Moroccan AAERS (engagement party): luxury edition

So this weekend I decided to stay home and relax, assuming I wouldn’t have much to blog about but the everyday-life of my family. Boy, was a wrong. Today when I woke up, I got a text from my friend Lucy asking if I wanted to go to an engagement party with her at 2. I figured it might be fun and I should really get out of my house more, so I said sure. My family was eating lunch at 2, but I assumed that there would be lots of food at this party so I did not eat with them. Lucy told me to wear my jellaba and meet her at her house at 2; we both assumed that we’d be home within a couple hours.

PSYCH.

2:30 – we get picked up by her friend (Moroccan, but speaks English) and her mother in a VERY nice car.

3:00 – we pick up the girl’s sister from the salon, who happens to be the bride. Her hair is in a gorgeous up-do with tons of curls and some pearl clips embedded into it. She looks amazing.

3:30 we get dropped off in Sale (outskirts of Rabat) at a huge house and are told, “not to be shameful” (whatever that means?) and make ourselves at home. We walk in and a plethora of Moroccan women dressed in their fanciest jellaba attire greet us and welcome us graciously. They take us up several flights of stairs and we finally are told to sit in this large, beautiful room they call “the third salon”. We are introduced to a few girls around our age and then sit and wait another hour or two while more and more people come into the room. Many of the women are from Casablanca and after spending only a half an hour or so with them they invite us to their homes in Casa “whenever we wish”. They tell us we must come and “not stay in a hotel”. Everyone is super nice and Lucy and I are having a great time. By this time, however, we are absolutely starving. I woke up and had some Malawi for breakfast, and then went for a run…and did not eat afterwards. Lucy did not eat lunch either. It is now 5:30 and the party has not even begun. We are enjoying the company of all of the Moroccan women but are also tired and anxious to get the party started! At around 6:00 we are told to “yala!!” (get going) and we all go outside to greet the bride. We could tell the family was very well-off by the insanely decorative and luxurious house, but they also had hired camera men, two “singing” groups (which means a very different thing in Morocco than in America) and lots of help.

6:00-10:00 The first group was all male; they dressed in yellow robes with white hats and played different tambourines and drums. While yelling (chanting?) and singing in Arabic. After a couple of minutes a black car drove up and the bride-to-be got out dressed in a sparkly white and gold robe with a crown on her head and a veil behind it. Lucy and I looked at each other and simultaneously thought, “did we miss something? Is this the wedding?!” Indeed, we were not mistaken; we were later told that this was “part one” and the wedding was “part two” – I think they put equal weight on the two parts. After lots of singing and chanting and dancing and yelling at the bride and groom, we all went upstairs back to the parlor and sat around the couple. The second group (all female) began to perform – this time more yodeling than tambourine-ing – and everyone got up to dance. The night continued in this fashion: switching off between the two groups of performers and lots and lots and LOTS of dancing. By 8:00 we were wiped, and extremely hungry. When we thought we couldn’t go on any longer, servants brought up tea and every type of sugary delicious cookie you can imagine. Man after man came up to each person with a new tray of cookies and eventually we had to refuse (not only was I completely sugar-ed out but I also wanted to save room for dinner – the tagine smelled amazing all the way from the 5th floor!) After a few more rounds of dancing we decided to head home. Although we felt bad we didn’t stay for dinner, it was already almost 10:00 and we had told our families we would not be gone for more than a few hours. We exchanged information with a few of the girls and were told multiple times that we had to come to visit them in Casablanca. As we were walking out, in true Moroccan fashion, a woman came running out with a plate with A WHOLE CHICKEN ON IT and told us to take it for the road. We also got two whole platefuls of cookies. Although we tried to tell them we were full and going home for another dinner, they refused to take back the food. As we sat on our way home, chicken in hand, we just laughed at the day we had just had. Who knew a “little engagement party” would turn into a 8-hour luxurious affair. At least we were dressed appropriately!

