B'slaama from Sahara

Wow, I neglected this blog for a month and the biggest things have happened in that time. Going to write things here because there are some memories I NEVER want to forget.

The goodbyes began about two weeks ago. It was only in my last few days that I realized how many people I had gotten used to seeing everyday – the security men at school, the hnoot guy, the rgaiff men, the front desk workers, the cleaning ladies, the medina boys. Luckily, I am going to be seeing many of the kids from my program this summer. Saying goodbye to my family was surprisingly hard…I really have gotten attached to baby Ashraf and my host mom. It’s an odd thing to say goodbye to people who realize you most likely will never see again. Right now, I know I would love to return to Morocco but reality is bound to hit hard upon returning to America.

Sahara. Quite possibly one of the best times of my life, including one of the best nights of my life. We got to Marrakech last Saturday and were picked up at the station by two Bedouins who would be our incredible tour guides. The next two days was driving to Ourzazate, where the desert began, and seeing amazing sights (gorges, kasbahs, villages) on the way. I became close to Said, our tour guide. He told us all about his life one night as a nomad, moving when the grass became sparse for the animals, living in tents. Now that the tourism industry has boomed, his life is totally different from when he was younger. He never went to school but is one of the smartest people I have ever met – just from interacting with foreigners, he has become fluent in English, French, Spanish and already knew Darijha on top of that.

We spent night 3 in the Sahara Desert, Merzouga. That night, Juj and I drank tea with the Bedouins in Blue and then her and I went stargazing.

It was panoramic – everywhere you turned, stars, stars, stars. It felt as if we were in the sky. And then I saw my first shooting star. And then my second, third, fourth, fifth. I have never seen stars like that in my life. The desert was the perfect way to say goodbye to Morocco.

Next entry: Egypt!
Current location: Amman, Jordan

Waning

One week left! Truly insane.

I just finished my third paper of four and am gearing up to tackle the 5 finals headed my way next week. We had a great trip to Marrakech this past weekend. Pictures coming soon.

Qamara = Camera

"The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole camera after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private room). He is also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity to an experimental one."

Operation Save Sadaf

Operation Save Sadaf continues! I was rescued by my uncle and cousin from France Friday night and made it back to London without any hitches. The wedding was yesterday and it was LOVELY. I tried not to let myself worry about how I would be getting back to Morocco but now the wedding is over...and I'm a bit worried.

However, I'm definitely seeing the bright side of all of this. I am experiencing a historical event. Global travel as we know it has been halted to the most severe degree in history. I am getting to spend more time with my family in Wales. And none of this is my fault!

News reports say airport bans are to be lifted tomorrow afternoon which is a shame since my flight was scheduled for the morning. This means I will be in England at least a few more days since there will be thousands of people trying to rebook flights and, predictably, little organization.

Unfortunately, this is cutting out of my last few weeks in Morocco. I experienced NO sense of reverse culture shock coming to the UK though...I think once May 29th rolls around, I'll be ready to come home.

Bad Job, Iceland

...but then again, who could have predicted a huge volcanic ash cloud to halt all air traffic in Europe?




Her name is...Mt. Eyjafjallajokull.

Found out all flights into UK were canceled as I was collecting my boarding pass in Rabat. Decided I would have better luck finding transport from Paris.

NOT. It was a huge catastrophe. After several hours, we finally received a hotel voucher but I had been lucky enough to get in contact with a GW friend (DC - you're an angel, thank you) and am currently crashing in center Paris. It is 5:30 AM - spent the last hour coordinating with my uncle how to get to UK for Noreen's wedding. ALL trains are booked solid until Sunday so...we turned to the sea!

Hopefully meeting him in Calais tomorrow, he is driving to France to get me.

Bright side:

- was interviewed by the LA Times
- met some really cool people
- saw DC!

It's funny. This is my second time in Paris and I have yet to see the Eiffel Tower.

Coocoo for Couscous!

