I WILL SURVIVE

…and I have survived my first week of fasting!

*Takes a bow*

*Gives “high fives” all around*

Bercanda! (Just kidding!) It really wasn’t so bad. It probably helped that I had last week off so that I could get through the first five days at home and not have to work or really exert myself. But I still like to think my iron will and intense concentration had something to do with it as well. =)

So here’s how it went down. The first day, I got up around 3:30 am, ate a bunch of rice, then went back to bed feeling sick because of eating that much food so early. I woke up again around 6, went about my day and killed time, then around 5:30 pm we were able to break the fast. For dinner the whole family sat down to eat together, for the first time, and the meal was served. At that point food in proportions I had never encountered before for six people were laid out and ready to be devoured. Sugar-loaded drinks were refilled constantly in all of our glasses. Cakes, cupcakes, and all sorts of sweet and savory deep-fried snacks were forced upon me—by the bagful—and I ate it.

As you can probably imagine, I overdid it a little. I felt so sick after eating that much food. I couldn’t sit, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t sleep—it was too uncomfortable—so I made Bu Sul take a walk with me. We walked around the village, talked to a bunch of neighbors (who offered me more food), met some new people, and I started to feel a little better….but not much.

So I made a decision. This could not continue for 30 days…there is no way I could survive if I had to eat like this every day. The next morning I got up and made scrambled eggs, two, with a side of cherry tomatoes. It was yummy, filling (but not stuffing), and it was a normal sized meal. Just because I am fasting does not mean I need to eat truckloads of food in order to get through it.
I still tend to overdue the evening meals a little… I can’t help it, there’s just so much delicious food and I’m so hungry at that point…but I continue to take long walks.

There was one day that I broke down and had a drink because I had been walking around all day in the scorching heat of being about 7 degrees away from the equator and I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to die and I think God and everyone else will understand… I hope. Other than that, I have been really good about not breaking the fast until sundown!

So that’s the first week… I’ll continue to keep you posted on how it’s going!