I don’t know about you, but I love to learn when I travel. And since traveling often means meeting people from all different backgrounds, I’ve discovered that I love learning more about what these “different from me” people consider to be important and, of course, as is often the case, that includes their religion. So from my own active researching as well as reaching out to ask friends who practice, I’ve learned a little bit about many of the major and not-so-major religions around the world – what’s done, why they’re done, etc. I think it’s made me a more well-rounded person and helps me keep a more open mind about those who are not the same as me.
Anyway, as I write this, it’s just past the halfway through Ramadan (May 26 – June 24). To grab a quote from History.com:
Continue reading “Flying + Saudi Arabia Airlines + Ramadan = Fascinating!”
delayed, standing in a cattle call atmosphere until your section is called and being told there’s no room for your carry on so you have to gate check it. Then you finally get on the plane and it takes forever to get to your row because the guy in 24C is trying to get something out of his bag in the overhead, you’re squished into your middle seat for what could be several hours, there’s a screaming baby is behind your left shoulder, his older brother is kicking your seat incessantly, and the woman next to you has taken her shoes off and is eating a tuna sandwich, while the guy on the other side of you has only periodically stopped coughing and sniffling so he can spit his chewing tobacco into an empty Gatorade bottle that he has placed between the two of you. Granted, not everyone has to go through every aspect of that process, but most people have experienced at least some of those on just about every single trip. So yeah, it’s stressful. And when people are stressed, their sense of niceties can sometimes go out the window, things can become tense, and suddenly cell phone videocameras get turned on. The friendly skies are really not so friendly anymore, are they?
