figs!!
dates!
it's ramadan time
we eat this to break the fast
every single night
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
I would just like to say that I have mastered the bucket shower. Turkish bathrooms have nothing on me.
Mama Amina showed me how to do my laundry by hand today. You know, wooden washboard and clothespins style.
Also, I am a really good Moroccan dancer according to Houssin’s gf.
Goal for this week: visit the hammam (bath house) and get a massage.
Now...time for a music show/ concert? At Mohammed V
Salaam.
Mama Amina showed me how to do my laundry by hand today. You know, wooden washboard and clothespins style.
Also, I am a really good Moroccan dancer according to Houssin’s gf.
Goal for this week: visit the hammam (bath house) and get a massage.
Now...time for a music show/ concert? At Mohammed V
Salaam.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Today was a no-school day!
I was planning to fast with my family, but mom made me a pot of mint tea, so...how could I say no? There are times when appreciating hospitality takes precedence, you know?
Favorite part of the day: sitting in my friend’s living room simultaneously watching 1) a Mexican telenovella, dubbed in Darija, set in New York, and 2) a pirated copy of Step Up 3D dubbed in French with someone translating the important parts into English.
Least favorite part of the day: waking up to realize that I have a cold...boo.
Some friends and I decided to talk a walk around the medina, and apparently everyone else in the medina did too because there were sooo many people, and it was super hot. I had planned to take a ton of pictures, but failed. So tomorrow I will try again...and maybe I will go to to the park!
I’ve taken to writing down every new Darija word I learn in an attempt to remember some of them. We’ll see how this works.
As I write this I am finding out that brother Houssin took a year of English...i knew he was hiding something.
I was planning to fast with my family, but mom made me a pot of mint tea, so...how could I say no? There are times when appreciating hospitality takes precedence, you know?
Favorite part of the day: sitting in my friend’s living room simultaneously watching 1) a Mexican telenovella, dubbed in Darija, set in New York, and 2) a pirated copy of Step Up 3D dubbed in French with someone translating the important parts into English.
Least favorite part of the day: waking up to realize that I have a cold...boo.
Some friends and I decided to talk a walk around the medina, and apparently everyone else in the medina did too because there were sooo many people, and it was super hot. I had planned to take a ton of pictures, but failed. So tomorrow I will try again...and maybe I will go to to the park!
I’ve taken to writing down every new Darija word I learn in an attempt to remember some of them. We’ll see how this works.
As I write this I am finding out that brother Houssin took a year of English...i knew he was hiding something.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
life.
Meet the family
So I’ve been living with my host family in the medina for a few days now. They are great! Shall we meet them?
Mama Amina: She speaks Darija and French and she is precious. I quite enjoy helping her prepare al-fatour (breakfast) in the afternoons before the sunset call to prayer. I peel the apples for the apple-milk juice. She is a lovely cook. Most used word? Couli! (Eat!)
Baba Mohamed: He is a tall, thin man who is very sweet. He likes to speak to me in Darija, but I never really know what to say back except “salaam” and “le bez”. He wears plaid shirts and white crocs...AKA he’s super punk rock like Justin Coyle.
Sister Nadia: She speaks French, Darija, and a little English...which is great, because she helps me understand what is going on...sort of. We share a room and watch t.v. Together, and laugh at the dog...and the whiney kitten who thinks the pooch is its mom.
Brother Badr: He has his own family and lives downstairs, but he speaks English pretty well. He is the one who came to pick me up from the CCCL. We laugh together because I never know what is going on. I think this weekend he is going to show me the famous cemetery In Rabat...which happens to be on basically the best ocean-front land in Rabat.
Brothers Hassin and...shoot...I can’t remember his name: I am putting these to together, but they definitely have some differences. Hassin is my age (I think)...so far he is very sassy, and loves soccer. Other brother is not a fan of wearing shirts. He is pretty quiet, and I don’t see him much (hence me not remembering his name)
Other Hassan: I don’t think he is a family member, but he is here every day, which is wonderful because he speaks English and always teaches me words in Darija. His favorite fashion statement: argyle socks and chuck taylors (high tops, of course)
There you have it, the Sefar family
So I’ve been living with my host family in the medina for a few days now. They are great! Shall we meet them?
Mama Amina: She speaks Darija and French and she is precious. I quite enjoy helping her prepare al-fatour (breakfast) in the afternoons before the sunset call to prayer. I peel the apples for the apple-milk juice. She is a lovely cook. Most used word? Couli! (Eat!)
