Please Vote!!!

One of the exchange students and her host family entered in an AFS contest to win a trip to San Francisco or New York. Please help them win! Melisa has been a great student this year and definitely deserves this!

Follow the link and vote:

http://www.afsusa.org/reel-life/vote/?for=78209-Ratliff

Going Back

      After three and a half years I finally made it back to Paraguay. Now keep in mind I only spent a summer in Paraguay, so my return experience there was significantly different from what it will be like when I return to Morocco, since I stayed there for nearly a year. The funny thing is that my experience in Paraguay was only the beginning of my amazing relationship with my host family and love for the country. After leaving Paraguay I've maintained nearly daily contact with my host family, and during my departure It had promised to come back. My return was something that had always been part of the plan. Going back was amazing and I am extremely happy and thankful that I have such a great relationship with my host family, and I truly feel that they are a second family.
     Speaking of returning, I recently found out that I received the SALAM scholarship. It is a five week scholarship to Oman. It looks like the time to revisit my host countries has begun, so Oman is the next one. I will be there for five weeks in the summer. Inshallah I will be updating my blog as I continue my Arabic studies!

Marrakech is my City

From the beginning I was told my exchange year would go by quickly. I believed it because the summer programs I went on passed in a blink of an eye and eight months wouldn't be that much difference. I didn't realize it would be this fast though. I also didn't realize that Marrakech would truly become home. Walking to the medina I realized how frequently I ended up walking to Jemma al Fna from Gueliz and  how I knew every shop and area on the way, I tried to remember things from home and nothing would come up. The thing about exchange is that even though it is a short time if you really want to you can absorb quite a bit and adapt in ways you wouldn't expect.

In eight months I made incredible friendships, defined myself, improved my Arabic skills, and discovered countless things. There is a saying in darija that translates to "in Morocco don't be surprised" even knowing this I remained surprised every day by the new things I was discovering every day. Morocco is one of those countries you never stop getting to know. It is incredibly complex, dynamic, and full of a rich culture and history that is captivating to say the least. Being home now in the States I miss it. I miss it so much and my Friday feels empty without couscous. I keep reaching for my little nokia to realize that now my friends are scattered all over the globe. It feels odd to actually completely understand what the people around me are saying. However, I do know I will be back in Morocco whether it be this year or in four I will be back.

More Endings?

Today was my last day of teaching. At the beginning of the year I started taking TEFL classes at the center I am studying Arabic at and began teaching in the second semester. I have been considering teaching for quite some time, but have never had the opportunity to do so. Before coming to Morocco I had no idea whether it was just something for me to consider and then realize I didn't like later. Teaching my own class in a structured setting felt incredibly right. I have never been more satisfied with what I am doing and being able to see the amount my students have changed by becoming more comfortable within the class and with the language they were studying was incredible. At times figuring out how to explain certain grammatical points only in English took time, but every moment of planning and teaching my students was absolutely enjoyable. I can only hope that my students only learned and discovered from me as much as I did from them. I am so lucky to have been given this opportunity through the CLC and NSLI-Y. Although it is said for my first class to be ending I can only hope that many doors have been opened to my students for learning English or at least they will have the key to do so now. As for myself, I am looking forward to the new things I will be able to do with my TEFL certificate, and I sincerely hope that there will be many more teaching experiences for me to come.

