan, it still seems counterproductive to spend a month fasting during the day, and then eating huge meals as soon as the sun sets.  Students are staying up late to eat before sleeping, and then getting up at around 4:30 am to eat before dawn. The morning kids are tired and late to school.  The afternoon students just want to leave early for Iftar.  The 5th-hour classes have been shortened to provide a 25-minute break for Iftar.  Both the 4th- and 5th-hour afternoon classes are unproductive.  In the afternoon, students are more unruly and often fight with each other.  They seemed to forget that Ramadan is about getting back to the root of their religion, being nice to others, cleansing themselves, and helping others.  This I learned during last Ramadan from some of my students.

But I do see the other side of Ramadan.  Yesterday, I went for a walk along the river at Iftar.  It is a quiet time to walk, as most people are at home or at a restaurant to enjoy the Iftar meal to break their fast.  But on a nice evening, there is an alternative for some young people.   As I walked the path along the river, I saw groups of students sitting on the benches.  They were breaking fast together.  I saw many students that I knew and stopped to talk with them along the way.  I was offered pizza by a student, but I declined.  I continued to walk, talking with students along the way.  This is the upside of Ramadan.  They are all fasting together.  It is a shared commitment, and Iftar is a celebration of having made it through another day of fasting.  The final celebration will be on Bajram after the month of fasting is done.  I see all this happen, but I am not a part of it.  Even if I did fast, I would not feel the connection that they feel.  So I continue to watch from the outside.  I will celebrate the end of Ramadan, however, as things will hopefully to return to normal.