This Moroccan Life

Sitting in a cafe on this beautiful sunny December morning in Rabat, I realized that my experience is rounding up. I am hitting the two week mark and I am perplexed at where the time went. Thinking back to two weeks into the experience, I was just getting into my homestay, adjusting to Ramadan, and observing the Moroccan way of life. That time seems surreal as I have now adjusted my life to a Moroccan way of life. While I am not, nor will ever be mistaken for a true Rabati, I have fit myself into the mold of an ex-pat student studying in a country that is completely different from my own. Still walking down the street I am stared at, asked for money, etc…basically I still stand out.
But more importantly I have found myself embraced into the Medina and Rabat in general. I have friends at every corner, hanut(corner store), and cafe I frequent. At my favorite hanut, I walk up to the counter and he says “Sahabi” (my friend/brother) and gets my Twix bar and crackers ready before I ask for them. We exchange the general 5 minute Moroccan greeting and I head to class. At Passion Creme, a delicious ice cream shop we frequent, the workers come out and shake our hands/hug us as we approach to get our daily fix of date gelato.
I know comfortably speak Arabic with my family, on the street and with my friends. One of my best Moroccan friends and I can only communicate in Arabic, as his french is about as good as mine, and his English is even worse, yet we still hang out and have built a friendship. I never thought this day would come, speaking Arabic semi-fluently, but I am ecstatic that living here has made that possible.
Our Arabic professors have been such a positive influence on our experiences here. Class has been more than studying from a book and memorizing vocabulary. We discuss political, social, and cultural issues everyday, allowing me to contextualize my arabic and use it in real life situations.
Living with my Moroccan family has been one of the best experiences of my life. I was extremely nervous coming into the program about cultural differences that would cause issues between us. Would my western, agnostic, liberal ideals clash with a traditional muslim family? Would communication be possible? Could I bridge the gap between an American lifestyle and a Moroccan one? None of my concerns were ever an issue. I bonded with my family from the beginning and was able to create real relationships with my family members. I discuss political and social issues with my father in Arabic almost every meal. We have debated human rights issues, social freedoms, and religion over delicious meals, while never getting angry or upset. (Every discussion ends with him telling me to eat more.) I spent a lot of time this semester helping my mother in the kitchen, learning how to cook and teaching some tricks of my own. I now know how to make Moroccan couscous and traditional dishes, and she knows how to make lasagna. Communication with my grandmother has been the most difficult because she speaks an older dialect that isn’t spoken that much anymore. Though there is this large road block, we have established gestures, certain words and phrases, and signs to communicate. I have never entered the house without her offering me food or tea, and we still joke and laugh though we can’t understand a word the other person is saying.
Though my experience in Morocco is not over yet, I needed to write this to organize my thoughts and clear my head to make the most out of the last two weeks I have. I will continue to live like a Moroccan as long as I can, probably until I have to go through customs. Though I can’t wait to be home and see everyone, I am not ready for this Moroccan life to end.

Ma’a Salaama

Arabic Word of the Day:

بسحة رحة

(bis hou raha)

to your health and hapiness
[one of my favorite Moroccan phrases that embodies much of Moroccan life]

Thanksgiving in Morocco

Though I think it is still Thanksgiving in the States, I am 8 hours ahead so I wanted to with everyone a Happy Turkey Day.

The beginning of yesterday was a little difficult, I was really missing home as this is the first Thanksgiving I have been away for. I did have a great day though. My friends from the program and I all pitched in and made an incredible Thanksgiving feast. We had mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, a whole chicken, I made real stuffing! Another friend made a HOMEMADE pumpkin pie, which was absolutely delicious, definitely one of the best things I have tasted in three months. We all sat around a rug on the floor (10 of us), some of us with bowls, some with plates. I used a spoon to eat because my friends Moroccan apartment was not exactly equipped with all of the things we needed. Though it wasn’t the same as home, we put it together and pulled it off with our limited access to western needs. We called it a Thanksgiving miracle!