Being Grateful

I'll be honest, the whole Arabic every day for eight months is hard. I knew coming into this program that Arabic was a difficult language and that if I wanted to succeed in my time here I would have to remain focused. At times I am a 100% focused and at other times it feels like any motivation I had is completely lost. However, each time that motivation disappears it all comes back because I realize that I have been given an incredible opportunity that I need to make the most of. I am living in an amazing and beautiful country. I am surrounded by great friends, even though we do the same things all the time I still always enjoy our routines of going to a cafe or just walking around Marrakech without purpose. Honestly, just about everyone in this country is amazing. The welcoming strangers and the Moroccans that have invited myself and friends to tea and dinner are some of the people I will remember most from my experience here and these stranger manage to help outweigh the street harassment that is ever so present in Morocco. I have the best host family ever. Really I do. I couldn't be happier where I am and they have been incredibly gracious in welcoming me and making me feel like a part of the family. I also seem to have gained three mothers while I've been here. When a Moroccan women calls you bintee "daughter" you better believe that you have a new mama and be happy because they will treat you like their actual daughters, and Moroccan mothers are fantastic. A Mother is one of the best people on Earth and being able to have multiple is even better. I also have teachers and mentors that are incredibly patient. Not only are the people here fantastic, but to my family and friends that have kept in touch with me from abroad you have no idea the impact you have made, and that a simple message just always seems to make things even better than they already are.

One of the things I constantly told myself through high school was that the only thing constant in life is change. Arriving in Morocco was a huge change, but then I got settled in and made what felt to be a pretty good and comfortable life in Morocco. However, being here has taught me that the moment you think you have everything figured out you realize that in reality you don't have anything figured out. Life is a process of continual learning and rediscovering of yourself and the world around you.

To all my friends, family, those that aren't biologically related but practically are related, teachers, mentors, etc. At this moment I am just so incredibly grateful for everything you have done, for the amazing times we have spent together, and through all the things you have helped me learn.

The Best Nights are the Nights Spent at a Wedding

Before coming to Morocco I had only been to two weddings in the span of eighteen years. After being in Morocco for only six months I have been to three weddings. Going to a Moroccan wedding permits you to witness an amazing display of culture.

Most men at weddings wear formal dress suits and ties, but at more traditional weddings you will find men wearing formal jelabas. A wedding is an occasion for women to get as dressed up as they possibly can. Many women go to salons and get both their hair and make-up done. Women will either wear a dress called a taksheta or a gandora. The taksheta is the traditional Moroccan dress. There will be a simple dress and then on top of the dress a more intricately designed dress. In addition a large decorated belt is worn. The gandora is a large flowing dress that is beautifully decorated and somewhat resembles a butterfly when the arms are fully stretched out. The bride and groom will generally go through several outfit changes. The bride generally changes at least three times, but the dress changes could go past six times.

The thing that all people look forward to in weddings is the food. Fish and chicken are ancient symbols of fertility. A fish pastilla is generally served as well as a sheep tagine with almonds, apricots, boiled eggs, onions, and spices. A variety of small appetizers are served before the main dishes and after the main dishes of course a large plate of fruit is served. Following this several small cakes and sweets are served along with the traditional Moroccan soup ‘harira’ and some tea or coffee.  

Before the wedding the family of the groom and his friends will meet at his house for a celebration and the family of the bride and her friends will meet at her house for a celebration. Everyone meets together either at a home or at an event hall. Most weddings are held in large reception halls. The bride’s family will arrive first and the groom and his family will arrive carrying gifts as part of the dowry given to the bride and her family. The dowry consists of money, jewelry, clothes, and perfume. Moroccan weddings are an event that take up the entire night. The starting time could be stated as eight or nine, but usually not everyone  will be at the reception hall until around ten. Weddings that finish early are the weddings that finish at five. Most weddings do not finish until at least six or seven in the morning. The night is spent watching the bride and groom get carried in by a group of men on thrones. This is generally led by the ‘neggafa’ who play as helpers for the bride and lead songs and chants. They also do henna for the bride on the day of her wedding and help in arranging her dresses. In addition to watching the bride and groom and eating delicious food there is a great deal of dancing. Traditional chaabi music will be played and a group of Ganowa music performers are also hired.

At the end of the wedding the bride and groom will be brought in carried on thrones one final time and then leave for their honeymoon and the guests will leave happily exhausted from spending the night dancing and eating.

