In sickness and holiday

My absence from my blog in the last week has been due to illness and holidays. A week ago Monday was the holiday Shab e-Barat. On this night Muslims pray and ask God for blessings in the next year. The men walk around outside praying all night - or until they get tired. During the day on Monday many stands popped up along the street selling the caps that the men wear when they prayer. Tuesday was the actual holiday as everyone sleeps to recover from their night of prayer. Patrick wanted to buy some cereal on Monday, and being the clueless foreignors that we are, we rickshawed to the market. I was actually glad for an excuss to see the holiday happenings. As we drove down the dark streets, we saw many men out walking wearing the prayer caps and long white robes. We passed a mosque and saw all the men praying. At various points we passed structures decorated with Christmas lights. Later we saw beggars lined up in a row with bowls ready to receive alms from those praying. Needless to say the shop that Patrick and I were looking for was closed, but I think the trip was well worth it.

My next stop that evening was to visit some Taize boys and play games. They felt the need to make me a huge bowl of rice, even though I had already eaten dinner. Then we went to the local hotel or tea shop for tea and flat bread and a sweet treat specially made for the holiday. I think I was the only woman in the whole street. We sat and drank our tea as the men walked by in their caps and white gowns. While we were sitting there the electricity went out, and then a wonderful thing happened. A huge gust of wind started blowing, and I though that the hotel and I would be blown away. The wind however brought rains later in the night and much cooler weather that I have been enjoying ever since. Shab e-Barat was a success. The next day was the holiday, and the streets were empty and cool.

On Wednesday evening I got really sick - sicker than I've been in a long time. It was rainy and I was cold - which never happens. On Thursday and Friday I stayed in bed and received visitors. Each day I had about a dozen people coming to see if I needed anything and bringing me food. As soon as one person left more came. It was completely different than being sick in the U.S. Lisa and Bubly made me food, and Ms Nath made sure I didn't get dehydrated. On Saturday I went on a day of biking and visiting Taized schools acrossed the river. I really wanted to go, though I wasn't sure if I was well enough. The kids were so cute and we played games and sang with them. On Sunday Patrick and I went to Muktagatcha to visit Jerry and Ethel. We actually knew where to go, what to say, and where to find the bus, so the trip was quite relaxing as a result.