FeedYourHead!!!
Let me give you some things to chew on….
This post is mainly inspired by a few conversations with other volunteers which were inspired by strange happenings around town. Morocco is an increasingly hysterical place to live in. I used to get frustrated with it all, but now I mostly just laugh. I love it here, I really do, but for gods sakes some things just crack me up (aka I make myself laugh to avoid crying.) Lately I (and some friends) have been talking a lot about how (some) Moroccan behaviors would go over in the states–
- People bark at my dog, everyday, without fail. I walk my pup several times a day around town– women, men, and children will start barking at her as we pass, as if they are trying to illicit some response. She mainly ignores them at this point and we keep walking. Now what if you were walking your dog down the street in Philadelphia and strangers started barking at it? Hysterical to visualize.
- The amount of “BONJOUR’s” I receive each day is annoying. My town is not THAT huge. I’m fairly certain everybody knows about the 3 Americans living in the city. Regardless, “bonjour” is always the greeting a get from strangers. Please try to imagine walking around New York City shouting “NI HAO!” at every Asian person you saw. How ridiculous would that be? Oh I’m laughing as I write this.
- Today a lady who hangs out at our Dar Chebab (youth house) was working on her computer while I was having my high school English class. We were knee-deep in synonyms and she was knee-deep in youtube when suddenly she looks over at me and said “zalook.” Zalook is a delicious eggplant/pepper dip type of dish here in Morocco, that I happen to love very much. This woman believes that it is the only thing I eat here in Morocco. Anyways, can you imagine sitting in a classroom helping students with work when your principal comes in and shouts “EGGPLANT!” at you, out of the blue? Oh man we were all cracking up at that point.
Those are just 3 examples of MANY weird things that happen around here.
In other news, my sister and brother-in-law’s visit here was great. While it was way too rushed and busy, I was happy to share Morocco with them. Our trip to Portugal was AWESOME! While only 3 days, it was beautiful and relaxing.
My sister and I in Portugal.
Getting back into the groove has taken me until today… I didn’t have any classes the past 10ish days because I was in such a post-vacation funk. My high school class started back up today and I’m looking forward to watching the kids continue to improve with their English. They really are a joy to spend time with.
Speaking of my high school class, one of my students has created her very own blog, so please follow her if you’re interested. She is writing about issues she faces here in Morocco and her observations about Arab and Islamic culture in general, amongst other topics. I’m proud of you, Majda!
I’m still in love with my puppy, still decreasing the frequency of my bucket baths, still looking for other NGO’s to work with…….. more social work kind of stuff…. you know…
My girl with her kitty friend.
Take care.
