So, first of all, I wasn't sure if I was going to start a blog or not for this trip.. I wasn't sure if any of my observations would actually be of any interest to anyone, but I decided to start one anyways mainly as a journal for myself and as a way to keep everyone updated about my travels without having to update everyone individually.
I guess I'll start by saying that I've been here for approximately a week and half but it feels so much longer than that. The trip here was very long - a flight at 7:30 am California time from Los Angeles to New York, then a flight at 7 pm New York time from New York to Paris, then a flight at noon Paris time from Paris to Rabat... all in all it was about a full 24 hours of traveling. So, once we actually got to Morocco we were just happy to be able to be done with all the flights and waiting in airports.
When we first got here, we were staying in a hotel in the modern part of the city that was built in the mid 1900s during the French colonization of this part of Morocco. (Morocco was colonized by both France and Spain around the time of WWI until the 1950s or the 1970s for some areas- Spain got the northern and southern areas, and France got the middle section). So, it was interesting to see the juxtaposition of relatively modern architecture vs. the older architecture from the people that lived here before. There are 3 different developed areas in Rabat. There is the old city built in the 12th century by the native people of Morocco, then the medina "city" built in the 17th century by moors who came down from Spain, then the modern city built by the French in the mid 1900s. We're taking classes and staying with host families in the medina (17th century city). It's basically just a big grid of alleys like a maze. (I've gotten lost so many times, but now I can basically find my way around). It's completely self sufficient, though. All the markets and homes are here for the people who live here, and most don't have to go outside to the newer part of the city for anything. Here's an example of a street:
We stayed at the hotel for the first week we were here during our orientation, which included a crash course in the Moroccan dialect of Arabic (darija) and we were given 10 dirhams each (the Moroccan currency, about 8 dirhams to a dollar) and being sent out to the markets to bargain with some Moroccan shopkeepers. This was semi successful on my part. Most people were amused and surprised at me, this very white American girl, trying to bargain with them in their language. I only know so much of the dialect, though, (basically hi, how are you, how much, etc.), so I always fell back on French. Orientation also included us being dropped off in random parts of the city and us having to ask directions from people on the street to find our way back to the medina. All of this trying to communicate in various languages (Darija, Standard Arabic, French, English) is very confusing and often ends in a lot of miscommunication and confusion. It's very rewarding, though, once you finally actually understand each other.
Another part of our orientation was a seminar on harassment from men on the street. We have experienced this a LOT firsthand. It is very culturally acceptable for Moroccan men to look women up and down, make kissing noises, whistle, and try to talk to random women on the street. So far I think the range of comments I've gotten is "hi sweetie" "hi sugar" "hello" "how are you" "hola" "bonjour" "salut" "ca va" "konichiwa" "I love you" "I want to teach you English" "American?" "Francais?" "Oh my God" "beautiful face" "bi kem" (which means "how much" in Arabic), and a lot more things in Arabic that I didn't understand. This happens ALL THE TIME too - I will get a mixture of at least 5 of these things said to me in any 10 minutes of walking on the street. This was very strange at first, especially when they walk by very close to you and say this right in your ear. I've gotten pretty used to it now, though. Most of the time I don't pay any attention to it. I've made friends with some Moroccan boys my own age who are friends with my host sister, and I've asked them about it, and they say that it's just teasing girls on the street and that it's not bad. They say it's just a compliment and that they're just them letting you know that they think you're attractive. Also, something strange to get used to is the very common pasttime of Moroccan men to sit at terraces of cafes and just watch women walking by, not even talking to each other. Apparently many Moroccan men love to just sit and people watch for hours at a time on terraces of cafes. (The Moroccan love for cafes came with the French colonization and it stuck. About one in every 5 stores on the street is a cafe.)
We moved in with our host families last week - mine is very nice and welcoming. My host mom and dad are a bit older, perhaps in their early 60s, and I have a host sister who is 27. They have a really nice, clean, apartment (which is pretty rare in the medina, because it's so old and all the buildings are so small), and they're really fun and funny (even though I can barely understand them). They also have a western toilet and shower instead of a turkish toilet and buckets for a shower! This is wonderful.. most families only have the turkish toilet and buckets. If you don't know what this is look it up on Google images. Moroccan culture is very welcoming - my fam always has guests over, and I've met a lot of the families who live around us. I've met a bunch of guys my age who are family friends, and I've gone to some cafes with them. They speak good English, so it's really nice to be able to be able to speak to them in English and not have to search for the words for things.
I have to go to class so I'll save the rest for later. Sorry this post is all over the place. There's so much to cover! I need to remind myself to talk about food/coffee/tea, the call to prayer, street cats, Moroccan beaches, dating/marriage, alcohol, holidays, and women and the veil/covering their head.
