Who are we?

This blog is an agglomeration of the thoughts and experiences of two American girls who packed up and moved to South Africa on a whim. Caz from Fairfield, Connecticut and Mandy from Milwaukee, Wisconsin first met as roommates in 4127 on Semester at Sea in Fall of 2010.
In the interim, Caz returned to finish her Bachelor of Science with a double major in Biology (concentration in Microbiology) and Geography with a minor in Chemistry at the University of Miami in Florida, while Mandy took a hiatus to rediscover her real passion working with pregnant women, advocating for home birth and delivering babies outside of a hospital environment. We reconvened to follow both of our fields of study (read: hopes, dreams, asiprations, life goals, etc.) outside of the United States. Hello South Africa?

We are both here for at least a year and a half, though the more time we spend falling in love with South Africa, the more we'd like to think it'll be longer. We are both starting jobs in November/December: Caz working with infectious disease at a hospital clinic and Mandy beginning her training to become a certified midwife. Before then, we are both writing a book about our experiences leading up to this adventure as well as the multitude of serendipitous happenings that led us here.

As always, feel free to comment or ask questions. If you have an interest in a topic, let us know and we will surely oblige you (within reason). Enjoy!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Muslim Christmas

One of the more unusual expressions I've heard a lot recently in Cape Town is "Muslim Christmas". 

 Muslim Christmas? Why have I never heard of this before? I have Muslim friends back in the states. I've been to Muslim countries. No one said anything about Christmas, especially not in August. But here, all of a sudden, Cape Townians are abuzz with talk of Christmas sales and Christmas supper. 

 I made the connection last night when my South African, who is Muslim, told me Christmas had been moved from today until tomorrow. Eid he meant. Everyone has been talking about Eid. The breaking of the fast at the end of Ramadan, marked by the lunar calendar. All of a sudden the talk of Christmas seemed silly. I was very aware of Eid al-Fitr, and had been in Morocco for the end of Ramadan back in 2010 when all of Marrakesh had celebrated in the streets. 

 Muslims around the world mark the end of Ramadan by the identification of the new moon by the Imam. As this can vary based on your location, different areas of the world either follow whichever day Saudi Arabia chooses to celebrate, or identify the moon independently and simply push back the date. Cape Town has an interesting tradition in that Muslims all gather in Green Point, across from the colorful and vibrant Cape Malay (Muslim) quarter called Bo-Kaap, and a local Imam makes the call based on the appearance of the moon. 

 Last night I was informed that Christmas had been moved back a day. Eid celebrations will continue on tomorrow, which mainly consist of heading to a mosque for prayer, and a big feast with family, friends, neighbors, everyone rejoicing they completed a month of fasting and can now return to a normal eating schedule. I suppose they call it Christmas due to the fact that children often receive gifts from their family and many people exchange presents, but it's very much a misnomer. 

 However, at least Muslim Christmas is in the winter. Christian Christmas in Cape Town is in the middle of the sweltering summer heat. Now that's a mindfuck for the average American. 

 Merry Christmas and Happy Eid Cape Town.

- Rh
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