Ramadan Iftaars in Jordan

This weekend marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. It is a pretty big deal for Muslims as it is one of the five pillars of Islam and a big deal for non-Muslims in Jordan because restaurants close during the day and it is illegal to eat, drink or smoke in public.

My favorite part of Ramadan is the iftaar: the big meal that is shared at sunset to break the fast. The best iftaar that I attended this year by far was when I accompanied the Questscope team to break the fast with a non-formal education (NFE) center in Al-Rusayfa, about 45 minutes outside Amman.

That particular NFE center is very well attended and there were about 40 boys at the dinner along with their facilitators, the Ministry of Education liaison, and the principal and superintendent of the school that hosts the NFE sessions.

NFE boys feasting

Mansaf: a traditional Jordanian dish of rice, lamb and tangy yogurt sauce eaten with the hands

Me and the NFE boys in Al-Rusayfa

About Laura McAdams

Laura McAdams is a Master’s student at University of Pennsylvania studying International Educational Development. Her experience in the MENA region includes 15 months as a Fulbright student researcher to Fez and Ifrane, Morocco in 2010 and 2011. Her project was interested in understanding the disconnect between the policies of technology usage in education and the reality of how these policies unfold in the classroom. Summer 2012 she returned to the Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco to work with a women’s weaving cooperative. She is excited to learn more about other countries in the MENA region and issues involving education policy and reform, technology usage in curriculums and gender equality in education. One of Laura’s lifelong goals is to one day be able to sit down and leisurely read a newspaper in Arabic.

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