In a New York Minute: September 2007

Happy Guacamole Day!

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Ramadan Kareem

I will admit. Until recently, I had not heard that phrase before. And to be honest, I knew little about Ramadan beyond the fact that it was a Muslim holiday that lasted for about a month, characterized by fasting from sun-up until sun-down.

The diversity on our team is great - in our small office, we have people born in so many different countries; if we added up the number of countries that we have all lived in at different periods of our life, it would be many more. Two of the guys on the team who work in the NYC office religiously observe Ramadan, and several more who are working on the Expansion Teams in Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman are experiencing Ramadan firsthand for the very first time.

Being surrounded by the holiday - much less than those who are in the Gulf, but more than I ever have before nonetheless - has sparked a sense of curiosity. My other team members and I have discussed doing mini-fasts and meditation, in addition to proactively understanding Ramadan through what the others can teach us. Definitely something very new for me - I am excited to learn more about the celebration over the next month until Eid (see, I'm learning!).