And now Morocco again

Have been flying all over the place so much that I am not even sure what language I am supposed to be speaking.  Flew into Madrid and did a whirlwind tour of the city...the Prado, the Palace and lots of window shopping and people watching.  Couldn't figure out what they were saying half the time though.  Certainly no one here speaks either French or Arabic.  Guess English is my fall back.  It is hard to believe that Spain is having such financial problems because there were so many people filling the stores and restaurants.  I also cannot believe how much more expensive Europe is than the US, particularly Delaware.  Once again, most Americans just don't understand how good they have it.....


Took Ryanair from Madrid to Marrakesh without incident although I had been warned that there were lots of problems with this low cost airline.  While it doesn't have the humor of Southwest, it is cheaper.  On the plane were about 150 people under the age of 25 who clearly slept in the airport and me...the old lady.


Arrived in Marrakesh and proudly presented my passport and said my "shukran" (thank you) to the customs agent.  It was great to get to some place where I knew my way around and promptly installed myself in the El Andalous hotel which now feels like home since I have stayed there three times in the last year.  The best thing was that it has a pool which was wonderful because it is really hot in Marrakesh.  It felt good to be able to do my laps again and after a walk through the new town of Marrakesh (where many of the Europeans live), I found: the French restaurant that we ate in on the tour last year; a real sushi restaurant and the only operating synagogue in Marrakesh (found with the directions from my always helpful Muslim tour guide).  The synagogue only has a little sign on it saying Beth el and no indication that it is indeed a Jewish house of worship.  I was also told that usually there is a policeman on guard  but there was none to be found.  This is all a lead-up to the fact that I will be returning there this weekend for the yartzeit of my dad's death so that I can say kaddish.  This is going to be quite an experience since, of course it is an Orthodox synagogue and probably conducted in French.  Stay tuned.  The day ended with several hours of coffee in a cafe in the same area and a feeling that I had been transplanted to France instead of Morocco.


Today, after a trip to the Carrefour shopping center for supplies, Gretchen (the other American volunteer) and I got into our 6 person taxi with all of our luggage in the open trunk which was of course tied down to hold it closed, and we went back up the mountain to Asni.  But it was all worth while when I saw the girls, two Latifas and Mina and we all exchanged so many hugs and kisses.  Boy am I glad to be back. Now I just have to worry about the fact that I am leaving again soon.


This Sunday is the big fund raiser (Open Day) and there are people coming from all over the world: a former volunteer from England, one from Australia, one from France and my good friend Liz from Berkeley via London.  I will be wearing my new jellaba that Latifa's sister made for me.  

Back in the USA....and it sure is!!

I have been back in the US since Tuesday night and will leave for Madrid on Thursday evening.  Coming to Delaware for the 9 days has been real culture shock.  I think that if I went back to CA during the school break (which of course I wouldn't do because of the distance) there would be less of a shock.  But here I am surrounded by scantily clad sorority girls  and lots of very white people. And Red Lobster, IHop, etc....but of course there is a KFC and McDonald's in Marrakesh train station.  


Been doing a lot of shopping and visiting and it has been great catching up with friends and ex spouse but I miss the girls and my little room up on the terrasse.  And I miss eating tagine with my hands.


Also relisted my DE property for sale.  Perhaps I will buy a place in Marrakesh, who knows or at the beach in Essouraria.  The world is my oyster...


later........

Every day brings more adventures

The last few days have been a bit crazy.  I will try and summarize:


Landslide: Sunday Latifa and I got in our grand 6 person taxi with my luggage and  I am installed in an imam's apartment in an area of Marrakesh called Mohammed (what else).  I stayed here last night with my friend Latifa and it is her sister's house. It is a very simple apartment but probably one that is very fancy by Moroccan standards: 2 bedrooms, a salon (where I slept...pictures to follow), a living/dining area and kitchen and two bathrooms (no western toilet though!).  Everyone has been very nice but not only does her sister and husband not speak English, they don't speak french either.  Her adorable 4 year old niece is smart as a whip and speaks a little french and mimics my English.  She is so smart that she figured out how to turn all my electronic devices on and what to do with them.  Then she found my makeup bag and promptly put makeup all over me.  I was a little concerned about wearing makeup since I know that wearing makeup for women (particularly fundamentalist women) is haraam (forbidden) but her father is OK with her playing with makeup for herself, just not older women. He said that at her age it is just for fun and not to entice a man (although considering the age that some of the girls get married here.....who knows).


