The past few weeks have been a potluck of experiences. I'm quite proud of myself for that metaphor. Ya know when you go to a pot luck dinner, only one dish is within your control. When you get there, you find all sorts of goodies, but some of them aren't so good. The thing is though, usually, you find plenty of scrumptious dishes that it evens out to be a wonderful experience. Ok, enough of the metaphor.
In the weeks following the trip to Chefchauoen, I have:
Been to the desert
Nearly died in flash flooding
Had a first kiss with a wonderful guy atop moonlit sand dunes
Wittnessed a medical emergency
Adopted a kitten, Noodle
Fell down a flight of marble stairs, causing immense pain in my right hip that continues today, a week later
Recieved additional funding for my stay here- meaning I'll be here through June
Found out my parents and best friend are coming to visit
Took multiple tests (the final is today)
Got "married" ie bought a wedding ring so the ravenous men here will leave me alone
Moved out of my old house (and will move in to a beautiful refurbished space next Tuesday)
Now on Friday, we leave for Spain. I love Morocco. I love my friends here. And I love seeing my progress in Arabic.
B'Salama
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Mint Tea
Wednesday of last week was Eid, the holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan. So, we had this huge break. We only went to school on Monday and Tuesday and then had a five day weekend. For me, this has had both positives and negatives. I've found that I'm really bad at getting back into the swing of school after such sparing school attendance. I tend to get antsy in class now, and a little crazy. But, I think I provide some entertainment- for my teachers and classmates both. So, I don't think I'm too much of a disturbance. What's really unfortunate is that our class schedule has changed as well, and most days we have class for four hours in a row with no break, and we're at school and in a classroom until dark. Yikes.
But, there were good tidings of this vacation as well. My roommate, Liz, and my other friend George went to Chefchouen for the weekend. For those of you not familiar with Moroccan geography (and assuming that's quite a few because I don't really know it either) it's about four hours away from me on a bus, generally north of where I am in Fes. The bus ride there took as through curvy roads and into the Rif mountains. It's a beautiful trip. But even more beautiful is this quaint town of 40,000. Nestled amidst the valleys of the mountains, Chefchouen is full of white washed houses- and for some reason they paint the pathways between the houses a pale, cauliflower blue. It gives off the feel of an ocean town, but there is no water in sight.
Our first day there, we settled into our hotel (which cost a total of $20 a night for three people in a perfect 3 person room), we took a "pleasant walk" up to the ruins of an old spanish mosque. There, we met two guys from England, Harry and Tom (and for those of you who know my style back in the states, you know that us meeting them was totally thanks to me considering I'm willing to embarrass myself and talk to strangers- when appropriate of course). We ended up spending the rest of the weekend with them, and they showed us a truly pleasent way of walking back from the mosque as our first route was actually somewhat grueling.
We spent our days there drinking mint tea, eating wonderful hot meals, and talking. But the highlight of the trip- for me at least- was our Saturday hike up into the mountains surrounding the city. We hiked about 2 hours out and then returned. For me, this is a big deal because my fear of heights used to be something that completely inhibited me from participating in anything that involved a general upwards direction. But, I was able to conquer my fears partially when I was tricked into climbing a mountain in Argentina, and I couldn't be more grateful that I have maintained a determination to resist that fear. The views from the top were spectacular. If you ever find yourself in Morocco, this would honestly my number one recommendation as of October 10, 2008.
On Monday, we were back to school. I've been hanging out a lot with people at school, and sharing meals with them often. It's nice to be constantly eating with other people here- I tended towards loner meals back in the states. I just found that everyone was running on their own busy schedule, and here, everything is quite leisurely. I can't lie, most of our food comes in the form of a tagine, which I thought I would get sick of. But now that the weather is getting colder, I think I'll continue to be very appreciative of the warmth of a tagine and a good bowl of harira (traditional Moroccan soup). I've had this relationship with most of the food here- when I first got here, I thought I would die eating tagines and harira and drinking mint tea for a year. But, I've found that all these things have grown on me- I even crave a cup of mint tea occasionally. Watch out, I may just become more Moroccan that I bargained for.
