Rabat, Morocco

June 5th, 2014

Today was a continuation of flights, and then a train ride from Casablanca to Rabat where his aunt lives.  We arrived late that night and stayed up late while Anass caught up with his aunt and cousin.  Sam and I helped his aunt prepare a dinner made up of diced onions and peppers mixed with ground beef and spices to make sausages.  She showed us how to mold the sausages with our hands in a certain way.  We ate the sausage with bread, using the bread as a utensil.  Food is either eaten with hands or with bread.  We also had Moroccan salad which is cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions with salt and vinegar and parsley.  Its delicious!
I was nauseous trying to eat because it was a new flavor to adjust to.  The spices here are really strong and not the flavors we eat at home.
From eating I was exposed to many aspects of the culture.  They seem to be very forceful about food.  They wouldnt let us stop eating.  Even if you have something in your hand or in your mouth, they point to the food and say "Cooli" which means eat.  Even when you say you are full, they make you keep eating.  You cant argue with them because you dont speak their language.
Other things that I learned about the culture from observing and having Sam explain to me:

• They are very loving and welcoming.  Greetings are always filled with kisses, in the same way that one does it in France but sometimes they will keep kissing you for several moments on the same cheek.
• They are a very open community.  They want everyone to be a part of it. For example, Islam is very open to people joining.  The process is very simple, and just involves you wanting to be a part of it and professing it in front of two witnesses.  

My notes are not very in depth because I am really only getting exposed to everything on the surface.

• There is much about the concept of hierarchy here, in family and life and age.  The older brother wants something, he tells the younger to do it, and then she tells the even younger to do it.  Whoever is older is always right. Whoever is the man is always right.  Unless one of the women is older than him.  
• Another interesting thing is that there is no such thing as someone not knowing something.  If someone asks you a question, you dont think that you dont know, you will have an opinion or you will have an idea.  You will always try to give an answer. This is both good and bad.  Because of this people are opinionated and will always try to get you to do something their way.  And everyone tries to be involved in every decision made.  

These are just a few things I learned in my first days here