Tomorrow is Eid Al Adha, so in a few hours I will be experiencing the sacrifice of a Ram, in my living room. Wish me luck!
This is a video of “Majid Jooj”, our families sheep for Eid El Adha. (Don’t worry, he is alive and kicking in the video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBaoTlQokLc

Ma’a Salaama

Arabic Word of the Day:

العيد الشكر

Eid Al Shuker

Thanksgiving

Lasagna in Morocco

So this past week we had Moroccan Independence Day, which didn’t mean much except a day off of school and a small fiesta the night before at my friends apartment. When I told my family I was going to celebrate Eleum Al Istiqlal, they laughed at me and said they don’t even celebrate it. But they sent me off and we had a nice party at my friends apartment on the other side of Rabat on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, I woke up after abusing my well deserved sleeping in privileges and decided to cook dinner for my family! I had been telling them all along that I knew how to cook, but I don’t think they ever believed that a 20 year old student could cook for himself. So that afternoon I headed to Marjane (a giant costco-esque supermarket) with my friend Maura. To get to the main supermarket in Rabat, we had to take a taxi, but it was only 8 dirhams.
Upon arrival at Marjane we were astounded by the civilization before us. It felt like being in a regular supermarket (which we were), though there were constant reminders of Morocco around us (Qurans in the aisles, lack of brown sugar, people eating from the produce aisles…).
After an adventure through the store, and me breaking a giant glass picture of a framed quranic script in one of the aisles, we ate Pizza Hut and took a cab home. [No stress, as soon as I accidentally knocked the frame over with tthe cart, I was horrified, but the Marjane employees didn’t seem to be to worried and told me to keep shopping and not worry about it mashee mushkel.
At home, I began to cook my delicious meal, complete with a veggie Lasagna, garlic bread, green salad, and a Betty Crocker yellow cake. My mother loved seeing me in the kitchen, she wanted to learn how to make it, even though she had never had lasagna. She spent the whole time looking over my shoulder and asking me questions about what I was doing. On the other hand, my grandmother was not too fond of me preparing a meal. I guess some traditions stick, and I don’t think she liked seeing a young man in the kitchen. (But she did like her first Lasagna!)
I prepared the meal pretty smoothly, with inevitable mishaps and bumps, as my traditional Moroccan kitchen is not designed for what i’m used to, i.e. oven temperatures, spices, broilers, foil…
My family loved the whole meal and I was really happy to prepare it for them. It was everyone’s first taste of lasagna, except for my father and there were NO leftovers. I was worried but it all worked out.

So that is my story, here are some other quicker updates:
-I am really starting to feel a part of my Moroccan family. My mother calls me ibnee, which means my son, and after cooking the meal for them, I think they know that I want to be a part of their family too.
-After another dinner last week, my father and I jumped into a fifteen minute debate/discussion. A man on the TV was talking about human rights in Morocco and because I had studied this, I jumped into talking with my father about this. This heated conversation was also in Arabic only. It was one of the first times outside of class that I was very confident in my language skills and was able to make my self clear and understood to a native speaker. Go Me!
-I now have a sheep living in my house. We are preparing for Eid Al Adha (The Big Holiday in Morocco) and this sheep is a vital part of it….more to come on that.
-Classes are going well, I now have to start two big papers. I guess it’s time for real schoolwork!
-I miss everybody so much! I will get back to the West Coast on December 21st! So I better see everyone ASAP, and I will get back to Boston in January 10th…the day before my 21st birthday!

Ma’a Salaama

Arabic Word of the Day:

ماشي مشكل

mashe mushkel

No Problem!

A Whirlwind Month

Hello All,

I am finally returning to world of blogging after a long hiatus. I have been around the world since my last blog post, but I am safely and happily back in Rabat.

After my Excursion around Morocco in early October, we came back in the middle of Midterm Exams. After a stressful week of studying for hours on end, I made it through and we had our fall break. That week was amazing as I traveled with some of my friends to Barcelona and Lisbon! This was an incredible trip, so much fun and SO civilized. Traveling in Europe really made me miss efficiency and order, so this December I will be very happy to be home.

