I miss celebrating Ramadan in Algeria

Ramadan Kareem!

I’m not Muslim, but that didn’t stop me from eating all of the goodies when everybody broke the fast in Algeria … but I also learned a lot in the process.

Fasting. This part looked so difficult because the idea is to not eat while the sun is out. Sounds okay until you realize that Algeria has 17 hours of sunlight during Ramadan.

I remember my first Ramadan in Algeria vividly because on the very first day, I fell down a marble staircase and broke my foot, preventing me from fasting like everyone else. If you are sick or otherwise physically incapacitated, you are excused from participating which made me feel bad because all of my Algerian friends looked like they were suffering during the day and I wanted to fast in solidarity with them.

So the second year, I made a promise to fast no matter what … and … let’s just say that I was not prepared at all. The daytime was a blur but my Algerian colleagues cheered me on and I was eager to see the scale become kinder to me everyday. Even though the days were rough, the nights more than made up for the sacrifice.

To be clear, Algeria is lit during Ramadan. Everyone is very chill during the day because … calories. But at night … Algeria during Ramadan is arguably one of the best places to be in the world. They have a whole party island where folks eat and dance the night away. One night, my friends and I broke our fast on a party boat, and I went with another group to the old city and ate under the stars. I even filmed a television show and “cooked” with my dear friend Fatma. Well … she cooked but I really enjoyed the meal, lol!

I have to admit that the best moments were at peoples homes. My friends mom cooked a feast for me one night … including a “brick” which is something like a square egg roll fill with a fried egg, minced meat, cheese and vegetables fried in a crispy shell. It was delicious, but it was about as big as my fist. So I ate it, but still had a whole tables worth of food left to try. So … for the culture … I continued to eat.

People have fun during Ramadan, but they take care of each other first. Almost everyone did some kind of community service and every homeless person got a good, free meal.

This is Algeria to me. These are my fondest memories and I wish my husband and I could be there to celebrate with them.

RAMADAN KAREEM!

the trendy one

PS: have you checked out the latest podcast episode of “the family we choose? If not, head on over to iTunes or Spotify to get your weekly dose of Nikki and the Dutchess.

Episode 12 of “Inside the American Kitchen”