Ramadan, take two

A closeup of the sesame blossoms. Aren't they pretty?

I'm at the Nioro louma today with a sack of millet, which my host mom asked me to sell for her. Millet has not yet ripened, so it's last year's grain, which we're lucky to have plenty of. Prices should be pretty high anyway. With whatever money I get, she asked me to buy half a kilo of "gejj" - dessicated fish, usually on the bigger side, which have been split open and dried into thick slabs - and "ketchax", which are smaller fish, also dried and salted, but to a kind of flaky, oily consistancy. If I have any money leftover she wants some cloves to put in the coffee. Ramadan has come again, which means breaking fast in the evening. Nothing special happens to kick off the month. Last night the prayer went longer than usual, and people cooked a special dish after dinner, but that was it. This morning no breakfast, except for the kids. And no lunch. The big question on everyone's mind is whether or not I am fasting. And the answer is: kind of. I don't plan on eating anything all day, so I can break fast with the family at sundown. But, if I'm thirsty I'll drink. People kind of chuckle when I tell them this; it's not real fasting, they say, but they understand that Americans are pansies and don't really expect me to fast anyway. The fact that I am doing it at all is surprising and, I think, they appreciate it. But it will make for long days. No food or drink between sunup and sundown! Only no doubt I will cheat and have an occasional (okay, a frequent) piece of candy and a drink of lemonade in my hut. The crops are ripening, though, and some will be ready for harvest during the month. That will be exhausting.