After that, I spent a good week at home in Rabat, recovering and focusing back on school. I had some major reading to catch up on, but I got it all done. Then, this past weekend I went to Tangier and Chefchouan. Tangier was great, we stayed in a 50 dirham a night hotel ($6.50) and walked around to all the fabled hangouts of Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsberg, Tennessee Williams, and all the other Beatniks. We then took a cheap bus to Chefchouan and stayed at a 40 dirham a night hotel ($4.50). It was a fun weekend which culminated with a 7am bus ride home to Rabat. But it was also a cheap weekend…spending less than 300 Dirhams (about $35), though it was the constant cheap, unsafe, and dirty transportation/living situation that made it priceless.

I am now back in Rabat and doing well. Focusing back on school, and I actually ended up doing really well on my midterms! I got my first A on an Arabic test ever, and did well in my other classes. I guess I really must be learning something.

The next few weeks look pretty busy for me…2 fifteen page papers, arabic tests, and a few cities left to see in Morocco. I thoroughly plan to take advantage of this great opportunity on the last half of my study abroad!

I plan to do some major filling in the gaps soon….so you will all know how Europe was and how classes are going, I also have some new observations on Moroccan culture to share, so look out!

Ma’a Salaama

Arabic Word of the Day:

عافوا

‘aafwaan

Sorry (As in sorry for my lack of blogging)

The Return

I’MMM BACK! in Rabat that is.

I’ve just had a few days of recovery and I am getting back into the swing of things in Rabat. My trip was INCREDIBLE and I had a wonderful time. I would love to write about it in one long blog post, but to do it justice, I am going to break it up into a few sections.

Part 1: Marrakech

We left Rabat at 8am, and I was giddy with anticipation even that early in the morning. My excitement was dulled a bit as I lugged my bags through the Medina after waking up 10 minutes earlier. The entire BU Program went on the trip together, along with our Program Director Fadoua and our Driver, Muhammad. After immediately falling asleep on the bus we stopped at a rest stop called “Desert Oasis”, little did we know that in two days we would be sleeping in a real Oasis.

We arrived in Marrakech at about noon and grabbed some delicious lunch. We then got 4 hours of individual time to explore Rabat. My friend Sara and I ventured out to the Sa’adian Tombs, which are a 15th Century relic of an old Berber Dynasty. {PICTURE}
Sarah and I met up with the rest of the group and we headed over to a few Major Marrakech monuments. We went to the Ali Bin Yusuf Madrassa (A 16th Century Quranic School) the Marrakech Museum, and the Almoravid Qouubba (an 16th Century Mosque and religious sight).
The tombs were no doubt the most interesting monument, but walking around Marrakech was like a museum itself. Though it is very touristy (much more so than Rabat), it was really fun and a complicated place. After living in Morocco for over a month, I almost feel comfortable in the Medina and have learned to enjoy bargaining for things. Though I didn’t buy much in Marrakech, I did get a great deal on Soccer Jersey. I bargained it down 150 dirhams, first by surprising him by speaking only in Arabic and then by saying “I am a student, I am poor”. I was proud of myself.

We ended our free time with a walk through Jem’iya Al Afnna. This is the main square in Marrakech and has every cliche and fun Moroccan attraction. From Snake Charmers, to Monkeys, to Storytellers, the square is always busy and it was a great place to people watch.

We ate dinner at a Cafe near our Hotel (I had Pizza!) and then walked around the square some more. The square really came alive at night. There were thousands of people out walking around, playing cheap little carnival-esque games, eating, dancing, listening to story tellers. It was really fun. I bought some fresh squeezed Orange Juice from the street (delicious) and some dates to snack on.

We ended the night at about midnight and all hung out in the hotel for a bit. I was exhausted and wanted to be well rested for the next day, which turned out to be mainly driving through the mountains. After two hours into the drive the next day, I was told that we had 6 more to go…guess I should have read the schedule.

Overall, Marrakech was great. It was really touristy, with a lot more foreigners than I have ever seen in Rabat. The vendors were a little more aggressive and the Moroccans were a little ruder and condescending to tourists but my Arabic changed that a bit. The city has a lot of really interesting history and some very cool things to see. It’s definitely a must-see on any trip to Morocco.

My trip just gets better and better…so I will write more later!