Marrakesh

First of all I would like to preface this by saying that I spent the weekend lost in the souks where Sex and the City II was filmed. It was filmed in Marrakesh NOT Abu Dhabi. Marrakesh is like the Disney world of Morocco. Although it is extremely touristy, it is a lot of fun. The souks of the medina are incredible. There is some of the best shopping I have seen in Morocco thus far. That being said, prices are a little more expensive, storeowners are very pushy and grab you off the streets into their stores and women are constantly grabbing your hands, attempting to paint some henna on you. The food section smells incredible but everyone is yelling every which way at you to

 come to their food stand and eat with them “for the best price!” We shopped as soon as we got there on Friday night and pretty much all day on Saturday. Although many of the shops are repetitive, it is so much fun just to wander around and discover the magic of Marrakesh. There are street performers, horse rides around the city, snake charmers, and stands beyond stands of fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts, fruit juices, etc. One thing that really struck me as I walked around was the amount of white people in sight. Almost everyone spoke at least some English and people were wearing some very culturally insensitive outfits. I understand it is not Fes or even Rabat, but I saw women in short shorts and tank tops and it was so shocking to be around that after living in djellaba nation over in Rabat. There were also just SO MANY people, it was crazy. Between the music, people and atmosphere it definitely did not feel like the same Morocco I had just come from.

courtyard at the school

me popping my head out a window on the second floor of the school

Our hotel was right outside of the main square so it was very easy to get to and from. On Saturday after hours of wandering through the souks and buying way too many things, we saw an old Quranic school, which was one of the most beautiful sights I have yet to see in Morocco. Every detail of this place was so intricate and beautiful. We spent a while in the school taking pictures and just soaking it all in while we lied in the courtyard and looked at what was around us. We then went into the art museum next door and were even more blown away. There we found not only some incredible exhibits but also, again, every detail of every windowsill, door crevice and corner were some of the most beautifully hand crafted work we had ever seen. The museum was huge and open and truly an incredible sight.

art exhibit main room

After hours of being on our feet, we got a big, late lunch (chicken shwarma and frites with my favorite “ju de peche” - which is basically a delicious peach smoothie). Then we went back to the hotel to rest up before a night out on the town. That night we went to “Pasha” which is the biggest nightclub in Africa. We went fairly early so there was no cover charge but it was a n extremely nice, legitimate, nightclub. Although we were by far the youngest people there (definitely a 21+ crowd), we had a blast. The next morning we woke up just in time to grab some fresh Malaui bread from outside our hotel and caught an 11:00 a.m. train back to Rabat. It was such a fun weekend and definitely a place I cannot wait to return to in November.

Life in the Maghrib - Culture 101

It is hard to believe that I have already been here for six weeks. It seems like just yesterday I was in the Paris airport - nervous, excited and jet-lagged - not knowing what to expect for the 4 months ahead of me. Now, as I sit here in my room (which I now truly feel is home), I cannot believe all of the amazing things I have done. I have written about my travels, classes and friends, but I have yet to talk about many of the cultural activities that go on during the weekdays. We have had a number of formal "cultural activities" as well as a number of informal cultural experiences. I will start off with a few activities that IES has planned and set up for us.
First of all, we have had 2 or 3 "meetings" with university students here in Rabat. Once we actually went to Mohammed V University and met with a professor, the dean and some students. We got a quick tour and were told we were welcome to come use their library whenever we wanted to. We then sat down (around tea of course) and chatted with 3 male university students about their/our studies and what we would do with our degrees in the future. They were very nice and open to talking with us about anything. A few weeks later a [different] group of university students came to the IES center and talked with us as well. This was a more informal discussion and we learned a lot about Moroccan teens and what their lives are really like. The conversation turned from "what's your major?" to "where do you go out at night, what do you do for fun?" We learned a lot from them and are planning on hanging out with them again.

Last night, we had a cooking lesson. We learned to make my FAVORITE Moroccan food: Malaui Bread. We all went to one of the host home's to learn how to make this delicious bread. Before the lesson, however, we were each given our own gigantic piece of malaui with kon fitur (jam), asl (honey), and zebbda (butter). Needless to say, it was delicious. After tea and malaui, we all stood around a table and made our own. The ingredients did not seem too difficult, but the "needing" process definitely takes a pro. Luckily, the woman teaching us was definitely a malaui expert. We all took turns attempting to need the dough, and eventually made our very own malaui!!