CLC Marrakech is Happy

The North of Morocco

I recently did a presentation over a trip we took to the North of Morocco. Here is the video that goes along with it:

Teacher?

Today was my first day of teaching at the CLC! It ended up going much better than I expected it to! I only had four of my eight students show up, but luckily everything still went well. I have a class of all girls. I recognized a few of them from the interviews. The other American students that taught on Monday and Wednesday all said to make sure to over plan because I would go through the lesson alot faster than I thought I would, but humdulilah the lesson I had originally planned was more than enough and now I have an extra lesson prepared.

This first lesson really got me excited for the rest of the semester. I have wanted to teach for a long time and now that my first opportunity to do it in a professional setting has gone well I am extremely satisfied. Inshallah next week all of my class will show up rather than just half the class, but just based off of today I have a good feeling about what the rest of the semester will hold in store. 

Well That Was Fast

Well I have officially reached the halfway point. It's scary. I have truly come to love Morocco as a country and I am so happy with my life here. Obviously not everything here is perfect and as with each country there are many ugly and beautiful things, but even with these things I have a complete desire to stay. Each time I start thinking about going home I realize how quickly these first four months have gone and that the next four are bound to go even quicker, and I am not ready in anyway to even think about going back to the States. For this post I am going to reflect on the best parts of my exchange so far and what I am looking forward to and hoping to do in the next four months.

My top ten most memorable moments so far are (not in any particular order):

1. Going to Ouzoud with both American friends and Moroccan friends and realizing that people weren't separated in groups of Americans or Moroccans and that everyone was completely enjoying their time. Plus the waterfalls at Ouzoud are an amazing view.

2. Spending the night in the Sahara and getting to ride a camel for the first time.

3. All the times when I have completely shocked people when I speak Arabic and being able to get tea or free things because of it.

4. Cooking tex-mex food for my friends and one of the host families.

5. This isn't exactly a moment, but more of a continual activity. I have loved having the opportunity to study oud in Morocco and even though at this point in my life I've realized my future career goals are not related into music in any way I am glad that I am able to keep music a part of my life.

6. Attending a Moroccan wedding. SO much food and dancing.

7.  Observing English classes at the CLC and having a teacher that allowed me to teach his class.

8. All of the times that I've gone to Jemma al Fna. Something fun always ends up happening and it's just a constant reminder of the fact that I really am living in a completely different place.

9. Spending Christmas in Essaouira.

10.  Eid Kabeer. The sacrificing of a sheep and sheep for lunch and dinner for weeks in short.

If I had known all of the things I would be doing in Morocco before coming here I wouldn't have believed it. Even though I am in a routine at this point there is still always something new to see and learn each day and I am very lucky to be here through a scholarship that provides many opportunities for more than just learning Arabic.

In these next four months I am truly looking forward to starting to teach. My first class is this Friday and I am a little nervous because this is going to be my class rather than the class of another teacher that is letting me student teach. These will be my students and teaching is something I've always had a desire to teach and I still have to pinch myself each day and realize that this is actually my life and in such a short time frame I am accomplishing more than I ever thought I would. I am looking forward to continuing to learn in Arabic, oud, and going into even deeper studies of the culture and history of Moroccan while sharing my own culture.

Time has gone by so much faster than I thought I would and I am looking forward to making the most of the next half of my exchange. 

The Amal Womens Training Center and Moroccan Restaurant

For the past few months, I have volunteered as an English teacher at an association called the Amal Center here in Marrakech. The goal of the association, which doubles as a restaurant, is to empower marginalized women in Morocco via employment and training opportunities. The center provides them not only a livelihood, but a safe haven and a support network. Besides the goal of the center itself, these women are all wonderful, hard workers. The Amal Center is currently running a fundraising effort in order to expand the outreach and scale of the association. Any contributions would be great, and highly appreciated by the women of the association. Thank you, and feel free to share this fundraising effort with those you know!
http://www.rockethub.com/projects/35895

