I got back from Egypt last Tuesday, cooled down, refreshed, and relaxed only to be greeted by the hot air of Amman and a city that is in shut down mode. Ramadan started while we were in Egypt, which mean for an entire month people cannot eat or drink from dawn til dusk. On our latitude that is currently from 4:30am-7:25pm. Which makes for a long cranky day especially when the temperatures have been well over 100 degrees. People go to work late and end early. Restaurants and Coffee shops are all closed-its illegal to eat or drink anything in public until after the fast is broken. The city is quieter except for around 3pm when everyone is getting off work, rushing home or to relative's homes. And about 6:30 when they are rushing to the place where they will break iftaar.
The night after we got back from Egypt we as a team went out to Chili's. Yes, we have Chili's here and it is a yummy treat on rare occasions. The restaurant opens at 6:30 where people start filling it up, giving their orders and waiting....waiting until 7:25. The kitchen works its hardest to get all the orders out by this time, and then the food and drinks just sit there, untouched, beckoning until the call for prayers goes off. Once it does, its amazing how fast that food disappears and people are gone...well before I've even gotten through half my quesadilla.
Ramadan-its definitely not the most exciting month to visit this country....but breaking fast with people is an interesting experience.
My days during this month are filled with 4 hours a day of language learning, hanging with friends or students, and of course Jillian Michaels. I'm on day 2 of my language school and I'm loving it. Call me crazy, but learning languages are a fun challenge and Arabic is perhaps not FUN, but its certainly a challenge. There is a reason why it's a level 4 language...and come day 2, I've already discovered the sounds and rules that make it so....yes, I'm crazy:)
Here's to staying cool and learning tons!
I'll post some pictures of Egypt soon.
3 comments:
Tough summer all around -- Dallas temps have been over 100 for most of August -- I can't imagine the heat in Amman coupled with fasting! Seems dangerous, lol.
I can't believe there's a Chili's in Amman. The real question is: does the food taste the same? lol...
besides the fact that the bacon is beef bacon...its not bad..maybe even better:) but haven't much to compare it to I suppose-its been a long time since I've eaten at a Chilis in the states.
Wow, your Chili's experience sounds very interesting. I can't imagine how strange it must be during Ramadan. My question to you is this: Do they make their employees wear pieces of flare?
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