em>Tantalizing aromas wafting from dozens of trays of Middle Eastern cuisine permeate LaPita from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. But even with the tempting dishes literally right below his nose all evening, waiter Wael Hamade avoids even a taste of the freshly made food during daylight hours in Ramadan, holding steadfast to the Muslim practice of fasting during the holy month. The University of Michigan finance student says coping with the mouth-watering meals is far easier than coping with another challenge: His patience.

I started fasting at a young age, so I don’t feel hungry. I don’t feel that I need food. The most difficult thing about waiting tables is you have a lot of people you have to serve at the same time because that’s when they’re breaking their fast. Most are Arab. And Arab people are very different from American people because they’re very demanding. They have to have their coffee. If they see you coming back without their coffee, they get mad. They think they are the only ones fasting. People don’t understand that we want to eat too. If the food isn’t served when they want it, it may not be the waiter. The kitchen may be backed up. But you have to be patient during Ramadan, especially since you’re waiting on tables. But I am able to keep my thoughts positive because I’m a believer. I believe that serving people, especially those who are fasting, it’s as if I’m fasting the whole day, and God is rewarding me for that. The only thing that bothers is not drinking. I need to drink.

(Not all experiences are bad). It was the second day I worked here during Ramadan, I remember something nice. I was waiting on a big family. The mother was eating and she asked me if I was fasting. I said yes. She stopped eating. She said, “Will you break fast?” I said, “No. I’m really busy.” She said, “No. You have to take this (date).” I said, “I don’t have time to eat it and I can’t eat in front of customers.” But she made sure I ate that date. She stopped eating and fed me. That was something real nice.

When I’m working, sometimes I don’t break my fast until 9 or 10 o’clock. On the weekends, it’s midnight or 1 o’clock. That’s the first time I eat. I drink a little bit of water, and then I eat right then. The first thing I eat is a date. When it slows down, we rotate tables. So, if I’m eating and people walk in to eat at my table, you would watch my table while I eat. When I eat, it’s not as if I’m enjoying my meal. I have to eat so fast. Sometimes I don’t eat at the restaurant. I wait until I get home, and I’ll eat some of the food that mom makes.

Surprisingly, I don’t get light headed or headaches (from fasting longer hours).

I keep focused and think about what Ramadan is. You’re depriving yourself of the comforts of eating or food. It’s a spiritual thing. It’s a month I wait the whole year for. Our belief is what you do in this month is what determines how you do the rest of the year. Ramadan, for me, is not just depriving yourself of the food. You also deprive yourself of bad thoughts. That is harder than food. But when you ask God for something, like to fast, He will be there for you.*