I feel like I blog a lot about big activities, festivals or holidays we celebrate here but a big part of this experience has been my day to day life: going to buy vegetables at the market (Souk), figuring out how to buy meat at the butcher (I can now order just chicken breasts—Thanks Terry!) or Kefta (which is like seasoned hamburger meat), having tea with new families or just seeing a familiar face on the road. So today I decided I would type out a blog about my day, which is much like everyday.
I got a late start today, since I’ve been trying to fight off a cold and traveling a bit but by the time I had my morning coffee and something to eat it was about 10:30 am and I was off for the day. My only goal for the day was to go to the hanut in Souk (where I can buy some ‘nicer’ items like toilet paper, Keshir (spam-like meat that Lily loves) and body wash) and to stop by the sbitar to pick a form up from my new doctor. In America a few small errands like this would take, what…an hour? Oh no… not in Morocco! I’m going to number my interactions with people for giggles, but keep in mind these are just the people I stopped and spoke to for more than 5 minutes… the typical greetings (hello, how are you, how is your family, etc) are usually with EVERYONE I pass, so I don’t count those.
- So, I left my house and my friend Nzha and other lady from my dowar were sitting outside. I needed to talk to Nzha anyway because we had made plans to go to the Hmam (public bath) but I needed to cancel so it was convenient she was out there. We went through the typical greetings and then she asked me when I would be leaving for Italy to visit my dad. The other lady didn’t know I was going so we started talking about my trip and she started freaking out because she thought I was leaving for good and kept saying I couldn’t leave because she would miss me too much. I didn’t understand why she was getting so upset until Nzha explained I was just going for 10 days and would return. So yeah, I learned I’d be missed in my dowar... that was a good way to start my errands. So after about 15 minutes of chatting I headed on my way again…
- … and then I ran into a little old Lady and about 4 children in a dowar on the way called Ait Tunes. This little old lady is always sitting outside near the irrigation ditch so I see her quite often and she’s very nice. She asked where my dog was and I explained I had left her at home so we started talking about Lily and how she’s always with me and she’s not like the other dogs. The little kids (and most adults) all know Lilys name, so it’s funny when we walk by and people yell her name. (She’s like a local celebrity!) They even yell her name when she’s not with me (I think some of them might think MY name is Lily… oops) So after about 10 minutes of chit chat I continued on….
- …Between Ait Tunes and Fouzilal (another dowar) I ran into 4 boys from my dowar. I have taught them “how are you” so they love saying that when they see me. We’re still working on “good, thank you” but it’s a slow process! They (like everyone else) asked about Lily, where I was going, how my family in America is… yada yada. They were carrying bags of some kind of fruit (don’t remember the name in Tash even) but they look like a mix between apples and pears. They tried to give me a few but I only took one (not a huge fan, kinda sour) and then headed on my way….
- … Next I saw my favorite Hanut owner in Fouzilal. This is where I can go to buy basic things like flour, eggs, milk and such. This is the hanut owner that let me start a tab a few weeks ago and leant me money (I have to travel to the city to use an ATM and it’s a pain in the butt sometimes). He's a hodge (which means hes traveled to Mecca) and a really nice guy. I sat and talked to him for a little bit ( I see him pretty often since I try and make it to the hanut every other day at least, it makes it easier to carry things home little by little instead of in big batches) and then continued on…
- The travel from my house until Fouzilal is all unpaved but after Fouzilal it’s a paved road. So as I’m walking down this paved road I run into a man I’ve never met before. I greeted him and he greeted me back very formally (in Arabic) calling me a teacher. I then responded in tash that I’m not a teacher (I love seeing peoples faces when the tash comes out). So then we started talking (how long have I been here, where did I learn tash, where am I from, etc) and he asked me why I hadn’t been to his dowar yet (there are a total of 49 in Tidili). So we started talking about his dowar (Azro) and I promised him I would go visit it sometime after I get back from Italy. So he gave me his name (So I can ask for him when I go and have lunch with him and his family) and phone number and then made me promise I’d go when I got back from my trip and sent me on my way…
- … Not long after I left my new friend from Azro I ran into a few ladies I know. They were working in the fields and called me over. We talked for a while about my upcoming trip (everyone knows everything I do here, seriously: Where I am at all times, who I’m with, what kind of vegetables I buy in Souk- you name it, they probably know…) and then I kept on walking along the road into Souk…
- It’s now about 12:30 and I’ve arrive to Souk. As I walk into town I see a few of the taxi drivers I know, they ask if I’m going anywhere, when I tell them no we start talking about Lily (everyone wants to know about her). After about 10 minutes of talking about Lily they let me continue on me way and...