Fridays in Morocco are definitely a day I look forward to. It is tradition for Moroccan families to prepare a large, delicious couscous for the family to eat after prayers.



This picture does not even do justice to the amazingness of the dish. Today, my host mama taught me and Kelsey how to make it. It took almost three hours! The process is not difficult, just long. And definitely worth it. Hopefully I will be able to recreate it to some degree back home.

Some cultural tidbits:

- couscous is traditionally made with several kinds of boiled vegetables and meat. The meat is hidden under the vegetables and usually eaten towards the end of the meal
- everyone eats from the same dish. It is rude to reach in front of someone else’s ‘place’ in the dish
- many Moroccans drink buttermilk while eating couscous
- there is also a ‘sweet’ couscous that is made with carmelized onions and raisins

Most Fridays after class, I head to the hammam with a few of my friends to soak away the weeks’ worries in a hot, steaming sauna. The hammam is an interesting facet of Moroccan culture – here is one of Moroccan women’s main social hubbubs. After hammam, we all head home to couscous. After couscous, we usually have a post-couscous nap.

There is no doubt that my first Friday back in the States I will be wishing I were here. Or at least eating couscous.

Spain

I am tan. Actually, more like…browner. Dark chocolate, if you will.

Madrid and Canary Islands = great spring break. It was very relaxing. We had a lot of:



and went here a lot:




Look! Black volcanic sand!



and stayed at (after we almost got stuck on a hostel farm!):



Only bummer was having my wallet stolen on my first night in Madrid. Luckily, I am safe and my friends were gracious enough to save me all week. It was surreal meeting up with GW friends in Madrid. I got to see Elyse! And even a few high school friends. It was odd for all of us traveling from Morocco to Spain as we got our first taste of reverse culture shock. Our tongues kept spitting out Arabic words by instinct and the overwhelming smell of ham and pork in Madrid seemed so foreign. It was odd being in a sea of white after being in a sea of brown for so long. I was really looking forward to returning home to my host family and to Morocco. My host mama made us couscous last night for dinner even though it wasn’t Friday! The perfect homecoming gift.

It was so interesting to see traces of Spain's Islamic history hidden here and there. I saw a tajine dish used as decoration in one hotel, random mosaic walls in restaurants, some lattice windows. Other than that, there is no indication that Spain ever used to be a thriving Muslim country. I wish I could have made it to Cordoba or Grenada.

Now it’s all work/work/work until final exams which are in FIVE WEEKS! They don’t lie when they say study abroad goes with the blink of an eye. Also, feeling the pressure of growing up…been apartment scouring for the past month and now have to decide if I am graduating early or not.

More pressing matters include…wedding present shopping for my cousin this week! I am flying out to Wales in two weeks for Noreen baji’s wedding and can’t wait. I only get to see this side of the family every other year. Nani Ama, cousins, uncles, aunts….! England!

Starting to realize how little time is left here.

Azrou

I have fallen in love with it here. This past weekend marked perhaps one of the times I have ever had in my whole life. Hefty statement, I know. But it's pretty hard to beat a first hike over 3 mountains, waterfalls, wild monkeys, great company...

My traveling group got very lucky - the IES program director, Fouad, is a native of Azrou which is a small Berber town by Fez. He was incredible and took care of us all weekend. Since he knows Azrou like the back of his hand, he led us on our Saturday hike which was indescribably amazing. I hope these pictures do some justice:






Our total hiking distance covered about 13-15 miles. After the hike, Fouad invited us for dinner at his mother's house. Then, knowing I was interested in purchasing some Berber carpets (it's so hard to find good prices when you are not Moroccan), took me to his best friend's store. The store was amazing - full of Berber treasures and handwoven carpets from all over Morocco. Here are two that I bought:



By Saturday night, I would have thought it impossible for the weekend to get any better. The group I traveled with - Clara, Karrie, Cody, Heather - is the dream team of travel. One of the best group dynamics I have ever been a part of. I think we all died at least 3 times each from laughter.

