Puasa

Puasa means fasting. You hear that word a lot these days.

Ramadan started on October 5 and will end on Hari Raya which is November 4. Muslims-which is like 99% of Aceh-will not consume water, food, and cigarettes (the hardest part for some people) between sunrise and sundown. People get up at around 5 am to eat their morning meal and to pray. My staff have been coming in early and leaving around 4:30 to go buy food and groceries for breaking the daily fast.

This is a pretty harsh month for the restaurant/food stall business. They're closed except for between 4-6pm and some open again from 9-11pm. All stores are closed during the evening praying time which is between 7-9pm.

This is the first Ramadan after the tsunami and my staff have indicated that they've noticed some differences. For one, during 4 and 6pm, the main streets use to be packed with people shopping, now it's much quieter. Another difference is due to the non-Muslim invasion of Aceh, there are a couple of restaurants that remain open all day. That never happened before. But, these restaurants must cover their front windows so other people can not see in. I went out for coffee this afternoon and drank behind a butcher paper covered window.

I'm off to go learn Bahasa in Yogya tomorrow. Should be much more happenin' there since Aceh is about as Muslim as you can get in the Archipelago. I should have a decent Internet connection at the hotel.