- I’m finally at the sbitar!! There are a few women I know there so I start talking to them. I haven’t seen them since before l3id (which was about a month ago now) so I ask how it was, yada yada. Then the nurse comes to talk to me and I talk to her for a little bit. She speaks a little bit of English and is always shocked when I know words in tash, but we get along pretty well. After about 30 minutes of talking to her the doctor comes in (she knows a little English too, we struggle a little more since she doesn’t know any tash) and we all talk for a little while more. They invite me to their home (which is the first house I looked at and wanted to live in, but it was too expensive) for lunch on Sunday and we talk a little more. It’s so funny because they are always so surprised when someone comes into the sbitar and knows me or when I understand something they are talking about in Arabic (some words are interchangeable… not many, but a few are the same in Tash). They are also really surprised when I explain to them I know people in my dowar and have friends in the bl3d… since most doctors and nurses that move to the bl3d keep to themselves, don’t learn tash (which is hard when they are talking to patients), finish their few years and then go back to the city). Finally, at about 1 I walked the doctor home and headed to the Hanut (goal #2 of the day)
- As I was walking into the main area of souk the butcher called me over. I went over and talked to him, he’s a really nice guy who owns two stores, one of which I buy my meat from. He wanted to know why I hadn’t made it to his house for L3id, I explained I was too full and we chit chatted about the holiday for a bit. After about 15 minutes of talking I headed toward the hanut…
- …and I finally made it! There are quite a few hanuts in Souk but there is one that I typically go to (he has the REALLLY fancy stuff like Ramen and even cheese sometimes!!) After we talked about Lily, my family and my upcoming trip I got all my goodies and headed home.
- While still in souk I ran into another Hanut owner and talked to him for about 10 minutes and then ran into a big group of men who had lots of questions about Lily (what does she eat, how do I wash her, etc). If you can’t tell by now people are VERY interested in Lily and how I care for her… my tash is REALLY good when I have to talk about her, since it happens very often.
- On my way home (on the paved road again) I ran into a group of ladies from my dowar doing laundry in the river, they yelled at me to come over but I knew that would mean I’d be there forever so we exchanged greetings/talked for about 10 minutes (while yelling across the fields) and then I went on my way…
- I took the shortcut through the fields home and ran into a little girl, Khadija (I think she told me shes 9?), from my dowar. She's one the smartest little girls I know and I love talking to her (especially when she’s not with a huge group of girls). I stood and talked to her for about 15 minutes and she invited me to the Hmam with her. I told her another time and kept heading home…
- Lots of greetings along the way and when I finally got to my dowar (Ait Burig) there was a big group of girls outside. I talked to them for a little bit and then…..
Finally home at 2:30!!!
So, that’s a pretty basic idea but you can see what it takes to just run two simple errands around here. I usually have to build in about 2 hours to run to the hanut since you never know who you’re going to run into or who is going to INSIST on tea and/or lunch… That’s why its so hard when people ask what kind of WORK I’ve done here...because work IS going to the hanut, or going to pick up a form from the sbitar or forming all the relationships with people I’ve formed through tea or chats in the fields…
Speaking of work- my site made has been working on two grants that he’s not going to be able to see through so I’m taking them over. It’s super exciting (but I'm also terribly nervous) to actually be doing some real “work” now. I’ll keep you all posted as my work progresses, imik a mik (little by little). One of them will be a PCPP (inchallah) which means I’ll need funding from home since it’s too much for Peace Corps to cover…More to come on that soon!!
Leave some love!!