Fouad had even more in store for us on Sunday. Nearby Azrou is a town called Ifrane. It is unlike any other Moroccan city since during the French occupation, the French attempted to model it after a mini-Switzerland. It's full of quaint white houses with red roofs, bubbling springs, waterfall:



After all this, Fouad took us to his grandmother's home, an incredibly energetic Amazigh woman. Not only did he show us Morocco's breadth of nature but also its familial culture.

What I learned this weekend:

- I adore cats.
- A few Amazigh words
- That I can climb mountains

What blows my mind:

How much I still have to look forward to. Spring break starts this Friday - I will be in Madrid and the Canary Islands. Two weeks after I get back, I am flying to Wales for my cousin's wedding. El Jadida the next weekend. Marrakech and Casablanca the week after that. Then two weeks after that...the program is over. My semester abroad will be completed...but only after I take two more weeks to travel to the Sahara Desert for 5 days, then visit Supriya in Egypt for 3, and stay with Aida at her home in Jordan for 5 days before heading home.

March 22nd already...??

Essaouira

Well, loyal subjects – I would like to announce that I am happily sitting on the peak of the W – curve of cultural adjustment. Riiiight there at the symmetry point of the W. This past weekend was one of the best I have spent in Al-Maghrib.

Midterms finished last week and we were all excited to celebrate with our planned group trip the Asilah, Tangier, Chefchaoeun (all in Northern Morocco) and Ceuta (Spain). However, the weather gods thought otherwise – the trip was cancelled due to mudslides and flash flooding. Our mood was dampened just as Northern Morocco currently is (hardy har har).

So since we could not go North…why not go South? We received the news of our cancelled trip at 10 AM Thursday and by 3 PM, Kaitlin and I had organized an impromptu 18-person trip to Essaouira, a beautiful small fishing town in the South. The night bus on Thursday got us, 8 hours later, to Essoiura at 6 AM.

I have not been to a more peaceful city in Morocco yet. Or windy. (I am still finding sand in my ears and hair). It was just what we all needed after midterms – sunsets, beach, rooftop terrace, kasbah, fresh seafood. Here are pictures of the Friday and Saturday sunsets, and of the ocean:





I was surprised with how touristy Essaouira was – no doubt, tourism has become the major source of revenue for towns like Essaouira but has undoubtedly altered its charm as well. The clean plaza boasted ritzy bars and hotels and the medina markets were decked with tons of tourist t-shirts (Moroccan Roll, a yellow smiley face wearing a fez). Shopping in the Essaouira medina made all of us realize how much more comfortable we have gotten with Darijha and the medina culture here. There is no more embarrassment or hesitance with bargaining – linguistic barriers, converting dirham to dollars back to dirham, recognizing when a marketkeeper is trying to rip you off – all of this has become second nature. Of course, being a blatant non-Moroccan means one thing to most shop keepers: we are clueless tourists with money. We were approached multiple times by various vendors selling ‘space cakes’ and bricks of hash, or invited to have mint tea and then presented with a chestful of ‘authentic Berber silver’ and a persistent salesman. Nonetheless, I am very happy with the purchases I made and confident I was not played a touristy fool (Sajeela – you will be ESPECIALLY happy with one of the purchases..:)).

I feel like just yesterday I was shocked by the approach of March and now we’re already halfway through. I have no doubt this month is going to zoom by, especially given upcoming plans: upcoming weekend in Marrakech (hiking in the Atlas mountains), and then a week later, spring break in Madrid and the Canary Islands. My main dilemmas at present are: finding an apartment in DC as I have decided to finish senior year as a part time student and planning travels post-program (Sahara Desert and then…?).

How did I get so lucky?

Midterms? Already?

It is officially midterms week! Which means I am officially halfway done with my semester abroad.

Last Saturday (not this past Saturday) marked a holiday – the Prophet’s (SAW) Birthday. It was interesting to celebrate this with my host family since it is not a holiday I celebrate with my own family. Some Moroccans regard the celebration of the Prophet Muhammad ‘s (SAW) birthday as shirk.

