Mar 6, 2014

The Baha'i 19 Day Fast... oh, that's TODAY?

So here I am back in Thailand again for a short trip this time as I head towards Europe, and my mother politely reminds me via Skype that it's time for the 19 day fast.

If I remember correctly, this is a no food or drink or gum or smokes from sun up to sun down for 19 days then you end the ordeal with a great big feast... that is, IF you happen to be in the big city.  I am not.

I thought to myself, yes! I can handle this.  I will just sleep until noon, and the sun goes down at 6:30 here in Northern Thailand so I really only have to tolerate a few waking hours of starvation and nicotine withdrawl.
The hardest part will be no water...

I woke up this morning at 4am as the chickens so often tend to sing at the strangest hours... perfect!  I will eat and drink for the fast!  I ate 2 bananas, good for hydration and craving control, a small bowl of mushy sweet hot cereal (no idea what it's actually made of but it claims to be healthy.), a cup of hot tea, sweetened with unrefined chunks of cane sugar, and one strawberry. I was too lazy to wash any more.

I was proud of myself having the ability to wake and eat, prepared for the day!  This is it! I am going to spend the month praying, meditating, finding my inner self, making peace and figuring out what the heck to do with my life!
That's exactly what I will do!  If I get hungry or want to smoke, I'll read a prayer from my little white prayer book! *Thanks mom* and I'll go for a jog and maybe sweating out all my water will help me shed a few pounds. It's all toxins anyways, right?
What is fasting for?  CLEANSING!!!  Starve the body and feed the soul!  It's really just intermittent fasting, right?  I have been to lazy to give that a try so maybe this is my chance.

It's 3:27pm.  I have a headache and my mouth is dry.  I am dying for a smoke.  Or nicorette.  Something.
I'm really hungry now... and I am dreading going outside for fear of extreme dehydration.
Maybe if I have one smoke it won't be so bad? Does that count?

I pull out the prayer book and read ALL TWO BLOODY PRAYERS.  Now what??? Argh. My eyes hurt.
For some reason my mind keeps wandering to food and recipes... What the hell!
I try to read up on Baha'i stuff online.  Maybe find a Nawruz party nearby....  I come across this hilarious blog of a Canadian guy in Thailand who experienced the exact same thing I'm going through now, I'll post it so you can take a read.

https://samuelbenoit.wordpress.com/tag/thailand/


I've also been considering volunteering myself.  But then I think, no I can't! I don't have enough time. My visa is up March 26th and from there I need to head either a) back to Canada and find a job or b) go to Italy earlier than I anticipated and teach some English.
But I'll bookmark the service page for Baha'i's in Thailand, one day I'll get to it.
Why does everyone on Facebook talk about food?
3:31pm.  I guess I'll take the dog for a walk, and read those 2 prayers again. I'll have this all memorized by the end of this fast.

This is great, I can't wait to do it again tomorrow.