Hassan came over again. He was in a good mood - as always. His presence made me happy as well. He was talking about his studies and how he was looking forward to spring break. He also spoke about honoring the fast during Ramadan. In his home country, Ramadan 2024 will start on March 12, 2024 and will end on April 09, 2024. The Ramadan daily fast starts after the sehri or suhur and is broken with the evening meal, iftar. Hassan mentioned how, during Ramadan, his father Amir would remind everyone in the household to wake early for sehri; otherwise, they would have to go without drink and food until iftar. Hassan added that every morning during Ramadan, Amir would get up early to start the day's fire outside in the brazier. The brazier is a square or rectangular metal contraption for creating a fire, usually to keep a tea kettle hot as well as to keep the humans warm whilst outside. Hassan said that his father would make certain to "spill the wheat" for the chickens in the yard. I assumed that "spill the wheat" meant to throw wheat on the ground to feed the chickens. When I asked Hassan to clarify the idiom, he laughed and said that he has gotten a lot of funny feedback from other people, not of middle-Eastern descent, when he used such a term as "spill the wheat." He said this one guy at the university asked him if it meant gossip, which made Hassan laugh so much that his stomach ached. Hassan still laughs at his university mate's interpretation of "spill the wheat," mostly, because why would his dad Amir want to feed the chickens with gossip. When Hassan shared this with me, I laughed really hard, too. I told Hassan that "spill the wheat" would make an excellent code phrase to be used between him and me whenever someone shares gossip or tries to be too nosy and intrusive.
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