Third Time's the Charm (A Story of a Christmas Hammam)

After going to a hammam in Morocco you feel reborn. I barely consider myself clean after a shower now just because it is nowhere near to getting you as clean as a hammam trip does. Now my first two hammam trips weren't great. There's a reason why I have only been three times in three months, but after the third try I have finally had an experience that has me planning to make going to the hammam a weekly habit. The first time going to the hammam I was shocked and couldn't quite figure out how to handle being in a steamy bath house room filled with naked women. In reality my first experience was a pretty good one, but it was slightly ruined by having to rush out early after realizing I was several minutes late for an appointment. The second time I went was unpleasant to say the least. I had several old women yell at me for laying down on a bench (that's what they're meant for) and after that trip I wasn't left with much of a desire to go back.

As it has continually gotten colder showering has also gotten quite a bit more difficult. Taking a bucket shower in 10 c weather isn't exactly an appealing idea. Since the plan for tomorrow is to go with my family to a big fancy wedding I decided it would be a good idea to pick up and go to the hammam. To make it even better my host mom surprised me with treating me to the fancy hammam next to my house. She also paid for one of the hammam ladies to scrub me. So the basics of the hammam are that there are three different rooms. A super hot room, a medium hot room, and a mildly hot room. In the fancy hammam the process was that your set up in your own personal area where you have your own sink and bench all set up in the medium hot room . You put on the beldi soap which is a blackish green oily soap that is always used in the hammam and then go and lay down in the super hot room. You're supposed to stay in the super hot room for at least five minutes in those five minutes you sweat more than you ever think you could and you just feel like a limp boiled pasta noodle. Next you move into the medium hot room and fill up your sink with hot and cold water and wash the soap off. Once you wash the soap off you get on a cot and a lady scrubs your body. Just imagine a lifetime of dead skin being completely scrubbed off your body. You honestly don't know how dirty you have been living your entire life until you go to a hammam in Morocco. Many people repeat the process a few times or you can continue on to just wash your hair and body until you are satisfied and then move onto the mildly hot room for a final rinsing. Afterwards your super clean and your whole body feels like a babies butt. Bam! A whole new person just because of a hammam trip.

Marrakesh International Film Festival

Two weeks ago Marrakesh held an international film festival. Each night I went with my friends to watch the free films at Jemma al Fna and we also got to go to the red carpet. There was also a random sword fighting event at the opera house that we saw after the red carpet. Here is a video we made for my class.

http://youtu.be/w15KIJbdAGo

Pieces Fall Together

Many times as I am walking to the bus stop each morning I see the bus coming and I realize that I need to start running or else I won't make it. This generally has a few varying results: 1. I make it on time for the bus 2. It blows right past me without stopping 3. It blows right past me, waits at the stop for a few moments, and then decides to leave right before I arrive 4. It stops right next to me (This only happened once). However, today was quite different. Today I got up around the time I usually leave, but I still managed to leave with good time. Of course today was one of those run to the bus days, but as the bus passed me I realized that there was no way I was going to make it to the bus stop on time so I started walking. I noticed that after the one person at the bus stop got on the bus wasn't moving. Wait, the bus was waiting for me? I started running again and thanked the bus driver profusely. I pulled out my bus pass to pay, but it wasn't working for some reason. On the way running to the bus my card had fallen out and I was just left with the hard plastic case for my bus card. The bus driver told me to look outside I stepped out and didn't see it anywhere near the bus so I got back on ready to pay with cash, and he told me to go back out and look farther down. I felt terrible for delaying the bus schedule and was wondering how much time I would have to find the pass, but as I was getting off a man ran up to me and handed me my bus card. The bus was still there and I managed to get where I needed to be on time.

Honestly, my morning really could not have gotten any better. Everything ended up working out in ways I never would have expected them to work, and at this moment I really couldn't be anymore satisfied with the way things are going and the things I'm experiencing. 

