Thursday, June 18, 2015

Ramazan Log Moondate June 18th, 2015 9:45-11 AM

The drums woke me up at 2:30 in the morning. I drank a lot of water. To be on the safe side I set an alarm for 5:00 AM, which is 12 minutes before the sunrise. I drank water then as well.

Although our working hours have changed to 10:00 to 3:00 during Ramazan, I still got up at seven. In the vacant lot eleven floors below my window I saw a pack of five dogs resting. Quickly I dressed and went down to see whether I could pet them.

When I approached, I avoided eye contact and crouched down so as to make myself less intimidating. Typically this body language works with dogs in the US. However, Turkish dogs seem to view these movements in a more negative light as if one is reaching for a stone to throw at them. Thus, the dog pack scattered. My bad. They galloped up the side walk, and looked both ways as they crossed a busy intersection. (It's true that the dogs here in Turkey actually have street smarts. And it's good that they do, I actually saw a vehicle swerve as if it were intending to hit them.)

I followed the pack for a while, reading my Kindle as I walked. One of the dogs lingered behind, but he didn't hold still long enough for me to pet him.

It is now 11:00, and Jena and I are at work. I'm definitely hungry, and seeing others (Jena included) drink coffee and water is making my stomach pangs more acute. This morning we had a quick meeting with our boss, and I asked him about the phrase to use during this time of year. He said either İyi Ramazanlar or Ramazanınız mübarek olsun. Since the latter means may your Ramazan be blessed, I'll sign off with the other one, İyi Ramazanlar--literally, Good Ramazans.

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