Ma’a Salaama

Arabic Word of the Day:

كرة القدم

(kurat al qdem)

Football [Soccer]

Quick Update Before My Trip

I am about to leave tomorrow on a big trip around Morocco! I am very excited for this epic adventure, here is a brief description of the trip:

-Sunday…to Marrakech [snake charmers, museums, monkeys, nightlife\
-Monday...to Zagora
-Tuesday....Bedouin Camping in the Sahara Desert [camels, jeeps, bedouin music]
-Wednesday…Raiss, Village Night
-THurday…Fez [hats, donkeys, insanity]
-Friday…Fez, Moulay Idriss, Voloubiliss [Roman Ruins, Moorish Ruins, Oldest City in Morocco]
-Saturday…Chefchouan [Spanish inspired town]
-Sunday Back to Rabat

This is going to be a crazy trip and I can’t wait to experience it all and then tel you all about it. I will be out of reach for the week, but I’ll try to read my email in Fez. I will have a few BIG blog posts about this trip to make up for a week of being absent.

A short update on life in Rabat: I was very sick earlier this week. FLu like symptoms and such, but it seems that i am all better now. I missed a couple classes but my teachers all understood and they actually prefer me to stay away from them. Moroccans are a little paranoid about Swine Flu.
Classes this week (the ones I made it to) were actually really good. Arabic is definitely improving and I can hear myself getting better. We had class in a cafe on Thursday and I got an ice cream sundae, during class time. Life in Morocco is SO difficult.

As far as fun activities go, I was sick so that was a little limited. Though yesterday all the BU kids went to TGIFridays for lunch! We were craving some American food and it was an experience. I’m not a big fan of Fridays in the States but in Morocco, the Double Stack Quesadilla that I ordered was just what I needed. All the waiters have to speak English and the Menu’s are in English, so it was a nice escape.

Ma’a Salaama

Arabic Word of the Day:

رحالة

(rahaala)

journey, trip, adventure

As Time Goes By

So I have just returned from great weekend in Casablanca. It was a great time for all of the BU students to let loose and get to know each other as we navigated Moroccan trains, taxis, and Casablancan life in general.
We left on Friday afternoon and made it to the Train Station for the 14:00 train. We made it and were on our way before we realized we had left Rabat! At the beginning of our trip, we were all excited to get out of Rabat for a bit, the Medina and family life was getting a little intense.

We arrived in Casablanca, and thanks to the help of a trusty iPhone, we located our hotel. We stayed in Hotel Central, in the Medina of Casa, close to pretty much everything we wanted to be close too.

That night, after an adventure around Casablanca to find a grocery store, we headed to Rick’s Cafe Americain for Dinner. Yes, if you’re wondering, this is the Rick’s Cafe from the movie Casablanca. While the movie wasn’t filmed in Casablanca, or even remotely about Morocco, an American moved to Casablanca and opened the restaurant. It is designed almost exactly like the movie. As it is one of my favorite movies, the dinner was a very enjoyable experience. The piano player played “As Time Goes By” at least three times, and we were served three courses of delicious four star meals. This and a bottle of wine was a big splurge for us, though at 650 Durhams, it was under 100 dollars for all of us. That night we went to a Spanish-style Tapas Bar and had drinks and danced a bit at the club. It was a really fun first night in Casablanca. It felt pretty unreal that we had only been in Casa a half day.