Baba Mohamed: He is a tall, thin man who is very sweet. He likes to speak to me in Darija, but I never really know what to say back except “salaam” and “le bez”. He wears plaid shirts and white crocs...AKA he’s super punk rock like Justin Coyle.
Sister Nadia: She speaks French, Darija, and a little English...which is great, because she helps me understand what is going on...sort of. We share a room and watch t.v. Together, and laugh at the dog...and the whiney kitten who thinks the pooch is its mom.
Brother Badr: He has his own family and lives downstairs, but he speaks English pretty well. He is the one who came to pick me up from the CCCL. We laugh together because I never know what is going on. I think this weekend he is going to show me the famous cemetery In Rabat...which happens to be on basically the best ocean-front land in Rabat.
Brothers Hassin and...shoot...I can’t remember his name: I am putting these to together, but they definitely have some differences. Hassin is my age (I think)...so far he is very sassy, and loves soccer. Other brother is not a fan of wearing shirts. He is pretty quiet, and I don’t see him much (hence me not remembering his name)
Other Hassan: I don’t think he is a family member, but he is here every day, which is wonderful because he speaks English and always teaches me words in Darija. His favorite fashion statement: argyle socks and chuck taylors (high tops, of course)
There you have it, the Sefar family
Friday, September 3, 2010
as promised
good morning, sunrise. what will your new light bring?
dear hotel majestic, you are not majestic. but your views are...
Thursday, September 2, 2010
butterflies in my tummy
September 1
Tomorrow is the day, everyone.
The day we meet our homestay families. Eek! I have all sorts of nervous-excited-scared-deer-in-the-headlights sort of emotions rumbling through me. For a couple of reasons:
I will be introduced to my brand new family tomorrow afternoon. And I won’t actually be able to communicate with them in words.
Tomorrow this gig becomes REAL. (!!!)
But now for today:
First day of arabic class!! We spent the two hours at the Annexe learning Darija (moroccan arabic)...which by the way is really different from MSA (modern standard arabic). Darija is combined with Berber and French, so basically it’s magical sounding. Let me tell ya.
In the afternoon my friend Tulsi and I walked around the medina once again, I took some photos, etc.
Tonight’s dinner was actually really special: we were able to break the fast with the traditional Fotour meal. It was delicious! Soup, boiled eggs, dried dates and figs, delicious honey-soaked treats, bread, and a something resembling spanikopita. One of the program directors also interpreted the prayer for us up on the terrace as we heard the call to prayer. Getting a peak at this tradition was really special...i’m excited to share some of it with my host family this next week. (even though waking up at 4 am to eat breakfast will be a semi-struggle)
OH YEAH...we also stumbled upon this carnival on the riverside! It was great, really. A bunch of us walked through the medina to this carnival we had heard about, and had a blast walking around and going on rides...well, okay, I went on one ride..but it was great!
The end.
Pictures to come...promise, promise, promise.
Tomorrow is the day, everyone.
The day we meet our homestay families. Eek! I have all sorts of nervous-excited-scared-deer-in-the-headlights sort of emotions rumbling through me. For a couple of reasons:
I will be introduced to my brand new family tomorrow afternoon. And I won’t actually be able to communicate with them in words.
Tomorrow this gig becomes REAL. (!!!)
But now for today:
First day of arabic class!! We spent the two hours at the Annexe learning Darija (moroccan arabic)...which by the way is really different from MSA (modern standard arabic). Darija is combined with Berber and French, so basically it’s magical sounding. Let me tell ya.
In the afternoon my friend Tulsi and I walked around the medina once again, I took some photos, etc.
Tonight’s dinner was actually really special: we were able to break the fast with the traditional Fotour meal. It was delicious! Soup, boiled eggs, dried dates and figs, delicious honey-soaked treats, bread, and a something resembling spanikopita. One of the program directors also interpreted the prayer for us up on the terrace as we heard the call to prayer. Getting a peak at this tradition was really special...i’m excited to share some of it with my host family this next week. (even though waking up at 4 am to eat breakfast will be a semi-struggle)
OH YEAH...we also stumbled upon this carnival on the riverside! It was great, really. A bunch of us walked through the medina to this carnival we had heard about, and had a blast walking around and going on rides...well, okay, I went on one ride..but it was great!
The end.
Pictures to come...promise, promise, promise.
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