Morocco March 28
Happy belated Easter to everyone. I would have completely forgotten it was happening at all were it not for Liz at school mentioning Good Friday (she goes to church here--with a bunch of immigrants, since no native Moroccan is Christian). Jessica also wished me happy Easter when she came over on Sunday to have my mother put her hair in braids. Word is spreading about my mother's services (for which they pay her, of course) and now all the girls in the program want braids. I bought a djellabah, but I haven't paid for all of it so it's on layaway. I'll go to get it tonight after I leave the cyber, I think. I wanted a purple one, but my mother insisted that another was more fashionable and well-made. It's a sort of dusty pink (the one shade of pink I like on me) with blue-green stripes (vertical). At her insistence, I'll probably buy a matching headscarf, but I'm not convinced on the shoes yet--if I find a pair I like, maybe, but most of them are made of leather and I'm not keen on buying any new leather. I've wanted to go back vegetarian a few times recently, but I think it would be weirder to change now than it would have been just to mention it at the beginning of the program. I'm pretty sure I'll go back when I get to the States, though. I rode a moped this weekend, which I thought might be prohibited by SIT's contract, but then someone told me it was only illegal to drive them. In any case, I was not driving--my host brother was--and I was only on it for about 5 minutes in the medina (not the street with cars, for anyone who might have been concerned). We went to Agdal (the westernized trendy part of Rabat--a little like Cherry Creek, for those of you who get that refernce) with my brother's friends. We watched the football game (Morocco won, whoo!) over mint tea and shishas (Lee, your ettiquette lesson paid off at last, but I'm not convinced I want to buy one). So that was my little taste of what male Moroccan youth do on a Saturday night. Today the SIT group took the train to Kinetra to have a discussion with Moroccan university students. The topic started out as "Popular Islam," but much like our last discussion with Moroccan students it migrated vastly over topics of democracy, foreign policy, religious freedom or imposition, and things in that realm; most of the students in our group are liberal, I think, and there was repeated mention that we are not necessarily in agreement with our nation's current foreign policy and so forth. At its hightened moments the conversation neared flat-out dispute, mostly as the result of one or two Moroccan students' comments or interpretations. The moderator (their professor) or one of the less impassioned members of our group were usually able to resolve this, but one girl in our group was very hurt and had to leave early (she is an ex-marine with friends who are fighting or have died overseas). She was actually doing a lot of the talking in the discussion, which is part of why she got so upset. All ended well, I think; the Moroccan students over all (who outnumbered us) were very friendly, and we exchanged many email addresses to keep in touch. In general I've been very well received here. Apparently other people's friends and relatives have been concerned about anti-American sentiment, which didn't even occur to me before and which I don't think any of us have sensed much (it vaguely pops up in formal debates like this one, but otherwise people will not assume the worst of me because of my nationality; being a foreigner in general seems to have much more bearing, regardless of what country you come from). In any case, I need to register for classes and head out to get my djellabah. Hope you all are enjoying the springtime, I know I am (soon it will be warm enough to swim in the ocean). Kristin, I sent you a card a while ago, so I hope it gets there. August, I miss you. Please finish that letter/email that claims to exist somewhere in space.
Love to my loved ones,
Greta
Morocco March 21
Hello to all!
