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