One of her sister's friends came over and showed her wedding pictures (she looks like she is about 15 but I haven't gotten a chance to ask) which were incredible.  Even the poorest families put on big weddings and since she is also married to an imam, it is a great honor that she married him.  To get married they have about 4 caftans or jelabas made for them and then they rent others.  In the course of the marriage day or two a woman can wear 10 different elaborate gowns, ending in a western white (always appropriate here of course) gown.  I will post pictures of me in the different outfits once Latifa sends me the pictures.


Her sister is making me two new outfits which should be ready when I come back.  We went into the city center (more to follow) and picked out the material and then we came back and she measured me.  I am getting a simple lime green jellaba for the Open Day even here and then a dressier caftan and pants for whatever (hope I will wear this at home, we will see).  It is coral.


Jama El Fanaa:  At any time this square is quintessential Marrakesh.....a bizarre blend of tourists in tank tops and women in full burkas and everything in between.  Last night, with the school holidays beginning, it was even crazier than usual.  There were easily thousands of people crowded into the square and the adjoining souk.  We went to buy the material and then went to a park next to the Koutubia mosque for what I thought was an hour and turned out to be 3 hours (good old Moroccan time) while Latifa talked to her friend Saida and I looked around and observed the families etc.  Then, I thought, Oh good we are going to leave but we went back into the middle of the square, moved around the Gnouan dancers, snake charmers, orange juice stands, henna artists etc and Latifa and Saida announced that they were going to go and pray....and they left me in the middle of the square with no idea when they were coming back, how I could get back to Latifa's sister's house or anything.  Luckily I did at least know where I was and how I could get to a hotel but all my luggage was in Mohammed (see location above).  Latifa is great at either (1) not having her cell phone on, or (2) not having enough minutes in her cell phone to retrieve her calls. But all worked out....they found me about 45an hour  after they left 
Tomorrow I am off to the US via Paris.

cleaning out the house and Passover with the Imam

Haven't written for a few days because we have been getting ready for the girls vacation and things have been very hectic with exams etc.  At night the girls start really panicking about their homework and frantically asking for my help with their English assignments.  I know a lot now about how to order in a restaurant and the meaning and responsibilities of citizenship.  Very strange system indeed.....Anyway, one of the girls that I have been working with told me that she got a 17 out of 20 on her English test, so I felt that I had perhaps accomplished something.


Manou (volunteer retired French teacher from Belgium) left today.  It has been great having her as a roommate for three weeks and she has been doing wonderful work with the girls on their French.  The problem is that, for the most part,the girls are so far behind that a few weeks isn't really going to make much of a difference.  For the girls who are in the first year of the Baccalaureate program (11th grade), they take their first year exams this year, including their French exams and then their others next year.  For the girls in the math/science track (most of them) they are going to have major problems when they get to the university since all the science/math etc classes are taught in French, not Arabic.  French is definitely the 2nd language of this country but it is a first language among the most educated people.

how we eat couscous on Fridays

Today Manou and Latifa and I went next door to visit the boy's government boarding house which houses 200 boys in a house built for 80.  It was the most disgusting and depressing place I have ever been.  It was institutional, smelling of a combination of sweat and disinfectant.  The boys sleep in rooms with maybe 40 beds and they sleep three to a bed.  And the parents pay for the privilege of having their children sleep there!!!  The boys (and the same is true at the girls boarding house) do nothing to take care of the house and it was a horrible mess with broken windows and trash all over.  What a difference between that and Dar Asni where the girls keep their rooms spotless and all pitch in and help the cleaning woman with her daily cleaning.  For example, today, before they left the house for their two week vacation, we all washed all the floors, all the sheets, all the slip covers for the sofas etc.  We all got caught up in the need to return to a sparkling clean house when we get back.  I figured since I didn't have to clean my house.....why not do it here....and it felt good pitching in and doing stuff with the girls.

the wash before vacation

yup....here are their nice clean prayer rugs

After the girls left Latifa and I went to the hammam where I got most of my skin scrubbed off and then promptly went back home and fell asleep for a few hours. We are spending the night in the house among the hanging sheets and made a yummy dinner of mashed potatos and lots of onions and peppers...Tomorrow we are going to Marrakesh and staying at her sister's house.  Her brother-in-law is an Imam so it should be very interesting to go there....ironic to spend the Passover with a Muslim....just part of my experience here.  Monday I am going to go get fitted for my new lovely jilaba that I am having made for our big Open Day here on April 29th and then I am going on to Casablanca.  Leaving for PHL on Tuesday.  It will be very strange indeed to be back in the US.  It feels like I have been away a lot longer than three months.