As I was packing for this trip, a lot of questions came up, do they have plumbing there? Toilet paper? Clean water? Internet? Face Wash? Shampoo? Etc. etc. so I have compiled a short list of the things I think future travelers or curious blog readers should know that Morocco (my part of it anyway) has and does not have.
Morocco Does NOT Have:
Trash Cans- that is unless you count the street. Littering here is how you throw things away. I’m not sure where it all goes and it’s really pretty sad because Fes is absolutely gorgeous. Really nice landscaping, greenery and parks and fountains galore, but all of it is littered with garbage. No sanitation system and no shame about it.
Silverware- We did have spoons for couscous, and a grits like gruel I had one day for breakfast. Otherwise, we eat with our hands. It’s ok though, I feel like I’m almost better with my hands than with knives and forks.
Nightlife- I did see a nightclub today in the new city, but for the most part, people are in their homes by nine or ten. Especially in the medina, there is just nothing safe to do past that time. (p.s. if you include alcohol in the nightlife category that is a DEFINITE no no. Morocco is an Islamic country let’s remember which strictly forbids boozin’. I did, however, see non-alcoholic beer on the menu at this pretty western style café I went to.)
English- If people aren’t speaking the local Arabic dialect they speak French. A few shopkeepers or people who have been through a lot of school will speak broken English, (also obviously the people at my school speak English), but otherwise you are in no man’s land. No English text, all Arabic and/or French. In a cab the other day the driver asked us, “why in America you no speak French?” Instead of, “because we think Jesus spoke English and we know that it is the chosen language,” we responded that no one really speaks French in America, instead a lot of people speak spanish too. (I should have told them that my sister is actually a French scholar, but I didn’t, sorry Cathy)
Clean water- The water in the new city is drinkable but not tasty. In the medina they boil it into coffee or tea. These people are NOT getting their 8 glasses a day, let me tell you, and they are just fine, which lends a hand to showing how relative “objective” western science really is. I am a huge water chugger though so I always fill up my water bottle in the new city and drink it at home. My host mom asked me why I drink so much water the other day and I didn’t know what to say so I said it was because I run a lot.
Morocco Has:
Stuff- Electronics, clothes, shoes, soaps and shampoos, cell phones, candy, Kleenex, toilet paper. If you know how to say it in Arabic, French, or you can pantomime it, you can buy it (very cheaply) in Morocco. The only thing I haven’t seen for sale that was on my packing list was tampons (I would not recommend pantomiming that one)
Toilets- They are not uncommon, but I do get the impression that western style toilets are still new and limited to at least the middle class.
Internet- My host sister and brother fight over the computer constantly. Cyber cafes are around every corner (though sometimes they are kind of sketchy corners). Wireless, however, is more of a rarity and sometimes doesn’t work as well.
EXTREME hospitality- The word extreme is capitalized for a reason. Yes shopkeepers want you to by stuff, but they are also just super nice. I, and all of my classmates, have had numerous invitations to come in, come back, join for coffee, sit and talk, practice Arabic, help with English, sit, eat, look, try, etc. etc. I hear my mother’s warnings to be careful, and the foreboding words that sitting in a coffee shop here is the road to marriage, so don’t worry, I haven’t taken up any invitations. Still, people see you and are so excited to talk to you, host you, and they remember you the next day, too. The host families themselves, of course, are so so welcoming, but the culture here overall is about family and friends. You buy something from the same shop twice, you are friends, says my professor. And, in my experience, you don’t buy anything, and you are still friends! It’s genuine hospitality and it’s amazing. Today my friend Erin from the UMN and I were walking through the medina and there was a mini-parade like of drums and horns. Naturally we followed it, and discovered it was a wedding parade! We were hurried along with it by women and children and eventually people started crowding into this building. We were about to turn around but everyone started saying (if they could in English or body languaging it) to “come in, come in” so we did, and were led among the throngs of people to see the beautiful bride. It was kind of late so we left after just a few minutes but we were invited back to another wedding tomorrow. One of the women we met was somehow associated with the language school we go to so she gave us her phone number. Like I said, these people love… people!
Allah- Every greeting, goodbye, and saying has Allah in it. Morocco has Allah like America has McDonalds; which reminds me, Fes also has a McDonalds. I walk by it on my way to school. There is a large billboard featuring the McArabia which makes me want to vomit. I am not going to lie, though, I will be going there soon for some soft serve, inshahallah.
Well, it’s getting late and tomorrow is my first day of school! I am very nervous; I have not been a student in so long and Arabic is saab jdn!! (very hard!!) Sabach al- lacher. (til morning!)
P.S. If anyone has any other questions about life or stuff in Fes, let me know and I will happily tell you about it. If you want to start putting in requests for super cheap stuff you want me to bring back for you, I can buy everything you ever dreamed of and more for pennies. Somehow I feel ok about it too because the shopkeepers are so damn friendly. It’s gonna be a very Moroccan Christmas.
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