Today, for my "Gender and Society in North Africa and Beyond" class, we took a field trip to a woman's organization here in Rabat. The organization was formed as a union in 1983 and legally approved in 1987. The organization promotes women's human rights, literacy among women, works for gender equality and serves as a battered women's shelter. We were able to hear from the head of the organization and have a discussion about women's rights in Morocco with her afterward.  Women's NGO website


In terms of other cultural experiences I have had..

I have been hanging out a lot with my family and am definitely getting better at communicating with them. My brother called me down last night to watch a scary movie with him because no one else was home and he wanted company. We then had an arm wresting match/tournament (which I won by the way). Our house is also undergoing construction right now so tonight my sister, brother, mother and I went up to hang out on the terrace and just sat up there talking/horsing around overlooking their amazing view of the city. My sister and I are also getting really close which is really nice. On Sunday she took me to the Hamam in Rabat. It was definitely a sisterly bonding experience; although we stayed there for almost TWO HOURS. It takes me 10 minutes MAX to shower at home, I honestly cannot even tell you what we did in there for so long. I was so bored that I started zoning out (which obviously did not go over well with all of the naked women in there who thought I was staring at them). The Hamam was fine, but I think I prefer to take my short showers at home, thank you.

FOOD. For those of you that know me well, you know how much I enjoy my food. That being said, la mekla maghribia (moroccan food) is one of the best parts about my living with a Moroccan family. Breakfast, the smallest meal, consists of tea or coffee with some bread (often malaui) with jam, butter, cheese or nutella. As much as I enjoy malaui, however, I have actually started eating my own cereal (special K I bought at the supermarket) for breakfast once I get to school because bread really doesn't fill me for breakfast (not to mention it is going to make me gain 500 pounds before I leave here..). If I am done with classes for the day, I like to come home for lunch with my family. Both my sister and brother (like everyone else that goes to school here) have two hours off in the middle of the day for lunch. Lunch here in Morocco is the biggest and most important meal of the day. If I make it home, I share a large tagine or couscous out of a communal dish with the rest of my family. We often have other family members or friends stop by for lunch as well (The doorbell here is ALWAYS ringing!) On most days, however, since I have class until 6:30 p.m. my mother packs me lunch. She usually makes me a sandwich, often accompanied by fruit and/or yogurt. My favorite sandwich to get is a chicken and veggie stir-fry sandwich. Every morning I wake up to the delicious smell of my mother cooking my lunch (no offense mom, but that's more than you ever did for me.. just saying). When I come home at 6:30, we have tea. "Tea" looks a lot like breakfast, we have bread, tea, coffee and then sometimes croissants, cake or cookies as well. When I say tea, I am referring to the delicious Moroccan mint tea. I was never a big tea drinker at home, but here I feel like that is all I drink. (Although my mother taught me how to make it the other day when I saw how much sugar she put into the tea pot I almost had a heart attack...although it's no wonder it's so delicious!) After tea I usually go up to my room to do some homework/relax because it is not until 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. that dinner is served. Because we often eat a lot at "tea" dinner is often smaller and less substantial. It usually consists of a rice or pasta dish, a soup, or egg, cheese and spam sandwiches. Regardless of the meal, it is always delicious.

One of the not-so-great aspects about Morocco is the hassling from the men. Although it is definitely not as bad here as it was in Fes, the other day I had an experience I will not forget. Now, I go running a lot here but it is often right after arabic class, in the mornings when their are not a lot of people out. I usually get a few catcalls but I have my ipod in and I usually just stare at the ground and ignore everyone around me. Last Friday, however, I went running at 4:30 p.m. I do not know if it was just because it was Friday afternoon or what, but I almost had to stop running from all the distractions/hassling. Almost every male I ran by made some obnoxious comment to me. I got everything from "Ohhh, spicey giiiirl" to a group of boys who legitimately ran (mockingly) next to me for a good 30 seconds. I almost had to stop and turn around because it was so distracting.

