Settled and Comfortably Exploring...

(This little girl's name is Neerma, which means something like a gift, sort of the Arabic form of Grace. She is the daughter of one my host sisters and one of the cutest little girls.)

So I am settled into my family and home. I get lost half as much winding through the medina. In case I haven’t fully explained what the medina is, it means city, but in Fes and now in Rabat, it is usually the word that refers to the oldest part of a city that is walled in. To go to my home here from the school, I walk through the new city, which looks very European from the French colonization to the medina, or the old city. I walk through a large arched door in the walls that surround the city. Once I am inside the medina, I am immediately confronted by every possible merchandise possible. I wind through these streets and get to the alleys that lead to the houses. However, what looks like a sketchy alley to us, is really a normal street. All the houses are walled in as well. This means no yards, no driveways, no trees, none of the normal suburban space but instead old city walls. Just thought I would explain that a bit…

Think about the song, a whole new world, and picture the area they fly through in the beginning… under the archways and such? Yep, that is where I am living for the next three months…

I have officially started my classes. I had been taking intensive Darijja, but now am taking Foosa (modern standard Arabic), Advanced French, Maghrebian Francophone literature, and Gender and Society in Morocco. A lot of the literature class has focused on the French colonization of north Africa and what is has meant for their identity. Algeria, who was occupied for 130 years, has suffered intense injury and crises from the colonization. This comes through in their writings, their attitudes and even their present-day politics. Morocco and Tunisia only were occupied about 45 years? And therefore it is much harder to find traces of the colonization struggle in their writings. What you find instead is a sort of French ideal in Morocco. The French language is essential to succeed, either in the government, the social ladder, most professional careers… French is imitated and revered. French is commonly the language that young men will speak to young women they are interested in as well, since it is the most impressive language they speak.

A lot has happened I guess… I almost was robbed Saturday. I was walking through the medina at night, when it was really crowded and a guy tried to reach into my purse. I pulled it toward me and looked at him. It didn’t dawn on me what was happening, I just sort of felt something weird. One of the girls I was walking with noticed what was happening and pulled my purse too. The guy let go, walked by us, and then turned back where he had came from. It was a bit awkward really.
Sunday, I went to another hamon, (public bath). This one was different from the natural one in Fes and not a sulfur spring, but more of a shower room/ with the heat of a sauna/ but with buckets and not showers…? I paid a few extra Deerham (which is nothing really) to have the massage as well. It was well worth it. I was viciously scrubbed until my skin was red. I don’t think I have ever been so clean.

I explored by myself today since the sun was so wonderful. My mission? Find the ocean and a good spot for reading and prayer. While I am sure the quiet would come more in the morning when there aren’t a million creepy guys vying for your attention… I did find some great spots. Rabat is an interesting city in relation to the ocean. The city turns its back on the ocean. It was built with ocean invaders in mind and so the ocean was used as a defense and not for pleasure. The city is built on the hill overlooking the ocean and has graveyards on the hill coming up from the ocean. It isn’t really built with tourists in mind, like some of the other ocean cities are now. It has a very rocky coast that I saw, with some jetties that go out pretty far.

There is a small city that was built closer to the ocean, Odayas Kasbah. The walls are the white and blue that reminds you of the Greek islands. There is a beautiful café that overlooks the ocean with several peaceful terraces. It has a calm breeze and a beautiful view. I feel above it all and not at all in Rabat there.

I also love the rain here. This is mostly because it rains inside my house and I hear it at night. This might require some explanation… My host house, as I’ve said, is in the walled in Medina. This house is quite large and has a kind of courtyard in the middle. It opens up to the sky and has walled rooms with doors, windows and ceilings surrounding it. There is a formal sitting room and a living room that has a computer and a tv. They are Moroccan decorated, but in a classy way. The house speaks for itself. It has beautiful mosaics and stone floors, with several elegant Moroccan rugs. My room is up the stairs and overlooks the courtyard. I have stone floors and sort of a stucco walls. I will have to take a video of it so you can fully understand what I am saying, since it is unlike any house I have ever seen in the States. I like it at night, since on a clear evening you can see the stars from in the house.