Adjusting

Study abroad word of the day:

manfe (man+café) – noun – a Moroccan café lined with outdoor tables and benches, occupied solely by men whose sole occupation seems to be people watching.

I haven’t been that good about updating lately but, in all honesty, there hasn’t been much new and pressing to report. The weekdays have become pretty monotonous – classes, homework, home, dinner, sleep. It has rained almost every day for the past two weeks.

Being here has really opened my eyes. I know that sounds so cliché but I am realizing it is more true each day. I am getting a completely different study abroad experience from most people I know. I chose to come to a Muslim country in Africa and, in doing that, chose to live in a cultural setting jarringly different from the one I’d grown up in and become so accustomed to, to the point where I had begun to take it for granted.

This is not a ‘take a break from school and party all the time’ study abroad experience. This is a ‘take a break from the West and realize what the world is really like’ experience. It’s been much harder than I had imagined but I am learning more about myself and what I want.

Morocco is beautiful but I haven’t seen nearly enough of it yet. Rabat has been rainy and gray for the most part. I am traveling to Marrakech either this weekend and the next and am really looking forward to it. This past weekend was nice – I forced myself to get jolted out of my cultural-adjustment funk and spent most of Saturday walking around Rabat. Did some bargaining at the medina which I am quite proud of – got a leather backpack down 100D from the original price.

I get a LOT of attention for my blatant South Asian looks in the streets, particularly in the medina. Constant questions and comments by random strangers (always men), “Al Hind?”, “Namaste, India”, or a few new ones from this weekend – “Hello, Bombai”, “Do you have Shahrukh Khan’s number?”. I am not sure whether these comments are meant to be offensive. Sometimes those asking seem genuinely curious, but most of the time they seem to be trying to push buttons. Apparently, East Asians get similar attention – comments of ‘Chinowina! Hello, China’ despite the true origin of the targets.

My professors have told me that some of it is related to the popularity of Bollywood movies in Morocco and the fact that Moroccans are not used to seeing South Asians here. It’s funny to think that many Moroccans have seen more Bollywood movies than I have (I believe my count is at 2 or 3).

It’s week six. Time has flown and I am shocked by it, particularly when I think about the strong friendships I have already formed (holla at Juja and Kelcey in particular).

Things I am really looking forward to:

- exploring Jardins Exotiques in a nearby town, Salle
- group trip to Chefchaoeun
- spring break at the Canary Islands!
- weekend in Madrid
- traveling to England in April for my cousin’s wedding, inshallah
- my mum and sisters coming to visit (inshallah!)
- Western Sahara Desert trip and hopefully Egypt after the program is over