Ramadan 101

Friday morning we headed to the grocery store for our standard shopping trip.  The store was absolutely insane (which is awesome because we love chaos, not).  The aisles were packed with people pushing overflowing carts, children were launching oranges, and some lose birds were flying around (the birds are actually pretty typical).  Everyone was preparing to start celebrating Ramadan by cooking a huge feast that evening.

Although, the start of Ramadan is dependent on seeing the new moon and it wasn't spotted in the sky that evening so the beginning of Ramadan was postponed until sunset on Saturday.  Which means our supermarket debacle could have been avoided.

This will be my second Ramadan, so I am obviously an expert and will now make you an expert.  Welcome to Ramadan 101:

1. Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar and Muslims fast during daylight.  Eating, drinking, smoking, and chewing gum are illegal in public areas.  Restaurants are closed for lunch.

2. Ramadan will last about 29 or 30 days.  It is now in the summer, but that isn't always the case.  The Islamic calendar is based on the moon.  A lunar year is shorter than the calendar year we are familiar with, so Ramadan swifts about two weeks each calendar year.

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3. There is a large feast at sunset to break the fast and everyone wakes up early before sunrise to eat a large meal.  Day and night activities are reversed.  Work hours are shortened for Muslims so they can sleep during the day and are active during the night.  Here is a rough outline of someone's daily routine during Ramadan.

3:30am	Wake up to pray and eat breakfast
4:45am	Sunrise
5:00am	Go back to sleep
7:00am	Wake up #2 and get ready for work
8:00am	Arrive at work
1:00pm	Leave work
2:00pm	Take a nap
5:30pm	Wake up #3 to pray
6:30pm	Sunset
6:35pm	Break fast with a large meal
8:00pm	Visit family and friends, complete normal daily tasks
12:00am	Go to sleep

4.  Store hours change to accommodate the change in routine.  Stores will be closed during the day and open at night. 

5. At the end of Ramadan there will be a huge celebrate called Eid al-Fitr.

6. Alcohol cannot be purchased  during Ramadan.

Our normal routine doesn't change too much.  We are excited because the traffic in the morning is non-existent, but we stay off the roads at night when everyone comes out of hybrination.  We are looking forward to Eid because we get three or four days off of work.

Happy birthday Allison.  I miss you every time I get crud on my tonsils.

Football Frenzy

Warning: This post is extremely random.  Good luck.

When I google football, I get this image:

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Call it football or call it soccer.  Everyone is buzzing about the World Cup here.

The water cooler talk is all about last night's game.  All the neighbor kids are kicking soccer balls at our car.  Most restaurants blare the games.  A flag war has even broke out in our compound.

We have embraced the World Cup.  Both Jonathon and I enjoy soccer and we were excited about being surrounded by enthusiasts.

Jonathon proudly displayed a bracket in our dining room.

We were all excited to follow along and watch the World Cup, until we realized that most the games are played during the night Doha time.  Turns out we are fair weather fans.  You really have to be a die heart to watch the 1AM games.

So, instead of watching the World Cup we have been spending time with friends before people take their summer vacations.  This included eating sushi:

Science in the real world.  This is what the tide looks like with a full moon near the longest day of the year.  Who doesn't want their beach chair in the ocean?

I'm terribly late on wishing June birthdays.  Happy birthday Tami, Alan, Ashley, and Allison.  I like you all very much even though I forgot to say it.  Happy anniversary Darel.

Poor Visibility

I feel like I'm back in Wyoming.  It is just a tiny bit windy here.

Qatar in the Headlines

Unfortunately we are guestless for the foreseeable future.  We dropped our favorite little brother off at the new airport, so no more pictures in our matching shirts.

We are back to our standard routine which is not very exciting to read about, so let's discuss the media.  Qatar has been in the press a lot lately.  It is getting lots of coverage regarding the World Cup the release of Bergdahl.

I find it extremely interesting comparing news articles from different sources.  Let's see how different sources reported on the Bergdahl story on May 31st:

British Broadcasting Corporation BBC (link)

• A U.S. Sergeant was freed by the Taliban in exchange for five Afghan detainees being released from Guantanamo Bay.  The detainees were handed over to Qatar, who mediated the exchanges.  
• Describes the five detainees and their leadership roles in the Taliban. 
• President Obama 'never forgot' Bergdahl and thanks the Emir of Qatar for enabling the transfer.

Very factual.  Doesn't dive into any heavy topics (or pick sides).

CNN (link)

• The only remaining U.S. soldier was recovered by special forces from the Taliban.  He was released in exchange for five detainees from Guantanamo Bay.
• The detainees are being sent to Qatar who promises to protect 'national seecurity'.
• Bergdahl's parents are overjoyed that their son is coming home.
• Description about how Bergdahl is being transferred home and personal details about him.

Lots of emotion was added into this article.  It never mentions that the five prisoners released were Taliban members.

Doha News (link)

Summary: Five Taliban members will now live in Qatar after being released from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for an American soldier held captive in Afghanistan.  The U.S. is extremely thankful to Qatar for brokering the prisoner exchange.

Very short article and focuses on relationships.

Happy birthday Michael!  We will watch some Frasier in your honor