Returned from the Southern Excursion last night. Too much to talk about, so I'll give a general overview: Started with a long driving day (on our notorious bus) and got all the way to Ouarzazat, where we stayed the night (but didn't get to see the town, really). They film a lot of movies there (Gladiator is one of them, and I know there are others but I've forgotten). Next was Zagora, where we had lunch and I swam in a very cold pool and with two crazy French guys in a speedo and fully clothed, respectively. I really could have done without the crazy French guys myself. From there we rode camels into the desert, where a few people were disappointed by the small stature of the dunes (the big dunes are in a different town which the excursion did not visit this year). In any case I had fun, although I understand why people don't generally use camels for riding--just transport; they aren't very fast and even with blankets and a saddle you end up pretty sore in the crotch. Spent the night in the desert and joined Berber dances and talked to the nomads who ran the camp there. The following day we camelled back and headed to Nqob, a small town with a Kasbah and not much else. Lots of small children who had become accustomed to asking tourists for candy and pens, and thus followed us around. The few who remained throughout the town showed us what they called "the garden"--a palm grove visible from the edge of town. After a night in Nqob with mishaps of roasted bananas, we were on our way to Marrakesh, which is when I wrote a lot of postcards that some of you will be receiving. Marrakesh, I've decided, is where a lot of the expectations and stereotypes about Morocco must have originated. Not only is it a huge tourist town, but all those things I thought I hadn't seen yet turned up in the south of Morocco. Marrakesh is unlike any other city, and even the Moroccans will tell you that. There's a square full of impromptu performers and barbecues trying to win your business and orange juice carts and henna ladies and...I could go on. In the souk, you HAVE to bargain. Jenn and Kristin, this is where I got your birthday gifts so I hope you appreciate the sheer effort at least. There is a private garden which was a nice escape from the heat and the craziness. However, the best escape was Essouira, a lovely little seaside town which has also gained a lot of attention from foreigners. The men trying to win my attention would say hello in German, Italian, and English in addition to the usual French. After some deliberation I decided to stay the weekend there with a bunch of the group. Despite the hellishly hot (long)(12 dollar) trainride back, it was worth it. Not only did I get to swim in the ocean (with amazing waves) for the first time in a long while, but I made the acquaintance of some fun locals, which helped to counteract the feeling of being just another tourist. Hassan, my primary escourt in the town, is one of many carpenters in the area who work in thuya wood. He makes instruments for Gnaoua, the music style associated with the region (think African guys in twirly tassel hats); he showed me a superbly decorated guinbri (his own work of course), which is a three-stringed instrument like a guitar. I think I may have to invest in a CD before I leave Morocco if only for memories.
So that's my week in a nutshell. I have stories but they will wait for later. Mama, I got your letter today (or possibly last week but I wasn't here). I like the drawings. Springtime is finally taking shape here. It warmed up a lot while we were in the South, but Rabat seems to have gotten some of it too. My sister Meryem is looking forward to the beach when it's yet warmer. The train station in Marrakesh smelled entirely of orange blossoms, which was sublime for the 5 minutes we were there. Duane, I will address your email next time, as my hour is up (we have talked about it in class some). Love to you all.
Greta
Morocco March 11th
What news, what news...
Today my mother and the bon (a.k.a. maid a.k.a. Sophia) are cleaning out the main room (the living-type room that is not my room). They took out all the couches and washed all the dishes stored in the china cabinet. I think they are getting carpets or something, at least that's what I heard from my father. It would sure beat the brick floor that's in there now, although it would be a great deal harder to clean. Maybe she figures with the kids mostly grown up (save Khadija and Mohammed Khalil) it won't get too dirty in there anymore. I would have to disagree, but really it isn't my house. Facts on my mind that I don't think I've mentioned in previous emails: we have a turtle and three fish. Two of the fish are brand new as of yesterday, though they are the same kind as the first. My nephew has a habit of putting things in the fishbowl that he shouldn't (bread, screws, trash) and I've told him "no" on several occasions, so it's reassuring that the bowl now resides out of his reach. While the fish population is increasing, the turtle population is going the opposite direction; my mother told me she bought 5 of them when Mohammed Khalil was born; now he's two years old and there is only one turtle left--there was another that died a few weeks after my arrival, which was a little sad. The last one is alive and kicking, though. It walks around the central indoor courtyard on a routine basis, taking breaks when it finds a place that feels protected, like behind a door. It's just a small box tortoise, I think; I've actually seen them for sale in the souk, but it's probably not worth it to bring one home with me. In other news, I threw up for the first time in approximately 7 years (the last time was in Las Vegas when I was staying at Grandpa's house, for those who might remember). Since my stomach rejected everything I ate between Wednesday night and Thursday lunch (the sardines broke the camel's back) I have limited my diet to white herrera (mild soup) and Schweppes tonic water, which I highly recommend for people in my situation. Today I allowed myself bread, yogurt, and couscous in small amounts. I think the trick is to keep my stomach partway full, but not stuffed. Hopefully I will be well soon, as our Southern Excursion starts tomorrow. On that note, I don't know how often I will be near computers in the next week, since we'll be moving around a lot. If you write me something, have patience and I'll try to check it. At the latest, it'll be sometime next weekend (the 19th or thereabouts). Take care, hope everyone's well.
