Ramadhan in Wisconsin

Not everyone has the opportunity to fast in the foreign land. So I was glad that I did experience it, twice, and on both occasion I was alone. No family members. Just friends.

The first experience was way back in 80’s, in US. I studied in UWEC, Wisconsin for 2 ½ years, and Ramadhan was during the summer. Oh boy! It was the longest day in my life. The Imsak was around 4 something in the morning, while the iftar was around 8 something at night. To make it worse, it was a hot summer day, and I was still adjusting to the weather in US.

Since the day was long, it gave us time to cook for iftar. Nothing fancy. Just some simple malay dishes with rice. No noodles, no kuih and definitely no teh tarik.

Since it was summer, the favorite drink was cold drinks. Carbonated drinks or fruit juice. That was the first thing that entered my mouth after a long hot day. 

Since I took summer classes, it was not so bad. At least half of my days were in the classroom, but then morning was never really a problem. It was only in the afternoon and evening when the weather became unbearable.

To keep me cool during the hot day, I normally spent my time in the basement. It was much cooler in the basement compared to my apartment. Furthermore, when you were on scholarship, you tried to save every single penny for other things, and air-condition was considered a luxury for us.

And one great advantages fasting in a foreign land (non-muslim country), you can eat if you are not fasting. I remembered that I went to KFC or other fast food outlets to have my lunch, but then I replaced those during winter, which posed another problem.

No doubt, the day is shorter in winter, but the body also becomes hungry very fast. We really need to keep our body warm with layers of clothes. Eh! Winter in Wisconsin will always requires you to wear layers and layers of thick clothes. Macam Michelin tyres. But it was still my favorite time of the year to replace those days that I didn't fast. 

Ahh! What an experience, and I cherished it. Nothing can take that away from me. 


Oh ya! Tomorrow, I will blog about my experience fasting in Jakarta with no kids, no hubby except office mates.

Sekian. Salam.