B'Salama
But, there were good tidings of this vacation as well. My roommate, Liz, and my other friend George went to Chefchouen for the weekend. For those of you not familiar with Moroccan geography (and assuming that's quite a few because I don't really know it either) it's about four hours away from me on a bus, generally north of where I am in Fes. The bus ride there took as through curvy roads and into the Rif mountains. It's a beautiful trip. But even more beautiful is this quaint town of 40,000. Nestled amidst the valleys of the mountains, Chefchouen is full of white washed houses- and for some reason they paint the pathways between the houses a pale, cauliflower blue. It gives off the feel of an ocean town, but there is no water in sight.
Our first day there, we settled into our hotel (which cost a total of $20 a night for three people in a perfect 3 person room), we took a "pleasant walk" up to the ruins of an old spanish mosque. There, we met two guys from England, Harry and Tom (and for those of you who know my style back in the states, you know that us meeting them was totally thanks to me considering I'm willing to embarrass myself and talk to strangers- when appropriate of course). We ended up spending the rest of the weekend with them, and they showed us a truly pleasent way of walking back from the mosque as our first route was actually somewhat grueling.
We spent our days there drinking mint tea, eating wonderful hot meals, and talking. But the highlight of the trip- for me at least- was our Saturday hike up into the mountains surrounding the city. We hiked about 2 hours out and then returned. For me, this is a big deal because my fear of heights used to be something that completely inhibited me from participating in anything that involved a general upwards direction. But, I was able to conquer my fears partially when I was tricked into climbing a mountain in Argentina, and I couldn't be more grateful that I have maintained a determination to resist that fear. The views from the top were spectacular. If you ever find yourself in Morocco, this would honestly my number one recommendation as of October 10, 2008.
On Monday, we were back to school. I've been hanging out a lot with people at school, and sharing meals with them often. It's nice to be constantly eating with other people here- I tended towards loner meals back in the states. I just found that everyone was running on their own busy schedule, and here, everything is quite leisurely. I can't lie, most of our food comes in the form of a tagine, which I thought I would get sick of. But now that the weather is getting colder, I think I'll continue to be very appreciative of the warmth of a tagine and a good bowl of harira (traditional Moroccan soup). I've had this relationship with most of the food here- when I first got here, I thought I would die eating tagines and harira and drinking mint tea for a year. But, I've found that all these things have grown on me- I even crave a cup of mint tea occasionally. Watch out, I may just become more Moroccan that I bargained for.
B'Salama
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Mind Your Language
I haven't mentioned too much about the language here in Morocco. I think a large part of me is trying to ignore the fact that I don't speak it. Now, you might think I'm referring to Arabic. And then you'd say that I'm being hard on myself, that I've studied it for over a year and of course I can have some basic conversations. But then, I'd tell you that unfortunately, you are mistaken. It is not Arabic that my fellows speak here in Morocco. It is a whole new animal.
The language in Morocco is referred to as Darija (and in addition to that, there are 4 Berber dialects that are spoken in various regions, and pretty drastic regional differences within Darija itself). People warned me of this when I was back in the states, in fact I was prepared to use French to get along for a while before I picked it up. But a note to those who have Morocco in their future: Darija is not something that one simply picks up. In my opinion, it is related to Fusha in about the same way that French and Spanish are relatives. I wasn't prepared to learn a whole new set of conjugations, vocabulary, etc. And I most certainly was not prepared to be critisized for my inability to speak Darija. Alas, I am. And I plan to set out on a Darija adventure for the next six week session starting in late October- that is, if all goes according to plan.