Much love,
Greta
Morocco March 8
Today's news-
I have chosen a tentative topic for my ISP (independent study project). It helped a lot to just talk to Lahcen, one of the important people we love so well here. He's been out for a while because of laser eye surgery--he needed to rest for a few days but he's able to teach class again now. In any case, I told him I was considering a project on Moroccan wedding ceremonies, and he said not a lot of people have done projects on it (which I prefer, just because it's more interesting for people to read that way). He suggested I look into a book called Gender on the Market, so I checked it out from the Center's library, as well as a scholarly paper on women's sexuality. Deanna, I saw your name as the last one who had checked it out the Kapchan book, which I found ironic. I've been considering this topic in the back of my mind for a while because my host mom works in the field. There's a name for it in Moroccan Arabic that I keep forgetting, that starts with G--basically she gets brides all dressed up before their wedding. As a result we have people's wedding videos and fancy baskets lying around (they lift people up in the baskets, kind of like the chairs in Jewish weddings). So not only was that my inspiration, but it also means she might be a possible resource when I start my research. So that's got me feeling hopeful again. Otherwise I'm pretty tired after the long busride back from Ifrane and little sleep. I think I'll try to read the book I checked out and maybe take a little nap. Cris, thanks for writing back; good to hear the news from Media; I think I have a postcard in the mail heading your way. Kristin, I realized from looking at my schedule that I will be in a rural village on your birthday, so if you want a phonecall we'll have to do it before that day. Either way I plan on sending a card in the mail and I'm bringing a gift back with me, so don't fret.
Much love,
Greta
Re: springtime
Hi Mama!
I haven't seen any gardens in the city--lots of people have terraces on top of their houses instead. I have seen a some potted plants. Actually we have a spider plant that resides in the unused decorated sink (I mentioned that in the letter) We hang the laundrey up on the terrace since we don't have a dryer. I told them that at my American house, we hang laundrey in the back yard; I didn't know the word for back yard so I said "the place behind the house" and they said, "oh, a little garden?" and I said yes, since we do have a little garden. I haven't noticed "spring" per se, but it has been getting a little warmer. Actually, today we're at a college in Ifrane, in the mountains where it was really cold last week. Today it's not bad. Reminds me a lot of Colorado, as far as the landscape. Since I didn't answer your question about clothing in the last email, I have only bought one sweater since I got here, because it was so unexpectedly cold. My family lends me clothing sometimes, like on laundrey day. I need to get some jeans; I have one pair and they're getting holes in the knees. I'm afraid to buy things in the souk (marketplace); something about haggling intimidates me, and I'm afraid of getting ripped off (when I bought the sweater for 60 dh--about 7 dollars--my mother was convinced it was overpriced for the quality). Johanna, one of the girls in the program, says she'll go with me because she's afraid of the souk too. Every time I come back from the cyber cafe my family asks how you are, so I'll tell them next time.
OK, time to go.
Love,
ÎÑíÊÉ
Can your computer read that?
