What does it take to fast?

For this ‘slight’ framed gentleman with an over-active metabolism, it takes a whole lot of restraint and some strategy.

I know, many of you will be thinking, “weren’t the Indian parasites enough, now he’s forcing himself to get skinnier on purpose!”

Well, let me explain. Ramadan, is a holy time for all Muslims, of which there are about a billion (actually, I wiki-ed it). During these 30 days, followers abstain from eating, drinking and sexual activity during daylight hours (insert joke here) and practice good deeds and extended prayers. The general idea is to cleanse you sins committed over the year and ask friends, family and God for forgiveness. This year, Ramadan began on August 11^th (the date changes with the Islamic calendar) and will finish on September 10^th with a huge feast called Eid ul-Fitr!

For a non-Muslim, what does Ramadan mean? First, it’s an act of solidarity with my co-workers. Although they would not judge me for taking a hidden snack or two, I am certainly encouraged to joining them in daily restraint and in breaking the fast together every night. Also, Ramadan is a time when the stomach can rest. Especially for someone like me, who normally eats every four-five hours, fasting gives the stomach a chance to rest (although mine has not stopped complaining enough to rest yet). For people here, this is thought of as a healthy way to cleanse the body. Third, Ramadan gives people a chance to reflect on what it must feel like for those people around the world who don’t get enough to eat in a day and continually feel the pain of hunger, if only for a little while. Finally, Ramadan is a challenge, a chance to prove that the mind is stronger than the body and that your life needn’t be controlled by physical urges.

As for strategy, I use the tried and tested method of stuffing oneself as much as possible before the Muazzin sounds 5am from the Mosque next door. This means a breakfast of instant oatmeal, boiled egg, protein shake, banana, mango and at least a litre of water. Trouble with this strategy, is that it is impossible to go to sleep with so much food rumbling around inside. So, I go to work early, make essential skype calls and plan the day’s tasks. During the last three days, I have been spent more time in the office than out. I anticipate that the weekend will bring it’s own challenges to be sure.

However, for me, I have no goal to reach. If I start to feel bad, tired, overly dizzy, or am unable to do the things I want to do, I will break my fasting. For my co-workers, they will look to mighty Allah for guidance and support, and fall back on a lifetime of annual cleansing months and continue on.

Restraint is not something I’ve had a lot of practice in my western world of constant consumerism and instant gratification. But, day-by-day, I am learning just a little more about it in Indonesia.

Until next time,

Teron

Survey Day

Elderly respondent

Kid thinking about his answers

Surinah getting interviewed

Siti getting interviewed

A day like any other, in a small village near the equator in West Sumatra, begins at 5 in the morning with a call on the loud speakers from the muezzin. As villagers pray to Allah, daybreak brings the inescapable heat that will stay until after nightfall. Today however, is not like any other day, as today is survey day. As part of a two-year disaster risk reduction program, Mercy Corps is testing out an evaluation technique called cost-benefit analysis. The goal is to quantify in monetary terms the cost effectiveness of the awareness, education, skills training, capacity building and small infrastructure projects, which make up the P3DM program.

Now, my training is in the social impacts of disaster and is far from economics based, so it’s a good thing I am working with an economist intern at my side. Bringing us to the days activities, we are conducting a survey to collect data on the effects of a short tsunami evacuation route built from a high risk village near the ocean’s shore to a village on higher ground a few kilometers away. This evacuation route will, in times of disaster, help community members flee from an incoming wall of water caused by an offshore earthquake. This program will not save houses or fields from begin damaged, but it will no doubt, reduce psychological trauma, injuries and lives lost in a tsunami. During normal times, this escape route will be used as any other road, bringing with it a route to transport goods, go to school, visit the doctor and talk to neighbours. For our purposes, these are the quantifiable economic impacts of our program, with important results for this rural community.

