Ramadan in Turkmenistan

When I heard I was coming to Turkmenistan over two years ago and that it was an Islamic country I was excited to learn more about Islam and perhaps participate in Ramadan. When I arrived and saw that most Turkmen call themselves Muslim but very rarely are practicing their religion. Many, if not most, Turkmen drink large quantities of vodka, I have never seen anyone attend a call to prayer, in fact, we have a mosque in my village but it never announces prayer. I would absolutely hear it – it is located only 2 blocks from my house (one from my previous host family’s house).
Most readers will also know that I have fasted for three days each spring since I was 16. This year I did not fast. There were several reasons at the time and so I decided to hold off this year.
Therefore, two days ago when my host sister told me she was observing Ramadan and my host father said, “Kelsey, you should do it, it is very helpful for people” I thought about it for about a half an hour before I decided to participate.
A few notes: Ramadan starts in the evening so as I count days they start in the evening and end the next evening around 8pm when we’re allowed to eat dinner. According to my calendar Ramadan this year started Tuesday evening the 10th of August. My host sister started Wednesday evening the 11th and I found out about it Thursday evening the 12th. I anticipated starting on the 12th and asked my host sister to knock on my door when she woke up to do breakfast. She didn’t. When I asked why she neglected to wake me the next morning she informed me that if you don’t get up on your own volition you won’t be blessed: it won’t be a successful Ramadan.
I decided to get as much information about the rules as my host family saw them and then begin that evening – Friday the 13th.
Rules:
1) No food or drink while the sun is up.
2) No alcohol.
3) No swearing.
4) No bad deeds (being mean).
Friday evening I had my regular dinner and went to bed early (10ish). I set my alarm clock for 3:30 when I got up, made myself breakfast (coffee, boiled milk, bread with butter) and went back to bed around 4:30. I woke up to start the day at 7, read my bible, and went to work. It is now 9:40 am and I’m mildly hungry, but no more so than I would be at lunch time. The problem is that I have to wait until 8:15ish tonight before I can eat or drink anything. I will absolutely be taking a nap this afternoon and reserving all of my energy.
Last night and the night before (my villages official first and second day of Ramadan) small groups of children showed up at our house begging for sweets and candy. They would chant a saying that bestowed the giver of sweets with blessings for wealth and long life. It reminded me of a religious Halloween. The first night we had 4 groups of children and last night I lost count at about 7. My host mother said this was a lot of kids. All of the children who are observing Ramadan visit their neighbors who give them candy or cookies. My host father told me that this occurs on the first, second and third nights.
I finished Ramadan, I wasn’t a very faithful observer, but I did a lot better than the majority of Turkmen I know. Even my host sister, who was very observant for the first few weeks stopped in her observation because she had to go pick cotton.