Morocco March 5
Not much to say since yesterday, except that the Hammam is very hot on weekends. I should have realized this last time; it gave me headache then and it gave me a headache today. No more Hammam on weekends. Just tea-kettle showers over the toilet and maybe a weekday trip every few weeks, I think. Also, our stove runs on a tank of gas like a camping stove, in case I hadn't mentioned it. It's annoying if you can't find the lighter to start it and you want to make tea or something. Also, I know how to use the Arabic keyboard, as Sallie should have realized by the letter my host sister and I compiled. That's all for now. Much love,
Greta
Morocco March 4
Asalam aulekum
Thanks to everyone who responded favorably to my request for news from home. It really helps my emails take form when I have something to respond to! First off, happy belated birthday Sylvia! You still have something coming in the mail, unless you've gotten it already or you've changed address. Moslem is actually closer to the actual spelling because there is no "u" in Arabic, only "o." The letter for "o" can be pronounced a few different ways, though. Kristin, I'm sorry your job isn't fun. Anxiety does weird things to me too (especially combined with weird food, which is the case I'm in right now). I have hope that if you stick to it, it'll get better, and I would definitely take advantage of Jenn's offer (me and Jenn used to crash in Boulder when we were commuting to work one summer).
Now to answer some questoins:
Since so many people reacted to Tagine (not tahine, Sylvia--that's sesame seed butter), I'll explain it. Tagine is basically vegetables and meat. (Moroccans literally live on meat and potatoes, plus LOTS of bread). The meat is minimal, but it is used to flavor the rest of the dish. Therefore it is usually served under the vegetables, and people scoop up and eat the vegetables (with bread) until the meat is exposed. It is then the mother (at least in my family) who divides up the meat and gives each person their share. Traditionally (as in my family) this all takes place in one big dish that we all eat out of, so one has to stay in one's own "zone" to avoid hogging other people's food. If someone doesn't want all their food, they will push it into your zone. Refer to the last email regarding how tagine is cooked. In response to Maureen's querie about Moroccan BBQ, we've had one in our house--the roof is open in the middle so it's not really a problem. It wasn't a big event at the time, just lunch; if you were referring to something bigger, Maureen, I'll have to look into it.
As far as politics...we're in a seminar on that topic right now, but so far we've just covered the basic facts, plus some essays about the monarchy (Morocco is a constitutional monarchy). The main political issues I've heard about lately are the youth protesting in front of Parliament because there aren't enough jobs. The main complaint is that certain fields of study aren't in high demand right now (just like in the States, you're more likely to be hired if you're an engineer than if you're a philosophy major). People in these less-hired fields are demanding that the government provide secure employment opportunities (there is little job security in the private sector i.e. business, and no welfare program here). As a result, a lot of people try to emigrate to other countries, where the job market is better. Illegal immigration sometimes comes out of this (but not all Moroccan immigrants are illegal). So that's another area of attention and debate.
The other hot topic (not recent I don't think) is censorship. The press is not allowed to insult the character of the king, for instance. So there is a debate about censorship versus freedom of the press.
The war on Iraq... I haven't gotten many questions about this specifically. Terrorism a little bit--most people just express their distaste for terrorism. Jihad came up in a few discussions of religion. The Iraq war was only really raised explicitly in a discussion on American concepts of democracy I'm kind of reluctant to bring up Iraq, partly because my language skills aren't perfect, and partly because I'm afraid of backlash at an opinion I myself do not hold.
Today my sister is watching me type--I guess she wants to learn how.
meryem eat baamrane
She typed her name.
grada may sistre maroc lenome de ma famille la premieretarike wafaa abdella samira mryeme kadija lafin est kalile lafami de atbaamrane maman batoul papa brahim agaste mersi
that translates to: Greta my sister. Maroc (Morocco). Le nom de ma famille (the name of my family): la premiere (the first) Tarik, Abdellah, Samira, Wafaa, Khadija, la fin (the last) Khalil. La famille Ait Baamraan. Maman (Mama) Batoul. Papa Brahim. August. Merci.
She says she types a lot faster when the keys are in Arabic, which this apparently has the ability to do but I can't figure out how to access it.
In any case I think that's enough for now. I'll write again soon. Keep the news coming every so often, if you please.
Much love,
Greta
P.S. Meryem says to add that the Tagine (the cooking dish) is broken. I agree. It is a sad event.
