After experiencing Ramadan, the muslim fasting-month, in five islam-influenced countries (Syria, Turkey, Iran, the united arab emirates, Pakistan), searching for food in closed or hidden stores that only opened in the night and mainly drinking or eating indoors on toilets or in my own room, had an end and Eid, the final celebration of Ramadan approached.
The first time I heard about Eid, some pakistani couchsurfing friends told me that it would be hard to get a train in the days before Eid, because everyone would be on the way home to the family into the villages or into other cities. When I came to Lahore, where I initially just wanted to stay for a day or two, I realized that I was stuck. I wouldn't get a bus to Islamabad -all full and not frequently going- and I would stay in a big pakistani family, celebrating Eid.
Eid is in the eyes of the children comparable to the christian christmas. People go and buy new beautiful clothes and the pakistani way to enrich the beauty includes gold-shiny bangles and mandis (the henna-decoration on hands).
There are feasts being cooked and the families gather. No more fasting. And the children get money and little presents from the adults.
Officially there are two days off. But honestly: all week long was celebrated as a holiday, no one went to work, the banks weren't open and the people enjoyed the free time in parks or with movies.
What did I do? I played „baraf pani“(/“ice water“), a traditional game with the children of the family, in which one person catches the other, who is „baraf“(/iced) and cannot move until another person touches you to make you „pani“(/water, fluid, moveable) again. And this definitely enriched my Urdu skills. So, if you really want to learn something: get stuck somewhere, celebrate what's being celebrated and play around. You're a child in the new culture anyway.
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