Siti, is 55 years old and the head of her family. She earns a living by renting a small plot of land near the new escape route to plant, grow, tend and harvest rice and corn. Her’s is not a life for the weak of body or spirit. Siti relates the fact that, with this new road she will be able to transport her crops to market in half the time it would have taken her previously. This is not only an added convenience, but the extra efficiency will allow her to add significantly to her earnings of about $4 a day to support her and her family.

Sarinah is a single mother of four and the owner of a small café (think food stall with fried rice and instant noodles). For her, this route will allow her children to get to school faster and allow her to gather her daily supplies for cooking much more effectively. This increases her wages as she is able to open her stall earlier in the morning and prevent closures due to running our of supplies. Not unconnected to this expected extra income, Sarinah is in the process of fixing her home, which was severely damaged by the earthquake in September 2009.

These, and many other stories like these, are what make my experience in West Sumatra so valuable. While we struggle at our computers trying to figure out how to put a dollar value on saving a villagers time, I think of all the Sarinah’s and Siti’s, whose daily struggle is just a little bit easier thanks to this program. It makes the early mornings and oppressive heat a lot more bearable.

Indonesian Food

Fresh grilled red snapper surrounded with all the trimmings, a la Padang. In this moderately fancy restaurant on the beach with a great sunset view, this fish costs about $5.

An assortment of delicious Padang dishes

Indonesia is known for it’s great food. Sate, fried chicken and Nasi Goreng tops the list of staple food groups and mobile stands line almost every courner selling one or the other. Padang is also known for it’s great food. Famous for the barrage of small bowls or plates that a single server brings to the table, lined all the way up his or her arms, filled with different items. Fish, chicken, beef, veggies, sauces and cassava chips overwhelm the palate as you strain to try a little of everything. Problem with this though, is that you pay for what you eat. Meaning, if you eat any little bit of it, you pay for the whole thing. This can quickly add up the rupiahs on the bill with a table of curious foreigners.

As for less well-known street food items, I have come to recognize a few.

Martabak: This “Indian food” is more of an experience to watch being prepared than it is to eat. It is made on a base of light dough, tossed around expertly against the tabletop until it is so thin that you can see through it. Then it gets folded into a square and a runny but chunky meaty-vegetable sauce is added in a heaping mess. This is spread out, and the dough is folder over the sauce to make a nice package of goodness. This is grilled with the help of a huge tub of margarine for ten minutes, chopped into twelve bite sized pieces and served with an onion/chili soy sauce to either dip into or pour over your delicious martabak package.

Skotang: Indonesia’s answer to eggnog. This sweet egg-based drink is a late night favorite for street food. To a cup of raw egg, add a table-spoon of condensed milk, a handful of crouton-sized chunks of dry bread, a teaspoon of various spices, including but not limited to, cinnamon and ginger, a heap of tapioca balls and a handful of roasted peanuts. Froth until fluffy and add steaming hot water. I will admit, it sounds awful, but is actually pretty good, but by the end of the cup the tummy starts to turn just a bit.

I am finding that eating out at local restaurants is actually cheaper than buying food at the market. Why this is, I cannot tell, but it suits me just fine, well, most of the time. I frequent one particular restaurant, owned by two middle-aged women, that has four things on the menu to eat and eight different things to drink. The food: Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng (fried noodles), Spaghetti (think ketchup on soggy noodles), and Kwetiau (Chinese egg noodle stir-fry). The Nasi and Mie are great and cost about a dollar. But, just because it is not on the menu doesn’t mean that they don’t arrange special meals to let us try dishes not usually made in restaurants. One day last week, the lady asked us if we had tried Rendang and was aghast to be told that we hadn’t. She invited us to come three days later to try it the way that she cooked it. The reason we were to come three days later, we found out, was because it takes three days to cook Rendang. Her special twist to this delicious dish of unknown ingredients was to cook it with duck instead of the normal beef. The meal was fantastic and afterward, she would not let us pay for it, as it was her treat to introduce us to local food.

Overall, the food is great. I miss a few staples from back home, but I am learning to replace them with new staples in true Indonesian style. Although, I don’t think I will ever be able to eat spicy fried rice for breakfast as do most locals.

Until next time,

Teron