Thoughts About Summer

During the month of May temperatures soared into the 100’s where they remained for over a week. The knowledge that this was going to seem cool when August arrived helped me to practice some patience with the unseasonably high temperatures. Because the heat had just begun, I could still hang out on the upper floors of the house, although the ground floor offers some very comfortable, fresh feeling air up until August.

All too soon, I will move to one of the bedrooms on the ground floor and stay there until the fall. The only drawback to this is it reduces the number of rooms to rent to tourists, or drives me up into the heat when I want the revenue for a night or two. But I’ve done it before and I can do it again. And there is always the terrace to sleep on at night and a cold water shower available -- provided I move the washing machine out from under it.

This year will be the first year in a while that I will spend the summer in Morocco. With Ramadan starting around the 20th of July and continuing through most of the dog days of summer, this year promises to be particularly memorable. The challenge of 30 days of fasting, 18 hours a day in temperatures that often hit 120+ degrees Fahrenheit looms around the corner. I, personally, will not be fasting, but everyone around me will be and I will adapt to the rhythm of night turning into the time for activity and day being a time for suspended animation. I will try not to eat during the hours of fasting but I will continue to hydrate myself… but only when no one who is fasting can observe me. In this very small way, I become part of the month-long fast.

Some Moroccans here appreciate my effort to join the collective fast, however imperfect it is. Others dismiss the effort because of the drinking and I understand their position. But for me, I know I am doing my best to show my respect for the holy month of Ramadan while I am living in a Muslim society. And even if I can’t demonstrate 100% solidarity, I do recognize the meaning behind it all and I have great respect for everyone who will be fasting this summer.