I guess I'll start by saying that I've been here for approximately a week and half but it feels so much longer than that. The trip here was very long - a flight at 7:30 am California time from Los Angeles to New York, then a flight at 7 pm New York time from New York to Paris, then a flight at noon Paris time from Paris to Rabat... all in all it was about a full 24 hours of traveling. So, once we actually got to Morocco we were just happy to be able to be done with all the flights and waiting in airports.
When we first got here, we were staying in a hotel in the modern part of the city that was built in the mid 1900s during the French colonization of this part of Morocco. (Morocco was colonized by both France and Spain around the time of WWI until the 1950s or the 1970s for some areas- Spain got the northern and southern areas, and France got the middle section). So, it was interesting to see the juxtaposition of relatively modern architecture vs. the older architecture from the people that lived here before. There are 3 different developed areas in Rabat. There is the old city built in the 12th century by the native people of Morocco, then the medina "city" built in the 17th century by moors who came down from Spain, then the modern city built by the French in the mid 1900s. We're taking classes and staying with host families in the medina (17th century city). It's basically just a big grid of alleys like a maze. (I've gotten lost so many times, but now I can basically find my way around). It's completely self sufficient, though. All the markets and homes are here for the people who live here, and most don't have to go outside to the newer part of the city for anything. Here's an example of a street:
We stayed at the hotel for the first week we were here during our orientation, which included a crash course in the Moroccan dialect of Arabic (darija) and we were given 10 dirhams each (the Moroccan currency, about 8 dirhams to a dollar) and being sent out to the markets to bargain with some Moroccan shopkeepers. This was semi successful on my part. Most people were amused and surprised at me, this very white American girl, trying to bargain with them in their language. I only know so much of the dialect, though, (basically hi, how are you, how much, etc.), so I always fell back on French. Orientation also included us being dropped off in random parts of the city and us having to ask directions from people on the street to find our way back to the medina. All of this trying to communicate in various languages (Darija, Standard Arabic, French, English) is very confusing and often ends in a lot of miscommunication and confusion. It's very rewarding, though, once you finally actually understand each other.
Another part of our orientation was a seminar on harassment from men on the street. We have experienced this a LOT firsthand. It is very culturally acceptable for Moroccan men to look women up and down, make kissing noises, whistle, and try to talk to random women on the street. So far I think the range of comments I've gotten is "hi sweetie" "hi sugar" "hello" "how are you" "hola" "bonjour" "salut" "ca va" "konichiwa" "I love you" "I want to teach you English" "American?" "Francais?" "Oh my God" "beautiful face" "bi kem" (which means "how much" in Arabic), and a lot more things in Arabic that I didn't understand. This happens ALL THE TIME too - I will get a mixture of at least 5 of these things said to me in any 10 minutes of walking on the street. This was very strange at first, especially when they walk by very close to you and say this right in your ear. I've gotten pretty used to it now, though. Most of the time I don't pay any attention to it. I've made friends with some Moroccan boys my own age who are friends with my host sister, and I've asked them about it, and they say that it's just teasing girls on the street and that it's not bad. They say it's just a compliment and that they're just them letting you know that they think you're attractive. Also, something strange to get used to is the very common pasttime of Moroccan men to sit at terraces of cafes and just watch women walking by, not even talking to each other. Apparently many Moroccan men love to just sit and people watch for hours at a time on terraces of cafes. (The Moroccan love for cafes came with the French colonization and it stuck. About one in every 5 stores on the street is a cafe.)
We moved in with our host families last week - mine is very nice and welcoming. My host mom and dad are a bit older, perhaps in their early 60s, and I have a host sister who is 27. They have a really nice, clean, apartment (which is pretty rare in the medina, because it's so old and all the buildings are so small), and they're really fun and funny (even though I can barely understand them). They also have a western toilet and shower instead of a turkish toilet and buckets for a shower! This is wonderful.. most families only have the turkish toilet and buckets. If you don't know what this is look it up on Google images. Moroccan culture is very welcoming - my fam always has guests over, and I've met a lot of the families who live around us. I've met a bunch of guys my age who are family friends, and I've gone to some cafes with them. They speak good English, so it's really nice to be able to be able to speak to them in English and not have to search for the words for things.
I have to go to class so I'll save the rest for later. Sorry this post is all over the place. There's so much to cover! I need to remind myself to talk about food/coffee/tea, the call to prayer, street cats, Moroccan beaches, dating/marriage, alcohol, holidays, and women and the veil/covering their head.
Thanks, I'm so happy that you're writing this! I can't wait for your next update. I wish I could visit!
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