The following day we woke up, I woke a little sick, but excited to go see Casablanca! We left the hotel after a delicious breakfast of bread, butter, jam and coffee (a traditional daily Moroccan breakfast) and we headed over to the Hassan II Mosque. This Mosque, just a fifteen-minute walk from Hotel Central, is hard to describe in words. My pictures don’t even show its full scope. It is HUGE, our tour guide said that you could fit Saint Peters Basilica inside of the main prayer hall. It is the largest Mosque in Africa, and the third largest in the world. It was completed in 2004, and was a monument dedicated to King Hassan II who died in 1999.
It really is beautiful, though the Mosque is new, the zellig (traditional Moroccan tiling) on the Mosque is from traditional Moroccan artisans and made in the traditional way, just on an overwhelming scale. It can fit 25,000 people in the main prayer hall and on important holidays in Ramadan, over 100,000 people attend the Mosque each day.
After our tour of the Mosque, I returned to the hotel to eat and take a well-needed nap. After a good rest, the rest of the BU kids and I headed over to Ain Diab, which is the popular nightlife part of Casablanca. It is right on the beach and is in a really beautiful location. We went to a couple of bars/restaurants and ended the night on a sweet terrace overlooking the Atlantic. The night ended on a bit of a sour note however as we discovered why Moroccans dislike Casablanca and the men in Casablanca. A couple of the girls in our group had split off from the main group and then they were followed by some creepy Moroccan guys. It was pretty upsetting but then as the girls met up with us, the guys let off when they saw Sean and I with them. It is pretty funny that how Moroccan guys back off as soon as they see us with the girls—though I am pretty threatening, all 5’9” of me.

We headed back to Rabat the next day, all of us looking forward to Rabat and the place where we all feel at home. We had a great train ride back, (I got a copy of the Economist in English!) and we arrived in Rabat to clean streets, nice people, and another busy Medina.

Overall, Casa is alright. I am happy I went and saw it, Rick’s was INCREDIBLE, and the rest of the city was fun. It was just pretty dirty, dusty, and the people were a bit iffy. Not the best place in Morocco, but an experience nonetheless.

Ma’a Salaama

Arabic Word of the Day:
حشومة
(hashuuma)
Shame-commonly used in morocco to describe shameful actions.

Quick Update

Hello! Sorry I have been AWOL on the blog. I am doing great, just really busy with classwork. We just had the big holiday weekend for the end of Ramadan (which I will write more about later) and I am heading to Casablanca this weekend! I’m ready for some Humphrey Bogart inspired adventures through another big city in Morocco.

Ma’a Salaama

Arabic Word of the Day:
مشغول
(mashGHruul)
busy, occupied

My Trip to Kenitra

So this past weekend, my brother and I took a little trip to Kenitra.  Kenitra is a city close to Rabat, about 40 minutes by bus.  And I had absolutely no idea what to expect when leaving, and I still am a little confused about what happened.

It started on Friday afternoon, we left Rabat and got on a random bus headed in the direction of Kenitra(insha-alla).  After about 20 minutes we apparently had to get off as the bus pulled over on the side of the road.  This “bus stop” was an experience to say the least.  It was comprised of dozens of Moroccans waiting for buses, 5-10 stands of people selling fruit, nuts and roosters, 2 cars with angry Moroccans fighting over something and me, the only American.  I stood out a bit to say the least.  After 10 minutes, a bus pulled up and dozens of people rushed at it and began banging the bus, but the driver didn’t like that so he drove away with out picking anyone up.  Another bus came soon after and actually let people on!  We pushed our way on to that bus and made our way down the highway to Kenitra.

This other bus was a little different than the first, by different I mean smellier and dirtier.  It was also a little more rowdy, at every stop more people jumped on to this rickety bus and were screamed and shouted about allah-knows-what. We got off in twenty more minutes in beautiful Kenitra.

I won’t say Kenitra was not what I expected, because I literally had no expectations, but it isn’t the most beautiful city I have ever seen.  It is kind of like San Francisco’s San Bruno; there are some highlights (great beaches, and fun people) but it overall isn’t the biggest tourist attraction.

We went straight to my extended families house, where I was introduced to 4 aunts and uncles and lots of cousins of various ages.  The best part was, none of them spoke english!  Surprise! We had a great ftour, where the family laughed at me for ten minutes because of my reaction to my aunts question.  I think she said “would you like coffee or soup?” and I was really confused at the question and hesitantly responded with “both”.  This was apparently hilarious in Arabic, and I am still unsure as to why this was funny.  At least I didn’t have to talk in broken Darija for ten minutes.