Second Encounters

There are some events in life that just happen to be completely and totally inexplicable and this past weekend I definitely had one of those moments. Every time I go back to it I try to figure out why it happened and how it happened. The chances of what happened were extremely slim and I just cannot understand how it did end up happening.

On our trip to Southern Morocco we spent a day in Tamgroute. While we were there we visited a library filled with historical texts and we visited where the pottery was made. Tamgroute is well known for making green tiles that are found in many mosques. I also go to make a fool of myself trying to make a vase. Considering that I had spent a reasonable amount of time at pottery camps I thought that maybe I would be able to make something simple, but apparently my pottery skills are not available right now and everyone with me got to see that as well. In addition to all of these things we had a short time addition to our group. A young boy (I'd give him up to ten years old) followed us around to see what we were up to and during this time I did to talk to him in the very little and bad Arabic I knew at the time. The encounters you make with people in cities are generally what makes a city memorable and this little boy is what made Tamgroute memorable for me.

Considering Tamgroute is about six hours away from Marrakesh I did not expect to be seeing this boy ever again, but just a few weekends ago I was sitting at a shop in Jemma el Fna drinking tea (typical Morocco, I know) and I saw a young boy that looked just like him. It couldn't be him though because he lived in Tamgroute and there was definitely no way that we would both be in the same are of  Jemma al Fna at the same time. Things like that just DON'T happen in life. It's too strange. You can barely call it a coincidence because it's just so much more than that. It's absolutely insane. However, the little look alike boy did turn around and it turned out that it was him and just for confirmation he also recognized me. He remembered me!

I still can't figure out how or why this happened. It is the single most unusual encounter in my life to date. That morning my family discouraged me from going to Jemma al Fna because I was going to be going on my own. I had tried discouraging myself from going because I had a good load of Arabic studies, as usual. For some reason though I decided that I needed to go to Jemma al Fna and I went. Look what happened. Why it happened? I have absolutely no clue. 

Sorry I'm Not a Cat or Dog

The reason I walk out on the street each day is obviously because I want to hear boys whispering sweet nothings as they walk by me. Whether I just showered or the last time I showered was a week ago, whether I'm in pajamas or nice clothes, apparently I'm somehow still a beautiful girl that must be called after, silly me for expecting to be able to walk on the street feeling like an animal. I knew coming into my time in Morocco that I was going to have a beautiful experience, but that I would also have to put up with street harassment. I told myself I would get used to it, I've been to South America before this isn't my first time dealing with cat calling, and for the most part I actually am quite used to it. Getting cat called is part of my daily routine. I've grown to expect it, but even with this I can't and I won't ever find it acceptable. The fact that men are able to make me question why I went outside, that I constantly have to be aware of my surroundings, and that even if I go out in broad daylight by myself it would be so much wiser if I brought one more person with me, completely sickens me.

What makes it all the worse it that more often than not it's not a boy my age that's calling after me, but a man that is old enough to be my father and sometimes even my grandfather. I know for a fact these men have a sister, daughter, granddaughter, a girl that  is in some way important in their life, yet on the streets Moroccan men make it seem as though I'm just an object.

