Seasons

My mom asked me about seasons - does it ever change or is it always the same?  What about the sun rising and setting?  Surely there is some change because of the rotation of the earth's axis, etc.  

So I did some research and discovered the following:

The official sunrise in June is 7:06 a.m. and in December it is 7:15 a.m!  The longest day is 12 hours and 18 minutes and the shortest day is 11 hours and 56 minutes.  The temperature is always between 88 and 91 for the high and 73 to 75 for the low (this doesn't include the heat index or what it really feels like).  It was 90 the other day and felt like 103 but there was a breeze and we didn't turn on the air con until about 2:00 p.m. because we had the ceiling fans going.  

The rainiest months are November and April with over 11 inches.  October is pretty high too.  "Cool" weather comes in November and December (we're talking 88 instead of 90).  March is the warmest month.  

But for the most part things stay the same day to day.  

We were in the US recently and got to see a bit of the leaves changing color.  That was very cool.  I think I miss fall the most.  I like waking up with that crisp feeling in the air.  But, I'm glad we are here too and I can always crank up the air con and make it feel really cold.  

Eid

Today is the beginning of Eid, or Hari Raya as it is called here.  September has been the month of fasting - or Ramadan for Muslims.  They begin their fast about 5:30 each morning after an early breakfast and then don't take water or food again until the evening - generally about 7:15 in our area, although it changed a bit each day.  About 60% of the population are Muslim, so you noticed the difference when you went out at lunch time.  The restaurants were usually only filled with Chinese, Indians and Westerners like us.  Occasionally there were Muslim mothers with children since those under 12 usually don't fast.  Dinner was an interesting experience.  You needed to get to a restaurant and order before 7ish in order to get your food in a timely fashion.  The Muslim families would come and pre-order and then their food was delivered right at the time when they could break the fast.  Restaurants often provided complementary dates and a refreshing drink which is how the fast is broken.  If you came too late to a restaurant, you run the risk of a) not getting a table and/or b) not getting your food until every Muslim in the restaurant had been served.  They had been fasting and therefore were a priority customer.

So, fasting ended last night and we heard fireworks late in the evening as people celebrated.  There were special prayers at the mosques and the PM gave a speech on the television.  Ramadan begins and ends with the sighting of the new moon, so there was official confirmation of the sighting on TV as well.

Today begins a long holiday weekend.  The tradition is for everyone to go to their home town and visit family.  All month long people have been buying new clothes and decorating their homes.  There are special cookies to be baked and also charity to give.  It is said that there is a special blessing to give during Ramadan.  

The roads were almost empty tonight when we went out to dinner. It was like Christmas Day or Thanksgiving.  Lots of shops are closed and of course the post office and banks.  Tomorrow will be the same.  Some folks will be off on Friday as well.  So it is a really long weekend.  Most of our friends have gone to see family and many of the students as well.  

It is interesting to observe the traditions and holidays.  I'm so used to not having a big holiday until November and December.  But here there is Ramadan and then Diwali will be at the end of October (Indian festival of lights).  There will be another Eid in 70 days which is right after the Hajj in Mecca.  Christmas isn't really a big holiday, but Chinese New Year will be in late January and that is always a big celebration.  More on these as we experience them!