The night only got odder as my brother, two 19 year old cousins and I left the house to go to Mehdia.  As I found out, Mehdia is a beautiful beachside town just on the outskirts of Kenitra with a carnival, restaurants and live music.  This was great.  We went to the carnival and did the shooting games, though it was with some intense BeeBee guns here, with a pretty big kickback.  And then we decided to try this roller coaster. [By we, I mean my family, because I was just pulled along for the ride]

This ‘roller coaster’ was a 50 foot loop where you get in a rollercoaster-esque car and it took you around and around and around.  Our ride began with 4 men examining the ride yelling at each other in Darija and looking at the front of the car.  I guess they fixed the problem as the ride started and we SQUEAKILY began to move around the ride.  As we got higher and higher, I realized that Moroccan roller coasters are not regulated, there were no safety placards or “You must be this tall to ride this ride” signs.  When we reached the apex of the ride, fully upside-down and dangling as the crossbar across my lap was a good six inches from my legs, the ride decided to malfunction.  We were left dangling there for 2 minutes,  what a blast!

Eventually the ride decided to move again and we made it down.  Queasier, sicker, and a little dizzy, we laughed our way off of the ride and I was able to genuinely share something with my cousins who don’t speak English, schaudenfruede.  We all laughed at each other misfortune in experiencing the Moroccan Disneyland.

After our near death experience, I was ushered around Mehdia to another wacky place.  We went into this bar/concert/cafe thing with live traditional Moroccan Music, Belly Dancers, hookah and lots of Moroccans.  We sat down and ordered some sodas and watched the night unravel.  The music was really interesting, it was Sha’bee, which means ‘popular music’, though is is very different than the American Pop music.  A man was singing while playing the violin turned like a cello, with guitars and traditional drums backing him up.  After a few minutes, the unfortunately overwieght belly dancers began moving through the crowd and giving ‘shickas’ which is the Moroccan version of a lap dance.  The dancers just kind of stand next to you and shake their hips with the gold belts, thankfully they were covered completely in Jellebas.  This was one point in the night where I just had to ask myself, “what the hell is going on?”.

The dancers continued to move around the crowd as the music continued.  The dancers thankfully skipped our table, as I really wanted to avoid that interaction.  About an hour later, as we were about to leave,  the entire place seemed to go crazy and everybody got up and began dancing like crazy.  So my cousins dragged me in front of the stage and we all just kind of danced and moved around like freaks for 10 minutes with 100+ Moroccans and 5 overwieght belly dancers.  Again, I had to ask myself “what the hell is going on?”

Overall, Kenitra was an crazy experience to say the least.  I would say it was enlightening, but I am still unclear as to what exactly happened.  It was really fun, but also exhausting.  Being the only American and the only English speaker for 2 days was draining, but good for me.  I just think I’m going to need a few weeks before Kenitra Part 2.

Moroccan Mint Tea

Almost nightly, my friends and I seem to end up at Cafe Arab, which is the internet cafe just outside of the Medina.  Every night it seems to fill up with dozens of American and foreign students who are all skyping, chatting, emailing, doing homework, and most importantly, socializing in English.  A full day of trying to speak in Arabic, French and Darija can stress one out a bit, and a little English conversation is often just what we need.  The cafe allows us to escape our often hectic Moroccan lives and connect to our concept of the ‘real world’.

Another important facet of Cafe Arab is the traditional Moroccan Mint Tea.  Moroccan Tea is a green tea, with the pot stuffed full of fresh mint leaves and a fair amount of sugar.  At first, I was a little weary of the tea because of how sweet it is.  But after drinking it all the time I have come to appreciate it more and more.  It does not fall into my concept of what tea is, it is more of a drink, like a soda or any other beverage.  The fresh mint that give the tea it’s namesake come straight from the shops I walk past everyday in the Medina.  This connects the city and the people in Rabat to the tea.

Another interesting part of the tea is how it is poured.  It is a Moroccan tradition, as my brother explained, to pour the tea from high up to allow air to mix in with the tea.  I am still practicing this, being especially careful as I pour it on the same table as my computer.  Every part of the Tea is very Moroccan.  The tea pot, the way it is poured, the ingredients, all are part of Rabat; and drinking it daily connects me even more to the city.

As I sit in Cafe Arab writing this now, I sip on my tea and am able to reflect on my experience in Morocco, even while I’m connecting home and into the ‘real world’.