Ramadan so far

We are now three or four days in Ramadan, the Islamic holy moth marked by fasting during daylight hours. Daily life in Amman changes a bit; I’ve had crazier taxi drivers who are a little on edge from not smoking all day. People don’t eat, drink or smoke in public during the day and many of the restaurants only open during the evening. The gym I joined closes down for an hour and half during the if-tar, the big meal where Muslims break their fast with family. My class schedule is also condensed to end a few hours earlier during the month. Special sweets made only this time of year are sold in all the bakeries. More neon cresent and star lights appear in apartment and shop windows and look similar to Christmas lights and decorations. I swear the local mosque’s call to prayer gets louder as well.
For a Christian girl, this may all seem like a big inconvenience. However, I have enjoyed how during the evening so many more people are out and about, going shopping in malls after 11pm and hanging out with friends in restaurants. This weekend I finally ventured out to Abdoun, a ritzy area of Amman that’s a popular hangout at night. We passed a giant Starbucks with a chalkboard sign inviting people in during Ramadan, an iconic image of modern Jordan. I am expecting that living in Jordan during Ramadan will give me a better sense of the degree of religious fervor in the capital in this Muslim-majority nation. I look forward to attending an Iftar of a Muslim family after fasting for the day and speaking to more Jordanians about how they understand their faith in a world where religious affiliation is less of a choice and more of an inherited trait.