Welcome from Saudi Arabia during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan
Islam uses the lunar calendar as a basis and this applies to Ramadan as well. The month of fasting begins with a new moon and ends with a 4 day holiday called The Eid. This is my first experience with Ramadan! So I thought I would share some of my learnings. No photos in this blog, sorry for those of you who need visual effects.
Ramadan Kareem is a greeting during this month. Translated it means Ramadan is generous. During this month followers fast during the daylight hours. No food, no water, no nothing! The evening meal is referred to as Iftar and is usually a large family event. All of my Saudi colleagues are fasting at work during the day. We (the expats) do not eat in front of them. For those of you in the corporate world that means no food or coffee during meetings! We do have a 'sin room' where we can have a bite or cup of coffee. But all coffee stands, snack places, etc are closed. Only the main dining hall is open one hour for lunch.
During Ramadan, the Saudi working hours are 0700 to 1:00. The rest of us work to 4:00. This also applies to support functions like HR, passport, etc. So getting things done at work gets to be a real logistical exercise.
We did have a couple of meetings with our strategy team at night to have some time to think with food. We started at 7:30 PM and went to midnight. I was starting to feel like grad school again :-)
Perhaps the most interesting part of Ramadan is the shopping. Since the majority of Saudis are fasting and meditating during daylight hours, most stores have very limited hours during the day. Big stores (like Ikea and the mall stores) are open from 1:00 to 4:00 during the week. Then open up again at 9:00 at night until 2:30 in the morning. Local shops only open up at night. A group of us went once in the evening, we only made it to midnight. I'm not sure I can do that again, it really messed me up for a couple of days.
The other things is how quiet it is around camp! I went to swim laps after work and on weekends, and it's only 2 or 3 of us in an 8 lane pool. Once I went after work and I was only one swimming. A weird sensation, me and 6 lifeguards watching me go back and forth.
One good thing, the golf course keeps the same hours. So if you are looking for me, you know where to find me.
Take care, next post will be during The Eid.
