Saudi students abroad miss spiritual atmosphere of Ramadan back home

ALKHOBAR: Saudi scholarship students abroad face difficulties, particularly in Ramadan, as they miss iftar’s spiritual atmosphere when the whole family gathers together at one table each night.
Another challenge faced by scholarship grantees abroad are the long hours of fasting, most of which are spent in universities attending lectures and other kinds of study.
Speaking about her experience, Dalal Al-Harbi, a scholarship student from Alkhobar who studies in Colorado in the US, said: “There is no comparison between spending Ramadan with our families at home and spending it abroad as we miss the voice of the muezzin, the family gatherings and the spirit of the city during this month.” She said that she prepares iftar meals for fasting people as a way to loosen her homesickness during this time.
Mazen Al-Ahmadi, a scholarship grantee in Montana, in the US, who fasts for 19 hours daily, said: “I want to be with my family in Saudi Arabia during Ramadan. The greatest challenges I face here are the long times of fasting and intensified school hours, exams and assignments, in addition to the scarce options of food.”
Another scholarship student in Virginia said: “I am forced to have iftar during the lectures inside the classroom, but I invest the opportunity to inform my colleagues about Islamic rituals.”
Ramadan rituals including Taraweeh prayers require the availability of mosques, but there are only 1,209 mosques in the United States. To meet this shortage, some students said they rent halls in hotels for the whole month to be allocated for Taraweeh prayers.
On the positive side, Saudi scholarship students in the United States believe that the Ramadan experience abroad is an opportunity to strengthen relations between the Muslim community there and even between scholarship students.
Eiad Makki, on a scholarship for postgraduate studies, said: “The difficulties I face include timing and high temperatures, but I can overcome them through spending time with friends and relatives to have iftar together, and meeting with Muslim communities.”
Muhammad Hamed, a student who studies in Boston, said that Saudi families in the United States invite students to have iftar during Ramadan with them. In addition, the Saudi Club offers many activities including sports and iftar meals during Ramadan.