Couscous Friday

Many Moroccans make homemade couscous on Fridays. It is a tradition here and one that I will miss. In these pictures, I was invited to Rihab's teacher's house one Friday for Couscous with her family. In the first picture, she is preparing the couscous. Then, it is put in a very large dish. Finally, she adds meat and vegetables to it. (The pictures came out in reverse order) Everyone then shares the HUGE couscous meal. Couscous is an occasion for everyone to share the meal together and so often times, it is also the time when others are invited. I want to thank Rihab's teacher for sharing.

This is my last day in Morocco. After I finish this blog, I will go and pack my bags and very early tomorrow morning, I will take the plane from Casablanca to NYC, then NYC to Denver. I would say that overall my time here has been successful and I have learned a lot. I have enjoyed working with Abdellatif and his classes. The teachers were very nice and gave me a going away tea party last night. There were fresh pastries and chocolate cake and tea. There is one teacher in particular that wants to me tell you that their working conditions are bad. She told me on a number to occasions, "Tell them. Maybe they will hear. Tell them!" Most teachers have 45-50 students in a classroom. There is graphitti on the walls, and often times, no where for a student to sit. Because class schedules are from 8 to noon and then 2 to 6PM, by the time evening classes roll around, sometimes it is difficult to see because there are only a few lights working or none at all. There are no outlets to do listening practices with cassettes. Chalk and a textbook are a teacher's only resource. I told her that I wanted to concentrate on the positive aspects of the Moroccoan culture but she insisted that I tell you. So...I am telling you.

In every culture, we have misunderstandings. Though we try to fix them in our own ways, sometimes it only makes it worse. I have found that we are all set in our cultures and although for the most part, things have been very enjoyable in Morocco, the cultural mistunderstandings have been a set back in better understanding each other. I do not want to go into more specifics than that.

Every time I travel, I enjoy my experience and Morocco has been a very unique experience for me--one that I will never forget. But like all of the other times, in the end, I am always ready to go home to my own family and friends. There is no place like home. I have especially missed my little boy. I can't wait to see him!!!

Many thanks to all of my Moroccan friends and students here for your hospitality. I hope to be able to show Abdellatif our hospitality as well, though perhaps not as rich in traditions but unique in and of itself.

Classroom pictures--farewells

Today is my last day at AlAyoubi School. As a farewell, I have prepared a song for them, "That's What Friends Are For" by Dion Warwick and Elton John. Rihab helped me with the music. The students have the words to the song with some of the words missing and then they fill it in. I tried to pick words that included what they have been learning such as adverbs of frequency and present tense (always/never).

I have really enjoyed the "tronc commun" (like Freshmen).

Oudaya--Tea time

One of my absolute favorite times in Morocco is tea time. At school, we have tea at 10AM and at 4PM. It is a Moroccan green tea often times with mint leaves and sweetened. Normally, we enjoy it with some sort of pastry which are delicious.

These pictures are of a little area called, "Oudaya" which is beautiful. There are narrow streets with half of the walls in blue. I took a lot of pictures of the unique doorways that you find. Then you walk and see the Atlantic Ocean and there is a cute little tea area overlooking the ocean as well.

November 22, 2008--Monday

The time is going quicker and quicker all of the time. I feel as though I am a part of the Mouma family here. Everyone has been more than hospitable. The Moroccans could give classes on the definition of hospitality.

We have been busy doing day to day things (work, eating, relaxing) and also just having fun.

Classes overall are going well. Since the Ministry of Education requires us to stay pretty much on task using the textbook, there is not that much to tell there. The most interesting aspects are that the students are curious and kind. I have spent some time as well communicating with students through MSN Messenger as they are eager to have an English conversationalist and perhaps feel more comfortable through written form. It has been interesting to say the least. But then as I found out, MSN has a language all to its own--language is great, it is always transforming and changing as is evident by the youth.

I often see Abdellatif or Nadia praying on a small carpet in the living room even with their busy schedules. I even saw a lady praying at the spa!

What is most evident though is that there is a lot of laughter in this home. It is infectious and pleasant to be around. We kid around often and we have a lot of discussions about everything--cultural differences and misunderstandings of cultural stereotypes. If I could have recorded the dialogues, they would be very interesting.

Tomorrow, I am giving a powerpoint presentation on my perspectives of the American culture and asking students to teach me about their perspectives of the Moroccan culture. I have worked on this presentation for hours and hours so I am looking forward to it. Then after that, Rihab (Abdellatif's daughter) has invited me to her high school to do a presentation with her about cultural difference in the US and in Morocco. Since she spent a year in Alaska (a state that she LOVES) we will both share our thoughts. Am looking forward to all of it.

Still, I want to also make some time at the end to buy more souvenirs in Morocco. There are beautiful hand-crafted items made of wood, beautiful scarves and clothing and unique pottery and tapestry as well. My only problem--how to carry all of the weight back to the States!

Pictures; pictures and more pictures

In the beginning, I had time to add more pictures and comments. I have been so busy lately and the time has been flying by, but this also means that I have not be adding daily blogs. These are a compilation of pictures from some of my adventures. The first few pictures are those of us visiting Casablanca. There, we visited "La grande mosquee de Hassan II" which was built by the courtesy of most of the Moroccans here.