Another thing I find annoying is the public restrooms here. First of all, most are squat toilets. Second of all, you are lucky if there is toilet paper. Third of all, there is usually a "bathroom attendant" a.k.a a woman standing at the door waiting for you to pay her a dirham or two before you leave. This is especially annoying on our long bus rides where we all get off at a gas station or rest stop to use the bathroom and have to remember to bring our wallets in every time. While it is quite annoying, I guess i understand having to pay at a rest stop. On the other hand, when I am out to dinner at a restaurant and see a bathroom attendant in the bathrooms, I get quite aggravated. I am already paying for the food, the least you can do is let me use the damn bathroom for free! So if anyone is planning on traveling to Morocco: always bring toilet paper AND money with you into the bathroom, wherever you are!

Oujda Pictures!

36-Hour Excursion to Oujda!

This weekend I joined my cousin Jeremy on his trip to Oujda. He is doing an independent study research project on Jewish migration from Morocco, and Oujda used to have a huge Jewish population so we went their to do some research. We left Rabat on Friday night at 10:25 p.m. and took an overnight train to Oujda (the eastern most city in Morocco, on the Algerian border). The cabins were really cool, they were small but somehow managed to have a little bench, sink, trash, mirror and on either side there was lofted beds. The bed’s were pretty comfy and had sheets, blankets and pillows already on them. They even gave us a little kit of toiletries. There was a personal attendant that woke us up in the morning when we arrived in Oujda (all of 7:00 a.m.) and brought us coffee and croissants. It was a really interesting experience, but smooth, and easy nonetheless! We arrived in Oujda early in the morning and walked around for a while exploring the city while we attempted to find out hotel without a cab. We ended up walking way too far since our hotel turned out to be practically next to the train station, but we got a nice tour of the city in the meantime. We were allowed to check in right when we got there which was nice so we were able to put our bags down and relax for a while before some more exploring. An hour or so later we were out exploring the medina. I have noticed that the medina’s in all of the cities I have been to so far have all had similarities and differences about them. This medina was pretty and reminded me more of a flea market than the others. It was not too big but it was lively and exciting nonetheless.

Jeremy had gotten the name of a Jewish woman named Sara in the city who he was told we should
contact with questions. As we were walking, he realized he forgot her phone number back at the hotel; we only had her address. After much debate, we finally decided to just knock on her door. Two women (who we later found out were not even Sara) let us in after Jeremy explained how we got Sara’s name. They spoke not a word of English, so luckily Jeremy is pretty great at Arabic and got us by. We sat and talked to these two women for over an hour before they brought out tea (accompanied with cookies, crackers and bread) and invited us to stay for lunch. We were stuffed from our huge breakfast, but we kindly accepted the invitation. Jeremy asked them a number of questions about the Jews in Oujda and we learned some amazing things. First of all, there used to be thousands of Jews in Oujda and today there are eight. We met four of them during our visit to this house. After a little while a boy came home with a woman, whom we later found out was actually Sara; and she brought along some friends. One thing that I found amazing was that Sara came home with a women and her son (both Muslims) and they joined us for Shabbat lunch and participated in the conversation about Oujda/Moroccan Jews.

Everyone was SO nice and welcoming and even though I spoke barely any Arabic (and Jeremy spoke a good amount) we some how managed to get by and have some amazing conversations. Afterwards Sara showed us a Muslim school that is currently under renovation but used to be a Jewish school (where they studied Torah, Tanach, Hebrew, etc). She then took us into the Synagogue (which has not been used in years). Jeremy and I were amazed by what we saw. In the midst of this very Muslim-dominated town, was this enormous synagogue.  It was obviously a bit decrepit and run-down but it was beautiful on the inside. There were gorgeous stain-glass windows, beautiful tiled
floors, a beautiful bimma, and tons of different rooms used for different ceremonies (marriage, circumcision, etc.). The chapel itself was huge and there were multiple floors. Since it was one of the largest synagogues in the area, people would travel from all over for services and there were chambers upstairs for guests to stay overnight! We also got to see three torah’s that had not been touched in years but were still there in the arks. Overall, it was an amazing experience. Although there are only eight Jews left in Oujda, they still have their roots. Sara’s family even keeps kosher and gets their meat delivered from Fez every week! Sara, her sister, her mother and her son were all so welcoming and gracious that we came over. They asked for our phone numbers and emails and want us to send them the pictures we took/keep in touch. It was such a lovely day and we felt right at home!