Tonight, my roommates and I are planning a Mid-East Feast complete with Hummus, Falafel, and Mojadara. I was one of the sorry souls that was under the impression that some of these foods would be readily avaliable in Morocco. Yet again, however, I was mistaken. The cuisine here is nothing like the fresh, green, cool, healthy wonder-food that hails from the Middle East. The food here is heavy, over-cooked, tomato-based, greasy, and sweet. People here have not yet gotten word of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, or of the hazards of consuming 2,000g of sugar on the daily (hence, obesity and diabetes are on the rise, and people teeth aren't so hot here either). And to my surprise, Middle Eastern foods are much more avaliable in Columbus, Ohio than they are here in Fez. Apparently there is a Syrian restaurant in the capitol, Rabat, but it's also fairly pricey. Oh how I miss Aladdin's and their scrumptious vegetarian combo...
But anyways, tonight we're creating our own. The chickpeas soaked for a good 2 days, and now they've started their 2 hour boiling stint. We may not be successful in finding tahini- we haven't been so far. But there are plenty of recipes for tahini-free hummus online. Liz, my wonderful roommate with just as much love for Middle Eastern cuisine, has mastered the preparation of Falafel- which I'm very much looking forward too (although I'll miss the tahini yogurt dressing I get from Aladdin's- Can you tell I'm kinda over the food here much? How about I list all the other things I miss... no, I won't bore you with that). And Mojadara, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of indulging in this Palestinian treat, is a lentil dish garnished with caramelized onions. Yum-City, as Mr. Bertolino would say.
I'll have to let you know how it goes. This is our first collective stint with rejuvinating dry chick peas. At first, none of us knew that you had to boil them. Thank God for the internet and all sorts of crazy cooking websites. In our past experiences with dinner parties, more people than expected always show up- but we're planning for it this time. Our house is ideal for entertaining...
Cheers
The language in Morocco is referred to as Darija (and in addition to that, there are 4 Berber dialects that are spoken in various regions, and pretty drastic regional differences within Darija itself). People warned me of this when I was back in the states, in fact I was prepared to use French to get along for a while before I picked it up. But a note to those who have Morocco in their future: Darija is not something that one simply picks up. In my opinion, it is related to Fusha in about the same way that French and Spanish are relatives. I wasn't prepared to learn a whole new set of conjugations, vocabulary, etc. And I most certainly was not prepared to be critisized for my inability to speak Darija. Alas, I am. And I plan to set out on a Darija adventure for the next six week session starting in late October- that is, if all goes according to plan.
Tonight, my roommates and I are planning a Mid-East Feast complete with Hummus, Falafel, and Mojadara. I was one of the sorry souls that was under the impression that some of these foods would be readily avaliable in Morocco. Yet again, however, I was mistaken. The cuisine here is nothing like the fresh, green, cool, healthy wonder-food that hails from the Middle East. The food here is heavy, over-cooked, tomato-based, greasy, and sweet. People here have not yet gotten word of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, or of the hazards of consuming 2,000g of sugar on the daily (hence, obesity and diabetes are on the rise, and people teeth aren't so hot here either). And to my surprise, Middle Eastern foods are much more avaliable in Columbus, Ohio than they are here in Fez. Apparently there is a Syrian restaurant in the capitol, Rabat, but it's also fairly pricey. Oh how I miss Aladdin's and their scrumptious vegetarian combo...
But anyways, tonight we're creating our own. The chickpeas soaked for a good 2 days, and now they've started their 2 hour boiling stint. We may not be successful in finding tahini- we haven't been so far. But there are plenty of recipes for tahini-free hummus online. Liz, my wonderful roommate with just as much love for Middle Eastern cuisine, has mastered the preparation of Falafel- which I'm very much looking forward too (although I'll miss the tahini yogurt dressing I get from Aladdin's- Can you tell I'm kinda over the food here much? How about I list all the other things I miss... no, I won't bore you with that). And Mojadara, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of indulging in this Palestinian treat, is a lentil dish garnished with caramelized onions. Yum-City, as Mr. Bertolino would say.
I'll have to let you know how it goes. This is our first collective stint with rejuvinating dry chick peas. At first, none of us knew that you had to boil them. Thank God for the internet and all sorts of crazy cooking websites. In our past experiences with dinner parties, more people than expected always show up- but we're planning for it this time. Our house is ideal for entertaining...
Cheers
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