Ok... Mois de Karem... Month of Ramadan... sucks... don't let anyone tell you otherwise. This year it fell from September 24 through October 24. As Guinea is a Muslim country and doesn't completely separate religion from government... everyone participates in the fasting (without water and food from sunup to sundown) lest they be called infidels like those ... those... those Americans!
Since all the take-out joints were closed during the day... i figure i might as well join in on the fasting... and to my surprise... the first day went pretty well... as did the second and the third... its when you get into the 10th day when it starts to hit you ... by the 30th day I was ready for it to be over. But I completed the fast, so according Islamic creed, my sins have been purged for the year (whether its this years' or last years' I don't know... it could be cool if you could designate years... like if you were especially naughty during 1997... or even for the future... if you knew you wanted to do especially meanie things during 2112... but I digress).
My town is pretty active normally... but during this past month... it was pretty dead. especially after 12pm ... because everyone is so tired from the fast. activity continues again after 4pm but its a pretty weak attempt. Its a pretty boring time to be in a Muslim country... and especially Guinea.
But of course, I did not slow down my activities during this month so I continued to do my 60K a week of biking to villages and around town trying do some follow ups on project work. Needless to say, I was really tired by the end of the day. Its really difficult to get anything done during the month of Ramadan... and if someone misses an appointment or forgets to do an errand... well its ok... because its the "mois de Karem" that did it. And everyone always pardons people for their mistakes. Pretty incredible actually... Guineans are a naturally kind people but the amount of nonsense they pull and get away with during this month is ridiculous. Oh... and everyone always tries to get marriage ceremonies one week completed before Ramadan; the newlyweds have to live together for 7 days after the marriage so the wife can learn the ways of the husband... that's how it was explained to me... i think its just so they be like Marvin Gaye and "get it on."