We decided that we had seen enough of Oujda (it was not a very touristy place so there was not much to do besides walk around the medina) and took the train home that night. We arrived back in Rabat this morning (Sunday 10/10/10) by 9:00 a.m. and went home to our families to spend a nice relaxing Sunday.

Middle Atlas Mountains Pictures

Culture Shock: Switzerland to the Muslim Scrubdown – The “real” Morocco!

Ifran: Modern Morocco

Bensmim: No-So-Modern Morocco

 Wow. I just had the most eye-opening experience I have yet to have in Morocco. I spent an amazing weekend in the Middle Atlas Mountains and realized why they call Morocco a third world country. We left Friday after Arabic and drove to Azrou for lunch. Azrou is a little town in the mountains that seemed fairly well to-do and functioning. After, we stopped at a Trout Farm on our way to visit Ifran. Ifran is a BEAUTIFUL town, often called “The Switzerland of Morocco”. There were beautiful mountains and I actually felt as though I was in the swiss alps. The town was quite a sight. What was even more amazing than that, however, was that only 7 kilometers down the road was the Berber village Bensmim where we stayed for the weekend. On our long bus rides we have always looked out the windows and seen what seemed like clay-made/mud homes in the middle of the mountains; I never thought I would actually spend a weekend in one. We arrived at Bensmim at around 7:00 and met our host families. As soon as we stepped off of the bus I felt as though I had entered a different planet. We saw a Sheppard herding sheep across the road and walked for about 20 minutes from where the bus dropped us off into this tiny Berber village. It is hard to describe what we saw so you will have to look at my pictures but the village was like nothing I had ever seen before. We went into a little school building and waited eagerly to meet our host families. One thing that I noticed was how eager and excited everyone in the village was for our arrival. All of the mothers who sat in the little school seats waiting for their names to be called to “get” two of us had huge smiles on their faces. I was at first confused as to why they were SO EXCITED to see us but then it dawned on me: we were probably some of the first Americans they had ever seen. Most of these families have never been out of the village and they have definitely never had Americans come and stay with them before. (This is the first time our program has run a trip like this). When my friend Lucy and I’s names were called a petite young woman with an adorable little baby stood up and kissed us each on both cheeks (and twice on the right cheek – meaning were “very close family”). She did not speak any English so it was a bit challenging to communicate (but she spoke Derija as well as Berber so we got by). She walked us up to her home to meet her husband and neighbors. Everyone was beyond excited that we were there for the weekend.

Lucy and I with our siblings

 The house had a small salon, tv-room, kitchen and bedroom yet it was probably the size of my kitchen and family room combined in America (very tiny). The walls were plain white and had zero decoration. There was a tiny, narrow bathroom with no shower, but it did have a squat toilet – joy! As soon as we arrived our host mom “mama Aisha” sat us down in front of the TV and gave us bread and tea. The tea was the same delicious mint tea so at least we know there is one thing consistent about all of Morocco! As our mother was cooking dinner, the neighbor (who’s house was ajoined with ours) invited us into her house for tea. Then she put dinner in front of us and instructed us to “kul” (eat). We were extremely confused so in our best Arabic we attemped to ask if we were eating again with Aisha or if this was our meal. She definitely told us that this was dinner, so we ate up (lots of chicken, meat and harira) only to find out that as soon as we came back into our home, there was another dinner waiting for us at the kitchen table. Lucy and I looked at each other and just laughed: Typical Morocco. As we tried to force down dinner number two, we noticed a woman sitting on a bed in the tv-room talking to herself. We were quite confused until we saw her get up to go to the bathroom – she was blind. It was amazing that she could find her way out of bed and feel her way around to the bathroom (a squat toilet, no less!) One thing that was difficult to deal with while staying in the house was the flies. There were flies EVERYWHERE. Not only were they landing all over us, but they kept landing on our food – gross. I tried not to let it bother me and kept reminding myself that these people live here all year round with these flies… I could deal for one weekend. After our second dinner it was pretty late and we were tired so we went to bed. Per usual in Morocco, we were given the only bed in the house; everyone else slept on the couches in the salon or on the floor.

