Morocco is amazing. It's beautiful and picturesque. Rabat is by the Atlantic ocean. There are short, strange shaped Mediterranean trees and markets full of hand crafted clothing and rugs, raw meat hanging (still in full body), spices piled high; beautiful. The smell and atmosphere reminds me of Ghana. I feel like I am home. But its more beautiful, breathtaking, and picturesque in a good way. There are white buildings, some blue.
Here, life is not based around time, but around meals. People don’t wake up or sleep at a time. They just go around meals. When everyone is awake, it's breakfast time. Even if its 3 am, dinner will be served. Even if you have tea at 11 pm and you think "well we are full in the belly, lets sleep!" you have to wait up for dinner because you didn't eat dinner yet.
The toilets here are Turkish. You squat over a hole in the ground, and then use water to wash yourself rather than toilet paper. Its really cool because although I've been tired and cranky, the things here that an American would feel they “have to deal with” are not so hard for me because of my previous experience with Africa. It's so cool. All the things I found hard about Ghana are so much easier here, so it's a relief. I feel accustomed to it, in a way. Also, it makes me realize that I am someone who is willing to try to make things work. Should I freak out that its difficult to go to the bathroom, or should I just go to the bathroom and see how it works? It is all about going with the flow, learning to adapt easily to the things that vary in life. No two worlds are the same, but in the end, you are just having a bowl movement. The fundamentals will never change.
Another thing that is necessary to adapt to is the family dynamic in Morocco. Family is a very important aspect of life, to the point that when greeting people, whether they are a merchant in the market or your neighbor, you always ask "How is your family", and say things like "God bless your parents". The families are very loud and dynamic. They shout all the time at one another and their humor is making fun of others. You have to have thick skin. But they love each other. Its like my big family, chaos always.
Rachida is my Moroccan name that Anass' aunt gave me in Rabat. She was an adorable little lady who loved me and wanted me to come live with her. It was given because my name Rachel is hard to pronounce but it means one who is mature and who knows what she wants from life….Each name has a specific meaning.
More cultural ideas:
- Everything is done with particularity. Things are always done exactly in a specific manner. Every food preparation has something specific to it, and they will always do it in this way. This seems to be a part of the traditions of this culture. These methods have been passed down and done in this manner from grandmother to mother to daughter. One aunt was cutting a watermelon and before cutting it she rolled it around several times. Sam said that they always do this before cutting watermelon.
- After buying rice or grains, the women will sit and go through every grain to throw away any bad piece of rice. This can take hours, but it must be done.
As far as my French progression is going, its amazing to be in a country where their second language is French because I feel so comfortable communicating this way. There is no embarrassment because at least they can understand me better than if I talk in English. It is making the transition into French so much easier cause I feel confident that I can communicate, not worrying if I said something wrong, or didnt pay perfect attention to grammar.
Arabic words
Shweeyah- a little
Shoomah- you should be ashamed
Chokran- thank you
Gleh- watermelon
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