The end of Ramadan!

Since my family is Muslim, they have been (partly) observing Ramadan for the month of September, so the first of October was a celebration! It was like a Muslim version of Thanksgiving and it was wonderful!

Malika spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning cooking and cleaning in preparation. When I got home from class on Wednesday, people were already arriving. They came in waves, but total I think about thirty people squeezed into our little apartment. Friends and family were invited, but I think we hosted the entire Chechen population of Denmark!

The women, children, and men all ate in separate rooms, the women all covered their heads with scarves and stood up every time a man entered the room. Everyone was hugging and kissing and talking a hundred words per minute in a mixture of Danish, Russian, and Chechen. So basically, I understood about 1% of what was said, and that 1% was mostly about me, but it somehow felt nice.

Obviously I did not observe Ramadan, so I wasn't sure if I should celebrate its end, but everyone insisted that I eat (and eat and eat and eat) and they all seemed genuinely happy I was sharing in their celebration. The food was delicious! I want Malika to give me the recipes for some of the salads and desserts. I couldn't tell you what I was eating, but it was so good! It really felt like Thanksgiving! There were no prayers said or any mention of Allah... it was just a family reunion!

I bonded with the children, of course. Laila was two and spoke very little in any language, but she did know "I love you" in English and by the end of the day, she could say my name! Most of the children were around eight or nine, and they dragged me outside in the cold rain to play tag and hide-and-go-seek. If you can say "tal" (tag) and count to fourteen in any language, you could play! Later we ventured into my room... which was a terrible decision on my part because they never left! It was fun though. We played Krig (War) and Fisk (Go Fish) and listened to music on my computer. Khava discovered Skype and spoke to all my friends!

People began to leave around five, but Malika's sisters and their children stayed all night. I have no idea where they slept! Our kitchen is now bursting with fruit and candy and other hostess gifts from the guests, in addition to all the leftover food. After fasting for a month, they know how to make up for it!