Adjusting to life during Ramadan

In the middle of all the work to get the apartment ready we're also having to get used to life in Abu Dhabi not made any easier by the fact that Ramadan started on Saturday. Although, as non Muslims, we are really expected to fast from sunrise to sunset, it's quite hard not to have to join in. All cafes, restaurants and bars are closed during the day so you can only get something to eat or drink when you're at home. Even in the Sheraton we had to have room service on Saturday lunchtime as nothing was open.
I sent John off to work with a bag of fruit and a bottle of water, but, because he had a busy day with lots of meetings, he was never on his own to eat the fruit and he wasn't able to have a tea or a coffee. Most of the restaurants only offer Iftar, once the sun sets, which is an arabic buffet, very communal and often in large marquees. I shall get the chance to try this later this week as there is an Iftar for all the staff and students of the Masdar Institute at the Shangri La, which will also be a chance to get to know John's colleagues and to meet the students.
John has some of the key people over from MIT this week as we'll so we'll be taking Iftar with them too. I am fretting about how the Americans will feel about the absence of coffee and lunch. I know how I'd feel, especially after an overnight, transatlantic flight! Still, they've been involved with Abu Dhabi longer than we have so I expect they are prepared.
John will have to take Iftar again on Thursday night with the MIT visitors and his colleagues so on Friday I'm hoping he'll be ready for some more of my cooking.
We met our next door neighbours, a delighful couple from New Zealand and they very kindly invited us in for a drink. That is a real treat as, without a licence, alcohol is a scarce commodity. I'm already eyeing our duty free stash and feeling a bit protective of it! You can buy alcohol, but not without a licence, which would involved a lot of work for John and having to ask colleagues to sign papers etc. so, I think, what with John's time pressures, we'll have to make sure we eke out the duty free! No doubt a little abstinence won't do us any harm!