Since we arrived, until the 21st of September, it had been Ramazan, which meant that many Tajiks were fasting from morning until evening. Cafes and restaurants were generally slow during the day, but at 7pm they began to be flooded with people. Not everyone is expected to fast here, for example children and students, or those who are ill or diabetic, do not fast. There are many adults who also don’t fast during the day.
Everyone, though, celebrates the end of Ramazan with a large feast. Yesterday, the 21st, everyone cooks tons of sweets and food and opens their house to guests to come and share. One of my tutors invited us to her house, and we visited for a while, during which time we were fed cake, soup, bread, sweets, an oily-spiced-bread-ball (?) and tea. At one point when I had nothing on my plate left, our host explained that Tajiks like to fill-up their guests, so if one’s plate is clean it should be re-filled. This had been the custom in Armenia, also, and even though I had been brought up to ‘clean my plate’, I eventually adapted. Switching between American and Caucasian/Central Asian customs takes a concentrated mental effort before it becomes habit, and I realized that I have a lot of adjusting to do here in order to: 1) not offend people and 2) feel comfortable in my interactions with Tajiks beyond just the language.
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