The rest of the pictures are from Rabat. We visited Hassan where the former Kings were buried and also Chella.

The last couple of pictures are just ones that I liked. There are Moroccan flags in front of most store in Morocco. I thought that was particularly interesting because it was in Arabic and French.

The baby I am holding is one of Nadia's cousin's. They visited for an afternoon and we had a nice meal together. They are from Canada.

Pictures of my host family and their home in Rabat, Morocco

Their home is beautiful. It if full of Moroccan cultural art as I like to refer to it. The tiles are decorative and the doorways are one of the most unique features. The Moumas live only one block away from the Atlantic ocean. I am being literal here--literally one block away. The other day, I went for a walk for an hour along the path by the ocean. It was beautiful.

In the second picture, I am standing outside of their home.

The first is a picture of the entry way into the formal and informal living rooms.

The last is a picture of Ihab, Rihab and me (and Ihab's best friend).

The third is a picture of me sitting at the breakfast table.

More pictures to come later. I am having difficulty loading my pictures online. Sorry.

November 12, 2008--Wednesday--Have been busy!

On Sunday, we went to the market to do some shopping. We enjoyed a really nice treat made of yoghurt and fresh fruit. It is hard to explain but very yummy. The fresh produce in Morocco is amazing! There is a lot of very tasty fruit like mandarine oranges, pears and many others. There is even a banana tree in the Mouma's home.

I have been busy in the classrooms on Monday and Tuesday so I did not have time to update the blog. Both days were filled with Englishes classes. I am happy that Abdellatif is letting me help so much in his classroom. I think that he and I both feel comfortable working together and I feel that our collaboration has been good. I hope that I have been helpful. The students are curious and eager to ask questions and the time flies by. Most of the classes are about 50 minutes each in length but some of them are 2 hours with a short break in between. Just like when we teach French, it is nicer to see the students for shorter times more frequently.

I keep asking myself questions about what can be done about the class sizes and the resources in the classroom. Students must purchase their own textbooks and this is sometimes why not every single one of them has one. Teachers must make their own copies of tests as well, as there are not copy machines at the schools. So what do we take for granted? We assume in the US (this is a generalization but this is also my personal opinion regarding what I see and experience) that each student has the right to a textbook and that this should be provided for them in the public school setting. However, this is also becoming a challenge as we sometimes need to use "classroom sets" so that students share. But when this occurs, most of the time the community and the parents are upset and it is not also a condusive way of learning for the kids.

How many TVS, computers, copy machines and projectors do we have in which we use to help educate our students? In Abdellatif's "sophomore" class, he asked them to do homework where they needed to research Moroccan culture on three specific different websites but no one did the homework. We talked about that. I wonder, is it because the students don't have internet at home? Is it because they don't have enough money to go to an internet cafe? There are no "computer labs" in the schools for students or teachers. Or is it a matter of time and perhaps motivation just like students anywhere in the world?

Now actually, (and by the way, I feel quite spoiled but I am definitely taking advantage of the time to learn culturally) the students have a one week mid-term break. We won't have classes until next Wednesday here. This is only true for the public school system. I guess you can think about it like a "Thanksgiving break."

Oh and I wanted to add that one of the most common questions that I get in the classroom is whether or not I speak Arabic. The students wanted me to say, "peace be with you" and I tried. There was a thundrous applause afterwards. They were so happy that I tried. Then I was asked about my faith since almost all Moroccans are Muslim. I told them that though I respect many faiths, I don't personally practice any one particular one. Then a student asked me to repeat after him in Arabic. There was so much laughter that I asked Abdellatif why everyone was laughing all of a sudden. He said that the sentence the student wanted me to repeat would be the one that would convert me to the Islamic faith and guarentee him a place forever in Paradise.

More to come on discussions of religion and politics which come up in conversation more than anything else here. They are very interesting.

Also interesting is that there are schools here that are taught in Arabic and then there are schools here that are taught in French. The one I attend is taught in Arabic but the "educated" class can all speak in French. It is interesting to see how the view of "self" has been realized after the French colonization here after WWII. The Moroccans are very proud of their nationality as well as their faith, with nothing to hide. They are open-minded people, very gracious and kind-hearted and welcome foreigners with open arms.

One of the biggest conversations that Nadia and I had was about the stereotypes that Moroccans have about Americans. She gave me a pep talk one day before school and told me, "show them who Americans are--that it is not about the politics of your government or the war but that Americans as individuals are very nice." This is paraphrased but in essence what she said. The knowledge that Moroccans have of us in general is very negative because of the press and our political choices in the world.

I think the same could be said of the Muslim faith. We often stereotype Islamic beliefs because of the stories we hear of the extreme terrorist acts. When in fact most Muslim people here that I have met are very kind, with a WONDERFUL sense of humor. I have never heard so many people in a room laugh so much. And these are people are not drunk! Much of the Islamic faith has teachings which are similar to the teachings of Christianity which is just to be nice to others--to walk the talk.

That is a lot about their faith but it is such an ingrained part of their culture that it is really difficult not to include even though the Fulbright Exchange is a non-religious and non-political exchange. For the Moroccans, their life and their faith cannot be mutally exclusive.