Preparation

Jerusalem Road is completely packed right now. It is 10pm and the only time it was like this was after the World Cup game. People are coming from the Ramallah direction and heading towards the villages. 

I speak from behind tears right now. I was one of the few at school to fast growing up. I began in the third grade, and people pitied me. My teacher even stashed food. I had to sit in the principal's office until lunch was over.
College was the first time I was really a part of a Muslim community. But this Ramadan will somehow be different-- different because I have actual family with whom to celebrate. To visit, go to the masjid with, break fast together. Today I got to visit my grandmother during a break from work--in California, I had absolutely no one to visit.


We were on our own.


And still, the loneliness of personal struggle remains even here. 

I will be, inshAllah, putting up pictures, video, and some reflection for each day of Ramadan on my blog. This is the first time I am here for this holy month. It does not matter where you practice of course, but I am now getting a vantage point from a predominately Muslim country. And so far, people seem whatever about this time because it is coming in the thick of the summer. 

I take public transportation everyday for work, which is a blessing because it forces me to interact with complete strangers. And because I teach different classes here, I have gotten a small survey of opinions. One driver joked and said, "I heard Ramadan didn't make it past the checkpoint this year. Looks like I will not be fasting until Ramadan gets a visa." Another driver said, "Look at the streets. Yesterday it was packed because people were buying things and preparing for this month. But now, people are gorging themselves with food. No traffic--another blessing of Ramadan." Most of my students really do not want to attend class. I have had to reschedule every class to accommodate them. We never had that privilege in America.

People have flooded the city in preparation for Ramadan since it was just officially announced tonight, buying food, blinking lights, and new abbayas. But how can one seriously prepare for this month besides purifying their intentions? I pray God accepts our fasts and prayers, and that we commit for His sake and not some cultural or social implication.


I miss my family all over the globe and am imagining them in this moment, getting ready for the sacrifice ahead. I pray for those who have passed away. I miss them terribly. I wish everyone the best. I speak sporadically because emotions are flooding me as I watch this road of people coming and going, fireworks exploding along a road with one of the largest military checkpoints instituted by the Zionists. 


A road that leads directly to the third holiest site of Islam--now impossible for most to reach.

Only the heart and soul can measure how far we have come along.