The celebrations were simple and based around the meals. Instead of having our usual orange juice, bread, jam and cheese for breakfast, we had a whole beautiful array of honeyed pastries. Our host mother had spent the previous week preparing sesame-seed encrusted cookies, pastries soaked and re-soaked in honey, crepe-like things which you pour honey over, etc.

The family-style method of eating in Morocco reminds me very much of the wadhwan-eating style of Kashmir. Here, the main dish is placed in the middle of the table and everyone eats from that communal plate. This is the style we eat in every Friday for couscous (a later entry will detail the joy of Friday couscous) and how we ate lunch.

For lunch, host mama had prepared a huuuge shoulder of sheep. Afterwards, she served chicken pastilla (pastilla is light, round pastry stuffed with sweetened meats, almonds, powered in cinnamon) which had to have been at least 14 inches in diameter.

Anyway – back to studying for midterms but now all I can think of is food! I can’t wait for Wednesday – midterms will be over and then Friday, we are all traveling to the North to Ceuta in Spain, Chefchaoeun, Tangiers and Asillah.

Up and Down

Midterms are in ONE WEEK! It is so crazy how time as flown. Today is my mother's birthday (happy birthday, mama bear!) and tomorrow is MARCH.

Katie arrived in Rabat last night. It is so amazing to see her. I am going to the hammam (public bath/sauna) with her and Karrie and Karrie's host mother in a little bit. It will be my first hammam experience and I am really looking forward to it! People here start going to hammams from childhood, every week.

Also, Samar sent me a Flat Stanley (a small paper doll that represents 'her'). I am supposed to take pictures with the doll around Morocco. So far, Flat Stanley has seen the marketplace, the ocean and Hassan Mosque in Casablanca.

Rapidfire

- the summer fellowship I interviewed for yesterday just announced their funds were cut and the program is no longer available. Major downer
- Katie comes tomorrow for her spring break! Major upper.
- Cous cous today! Upper.
- Still stomach virus-y. Downer.
- Abu safely in Haiti! Upper.

The SIlver Lining

I was almost robbed on Friday. Walking home from school at 1 PM when some old guy attempted to get my attention. As has become habit, I ignored him and kept walking.

3 minutes later, I feel pulling on my backpack and turn around to see the pockets unzipped. It's the same guy. I get angry and somehow manage to demand him, in Arabic, to empty his pockets to retrieve anything he may have taken. What blows my mind is that this happened in BROAD DAYLIGHT.

However, the silver lining on the situation is bright for the following reasons:

- I was about a minute away from my apartment and when I got home, visibly upset. My host mother asked what was wrong and what ensued was a very maternal bonding session between us.
- Nothing of mine was taken. The pocket that he had rifled through was the one I usually keep my phone and my wallet however, since I had spent the night before at the dorms in Shaakira's room, I had kept those things in my purse (which I hardly do).

On other exciting notes:

- I have my first stomach virus here. Bad exciting.
- My father reached Haiti safely and is already seeing patients! Good exciting.

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

Blizzard 2010

Oddly enough, missing this epic blizzard hitting home and GW has made me pretty homesick this week.

I went to McDonald's in Fez this past weekend. That place is a palace.

Fez/Meknes

Finally uploaded pictures from the past month. Here are a few of the highlights (Rabat, Fez, Meknes, Chefchaoen).



Fez marketplace
Bab el Had in Rabat
Spices stall in Chefchaoen marketplace
Marketplace (medina) in Rabat
Wood artisan in Fez (he is making a spinning top)
Reservoir in Meknes
Ruins in Fez

The Darker Side of Morocco

Pretty low on the W curve of cultural adjustment right now.

