Ramadan and Easter in Jordan
Theodor-Schneller-School Amman, 26 March, 18:16.
With vigorous strokes of the brush and colourful hair ties, the teacher tames the first-year pupil’s freshly washed, frizzy hair. We are sitting in the stairwell. All around us are scaffolding and a little building rubble from the renovation work on the boarding school building. A pleasantly warm breeze drifts in because new panes haven’t yet been fitted in the large window front. We listen to the Arabic music, which I still barely understand but have come to love.
A great deal has happened over the last few months, so simple moments with the children at the boarding school, such as the one described, are almost a rarity. Normally, the mornings are spent on Arabic lessons, visits within the grounds (for example, to the nursery or the bakery training centre) or simply sleeping in. From lunchtime onwards, I’m at the boarding school with the girls’ group. We eat, study and play together until the children go to bed in the evening.
After the winter holidays, the boarding school moved into the newly renovated part of the building. The rooms, which were still a bit empty at first, are now being furnished bit by bit. Curtains and mirrors have already been added, so the atmosphere is gradually becoming more homely. At the end of February, we volunteers went on our mid-term seminar. With just five participants and Lisa as the seminar leader – who herself was a volunteer at the Schneller School a few years ago – we had a small but very special seminar. So we spent what has been the coldest week of the year so far (down to –7°C at night) in a holiday home with an incredible view on a hill in the north of the country. Immediately afterwards, I had a visit from my family. It was a wonderful week during which we travelled around the country in a hire car. It was also my first time in Petra, arguably Jordan’s most famous tourist destination, an ancient Nabataean city with impressive facades carved into the sandstone cliffs. It’s striking that even at such well-known sites, there are very few tourists around. Locals say this is mainly due to the conflicts in neighbouring countries, but the situation in Jordan is currently stable and the country is beautiful – so do come and visit!
As well as my family, our former volunteer Edgar was also visiting for six weeks. He went on short trips with my fellow volunteer Ailu and me to show us his favourite spots; we watched films and chatted for hours at the kitchen table in the evenings. We were never bored. The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan also began in early March. During this time, Muslims abstain from food and drink every day from sunrise to sunset. Smoking, chewing gum and brushing your teeth are also not allowed – nothing is permitted in the mouth. It is also a time for prayer, good deeds and reflection on one’s faith. As around 97% of the Jordanian population are Muslim, this was also noticeable in everyday life. During the day, the streets were quieter; shops didn’t open until later or only in the evening. Out of respect for those fasting, eating and drinking in public is not permitted. Shortly before sunset, the traffic became really chaotic, as naturally everyone wanted to be home in time for the breaking of the fast (إفطار ‘Iftar’). Afterwards, there was plenty of activity in restaurants that had been closed during the day, and in the city centre. Ailu and I were also invited to Iftar once by a lovely lady from the neighbouring district. In this case, Edgar was explicitly excluded, as there were only women present. When there are no men present who are not part of the family, Muslim women do not wear a headscarf at home. So in this instance, it was a girls’ night in – though men and women often eat together as well. Traditionally, the fast is broken with water and dates, followed by rice, chicken, salad and all manner of Arabic specialities, accompanied by various juices. After the meal, we sat together in the living room and chatted – first over tea and dessert, then over coffee and sweets, whilst the television played in the background. Ramadan was also noticeable at the boarding school: some children decided to stay at home for the month and commute to school, so everything was a bit quieter as a result. Once a week, there was a communal dinner outside with all the groups and music. The situation described at the start arose shortly before one such communal iftar, on the last evening before the holidays. The Festival of Breaking the Fast (عيد الفطر ‘Eid al-Fitr’), also known as the Sugar Festival, lasts three days, and it was precisely to mark this that there was a week off school. Over the holidays, there was no one else on the premises apart from us. Ailu, Edgar and I had actually planned to go away during this time, but fewer buses run over the holidays – so we had a lovely time in Amman, visited the volunteers in the neighbouring town of Salt and were invited to dinner by a pupil’s family. We were served mansaf, the Jordanian national dish, consisting of rice, lamb and a special, slightly tangy cheese sauce.
Almost at the same time as Ramadan, the Christian Lent period also began, during which many Christians follow a vegan or at least vegetarian diet for 40 days. The question “Are you fasting today?” became a common way to start a conversation, partly because some younger Muslim children only fasted on certain days. Among the Christians, some fasted every day, others only on weekdays, and others not at all – depending on their denomination. The fact that I wasn’t fasting but still didn’t eat meat because I’m a vegetarian didn’t exactly make things any simpler. There were also special activities at the boarding school during Easter. One afternoon, all the groups searched for Easter eggs together on the playground. The special touch: they were hard-boiled white eggs, which were then painted together using watercolours. It’s lovely how religion is shared at the Schneller School and how we celebrate festivals together. It’s not half bad having the school closed for Muslim and Christian holidays. Over Easter, Ailu had family visiting. So as not to be alone on the large school grounds, I visited Dana, the teacher of the girls’ group, and her family in their home town of Kerak for three days. They are Christians and took me to the Easter service. In the evenings, I visited various friends and relatives in the neighbourhood with Dana. Everywhere we went, we had a small cup of coffee and exchanged “Happy Easter” wishes, and then we were off to the next house. It was fascinating to see so many Jordanian homes from the inside and get to know the people. Dana herself is only 24 and has two older and three younger siblings, with her youngest brother being the same age as me. My absolute highlight was the evening drives we took together through the city – with loud music, spirited driving and high spirits, through illuminated neighbourhoods or along dark country lanes. I had a lot of fun.
Now I’m enjoying my last few days with the children. Lately, I’ve also been helping out now and then with the slightly more chaotic boys’ group, and I know I’ll miss the children. I’ve grown particularly fond of the girls. We play Uno Flip together, do crafts, learn, dance and occasionally watch an animated film. I’m always delighted when I can get them excited about things I loved as a child myself, and experience moments of nostalgia as a result. For the past few weeks, I’ve also been singing them a bedtime song every day – often something familiar from my childhood like ‘Der Mond ist aufgegangen’, but preferably a piece from my time in singing class: “The Seal Lullaby” by Eric Whitacre (a beautiful song – greetings to my music teachers).
To my great delight, spring is well and truly here. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be quite like in previous years – there’s not enough rain – but it’s already noticeably greener than last summer. The good weather and nature coming to life lift the spirits – and so time flies by. I can hardly believe there are only three months left. Personally, I’m currently preoccupied above all with the question of what will happen after I return and how my summer will unfold. I’ll let you know here as soon as I’ve come to a conclusion – but perhaps I’ll get in touch again before then.
Warmest regards
Caro
This text was automatically translated using an AI-powered translation system.