some houses in Bensmim

The next morning we woke up to some fresh Malawi bread (hot off the stove), which was delicious. We were a little tired, however, because there were cows moo-ing, roosters crowing and a very loud baby crying VERY early in the morning.  After breakfast, we met the rest of the group and toured three mini-associations within the village. We visited a medicinal herbs association where we got to help in the distilment process, a carpet association and a honey association where we went into the fields to see medicinal herbs and bees. We also met up with a guy who has been in the village for the past 19 months through the Peace Corps. We talked to him for a while about his experiences, and then he joined us on a “mini-hike” (compared to the next day). We finally arrived at another organization, this time for primary school students. The women running the organization made us couscous and then we painted with the primary school kids. We briefly visited the Ifran water factory and then went back to our host families to prepare for the ever-so-cultural HAMAM. Yes, I went to a Hamam. For those of you that are not familiar with the term, a Hamam is a public bathhouse (because they barely have enough running water to use in the sink, no one has showers). When Lucy and I told our host mother we were supposed to go to the Hamam she insisted she come with us. This was quite the process. We brought buckets, scrubbers, mats, shampoo, soap, change of clothes, towels and god knows what else with us to the Hamam.

Basically we walk in and this naked Muslim woman comes over to us and begins to undress us. She takes our buckets and guides us into the bath “room”. The first room we entered was more like a changing room (where we were told to keep only our underwear on) and then we walk into a sauna-type room where there are lots of naked woman sitting on stools scrubbing themselves and pouring buckets of water on their heads. All of the girls on our program went at this time so we felt a little more comfortable. At first I was terrified and did not think I was ready for all of the naked-ness that I was about to witness. But once we entered the actual Hamam it was a lot more normal and natural than I ever would have imagined. All of the girls on my program just sat their on stools while our Muslim mothers came and scrub us down (I know this sound weird, but it is extremely normal for them, so we just embraced it). Surprisingly, we got hot water, and I have never felt so clean!

me getting henna

After Hamam, we came home, had tea, then dinner, and then got Henna! This was turning into quite the day. Henna is a flowering plant used since antiquity to dye skin. One of their neighbors came over and spent about an hour dying my hands with intricate henna designs (see pictures above). It took a while for her to do Lucy AND I, and by the end we were so tired that we just went to bed. We woke up the next morning and our henna had totally sunk into our skin to make this beautiful design. It is black when they first pant it on, but after the black stuff falls off it is a beautiful orange color. It is supposed to be GREAT for your skin and will stay on for about two weeks!

the final product

view from the top

The next morning we got up and said goodbye and thank you to our host families. They definitely gave us the Berber experience. Since we were in the Middle Atlas Mountains, we couldn’t leave without seeing the amazing views and taking a short hike (or so we thought). We hiked for four hours up the mountains, half the time at about an 80-degree angle. I am very out shape and it was quite the workout. Although we complained the majority of the time, the view from the top was incredible. We overlooked not only the citites of Azrou and Ifran, but also tons of little Berber villages all over the mountain range. We ate lunch at the top of the mountain and just hung out for a while appreciating the view and how far we had climbed. It was so amazing to think that we were in extremely modern and civilized cities, and then an extremely poor, rural village, and then on top of these beautiful mountains and they were all within 10 kilometers of each other. It felt like different worlds. The drive back was long but it gave me time to reflect upon the weekend. Although it was not the most comfortable experience, it was definitely eye-opening and one that I will never forgot. I now feel as though I have experienced the “real Morocco”. It is experiences such as this one that makes me really appreciate studying abroad. While living in the main cities is nice, it is also nice to know that there is so much more out there.

the camera does NOT capture how amazing the view was