Not much to do when I go back home after classes - homework, dinner, sleep. I had taken to walking around Rabat after my classes to break up the monotony but after this weekend, feel very unsafe doing so. I (along with everyone else in the program) have now gotten so used to cat-calls/heckling/harassment on the streets that I am surprised when I walk by a group of men and don't get unwanted attention. All women are treated this way but being obvious foreigners/Westerners makes you a brighter target.

It usually is not as bad in broad daylight or with groups, and definitely not if you are accompanied by a male but it has been enough to make me feel trapped.

Saturday, after a birthday dinner with most of the group, was the most constant harassment I have observed yet. 2 of my friends were physically assaulted (three separate incidents), I was nearly assaulted, and we all faced countless number of comments/jeering. It's even more frustrating since we don't understand their comments (usually made in French, Darijha, sometimes Spanish if they assume we are Spanish tourists). Our Western mentalities jolt us into wanting to retaliate, to scold them, to make them feel shame but that is probably the worst thing you can do.

That is the NORM here. And, I am realizing, in most places of the world. I come from a lucky place, from America, where being harassed on the street is out of the ordinary. Where misogyny, while still present, is not manifested as severely in rude comments from complete strangers.

Am I spoiled? Have I gotten used to something that is not a reality for most women in the world? I feel guilty for wishing sometimes I had studied abroad in a Western country. But being here is making me realize how opaque of a bubble I have been living in.

All I can do for now is to continue to ignore it, to let it roll of my back, and to appreciate the beauty here. I am determined to not let it mar my experience but right now, it is definitely tainting it.

Moroccan Hospitality

I think a lot of us are getting restless here in Rabat. I have been going on walks after classes this week, exploring the medina, etc. Yesterday, a few of us went and began to talk to one of the stall keepers in Darijha/Arabic mixture. I think Moroccans are really happy to see foreigners attempting to speak their language rather than English/French. His daughter, Zahra, then invited us to their home for couscous today!

Traditionally, Moroccan families have couscous every Friday after Friday prayers. Looking forward to it!

Also, been planning spring break...tentatively going to Rome and Paris for 4-5 days each.

Let's Play a Game!

Whoever successfully guesses (or most closely guesses) what the below picture is of will receive a lovely Moroccan bauble upon my arrival back in the States! This item can be found at several stalls in the marketplace and has a soft, waxy texture. Photo courtesy of Nick.

Jumma, Chefchaouen, Farm

Been away from internet use for a while. It's pretty nice to be honest. I've gotten used to not checking my Facebook/e-mail/phone constantly. Hopefully this translates over to the US!

Friday, I went to mosque with my host mom. It was so cool to see how different a Moroccan prayer service is from the ones I go to at home. When I walked in, everyone had a Quran open and were reading out loud the same chapter in perfect unison. It was unlike anything I had ever heard - chant-like and beautiful. I had my burkah and scarf on, but I still felt that I stuck out like a sore thumb. All of the women were wearing a traditional Moroccan djelaba (Google image it!) and hijabs.

After jumma, 7 of my friends and I took a bus to Chefchaoen! This is a small town about 6 hours bus ride from Rabat. It is gorgeous. It is located between the Rif mountains, and is famous for being completely blue - there are lots of theories for why the homes are all blue but regardless of which one is true, the feel of the whole city was calming and lovely.

Unfortunately, it rained the whole time we were there. We still made the best of it - explored the marketplace (the medina), the Kasbah, went to a great dinner for Robin's birthday. Chefchaouen has become a tourist HOTSPOT. I was surprised with how well a lot of the shopkeepers spoke English. On that note, I was surprised with how many strangers came up to me to ask if I was Indian. Tally of 12 in one day.

Yesterday, all of the kids in the program went to our professor's farm where some of us milked cows, made traditional Moroccan bread, barbecued and ate absurd amounts of cous-cous. Most Moroccan families have couscous every Friday, after they come home from Friday prayers. I will post a picture of the epic couscous from yesterday once I upload my camera.

I have a doctor's appointment in a half hour. Been having breathing problems.
In the meantime, below are pictures Louisa took in Chefchaouen.