I'll deal with the kissy noises, the completely unoriginal sayings, and the following on the street, but I can't deal with what happened to me Monday. At 2:00 in broad daylight I was walking to the orphanage which is only a five minute walk and the streets are generally crowded. The main street in front of the hospital and my house was extremely crowded and I crossed the street as usual. I noticed a man following me on his motorcycle so I walked as close to the hospital as I could, and that's a quite a big distance between the sidewalk next to the hospital and the sidewalk next to the street mind you. After walking across the whole hospital motorcycle man was still following me, but I finally saw him speed up and I thought that he had finally realized that maybe he had better things to do with his time. Wrong. I turned and on the final (and only the second) street I had to take to get to the orphanage and motorcycle man was sitting there waiting, and unfortunately this part of the street was empty. People constantly walk by this area though, so I hoped that maybe somebody would come walking down right at that moment, but nobody did. I crossed the street, staying as far as motorcycle man as I could, but he felt it was acceptable to cross right next to me. He drove alongside me for a moment, whatever no big deal it wasn't the first time that had happened to me before. However, when he turned and parked right in front of me completely blocking me from walking anywhere that was unacceptable and I was scared considering that there still wasn't anybody on the street. In addition he was speaking to me in French. I mean come on at least he could've guessed my nationality correctly or have been completely lazy and just spoken Arabic to me.  At that point I yelled at him " safi, hashuma!" (stop, shame!). Cue laughter from motorcycle man because white girl speaking Arabic is just too funny. I didn't stop, I just kept yelling until he finally left. I really don't know what took him so long to realize that I had absolutely no interest or understanding for that matter of what he was saying.

What's  bothersome about this incident is that it happened in broad daylight. I ended up completely unharmed and chances are that nothing would have happened, but in the moment I did actually feel concerned. There are two things called self-control and respect and it would be nice to see these put into use on the street. After having my week start off with such an incident it makes it all the more frustrating realizing that you can't reply to the constant cat calling. Replying would simply be "asking for it" and anyways what am I to do since "boys will be boys?"

Sahara Excursion

Sahara Trip

I went to the Sahara last week and my friends and I made a short "film" about our trip for class. Here is the trailer for the "film" and the full video will be up later inshallah

Pictures

https://happinessiswayoftravel.shutterfly.com/

You Again

Marrakesh is a large city with new tourists swarming each day. Given the size of the population it seems as though it would be impossible to run into the same person twice and considering that I have enough mastery of the Marrakeshi bus system that I rarely have to ride a taxi the chances of running into the same taxi drivers are even slimmer. Even with all of these factors there have somehow been two instances in which the taxi drivers have had me in their taxis before.

I have always considered taxis to be one of the best place to practice Arabic because you can figure out exactly how much time you were able to speak Arabic, taxi drivers are usually extremely friendly and willing to talk, and you will never see them again. However, in a month I have discovered that it is quite possible to see them again, but instead of that being a deterrent it has only made the conversations more interesting.

The first time I was in a taxi with a driver that had previously driven me before it happened to be with a taxi driver that I did not particularly like. My first time being driven by him I nearly had to get out of the taxi because he was refusing to turn on the counter, but I managed to convince him to begrudgingly turn it on. After that experience I figured that a second experience with the same taxi driver would be no different, yet when I got into the taxi he treated me like an old friend and spent most of the time explaining the train system in Morocco. In twenty minutes I learned about Morocco and about the taxi driver and realized that the first time I really had not received a good impression of the driver.

The second time I got in a taxi in which the driver recognized me I actually had absolutely no recollection of him, but he definitely remembered me. He knew the center I was studying at and knew that I was studying Arabic. Like a typical Moroccan he made sure I was ok and asked me if my Arabic was coming along. I told him that I was currently focusing on Arabic grammar which was turning out to be quite difficult. This launched him into a full on lesson of both grammar in Modern Standard Arabic and Darija. In the end what I gleaned from his lesson was that there are several aspects to grammar and it would be hard for me to learn it, but that in my time in Morocco I could manage to learn a good deal of Arabic. Following my brief Arabic lesson the taxi driver asked me what was wrong with the United States government and completely surprising myself I was able to explain the government shut down to a taxi driver in Arabic.

Considering that a month ago my ability to hold a conversation was limited to a brief one to five minute conversation being able to now hold fifteen to twenty minute conversations feels like a huge step even though I know there is still quite a distance to go. Not only the quantity of time I now spend talking, but additionally being able to have mildly interesting conversations gives me the feeling that I am finally starting to catch onto something and that I am truly beginning to connect and understand people rather than constantly observing them.