I met my host family for the first time last night. It's much easier to believe that I'm really going to be here for nine months now that I've seen the space that I will be living in. It's so intense!
So, to back up a bit. Yesterday morning/afternoon all of us in the program participated in an event called Rabat Survivor, which is a scavenger hunt all around Rabat. It was pretty cool, and forced me to use my darija as some of our tasks involved talking to random Moroccans. My favorite place that we went to was the Kasbah (probably not the correct spelling, but it's phonetically OK). The Kasbah is a walled section of the city right near the Atlantic Ocean. My group got a little turned around and instead of finding the garden that we were supposed to visit, we wound up wandering around the most beutiful residential area I have seen yet. Everything was pained blue and white, and with the tall walls and tiny doors I felt like I was in Greece. We stopped in a small pottery shop to look around, and stumbled upon the most amazing view of the ocean. I really must get pictures up at some point, hopefully soon, so you can see for yourself how utterly gorgeous the Kasbah is.
The funniest part of our adventure came right at the beginning, when we were directed to go to the Tour Hassan, which I've already told you about, and find out how many windows there are on the minerat. Well, between the three of us in my group, not one person could remember the word for window in French or Arabic. Luckily we had a guidebook, so we came up to a guide and began flipping through the pages trying to find a picture of a window to show the guy. Unfortunetly all of the pictures were wide shots, so it was impossible to point to an invdividual window. One of the guys in my group had a pocket knife, and in a stroke of genius or utter stupidity in hindsight, he pulled out the knife and used the tip to point to a window. This could have gone really, really badly, but the guide took it in stride and told us the name for window in both French and darija. After all this, he didn't even know the answer!
After returning to AMIDEAST and debriefing, our host families picked us up. I felt bad for mine as I had three suitcases, and my partner had two, but we somehow managed to cram all five suitcases and four people (my host sister came with our mom to pick us up, as she speaks English) into a four-seater car. It was pretty impressive. My host family lives within walking distance of AMIDEAST, which is good, and their apartment is gorgeous! Everyone has their own room, my partner Evelyn and I share, there is a bathroom, a shower room, a lovely sitting area, and a huge open courtyard with a kitchen where my family eats. My host family is a lot more western than I expected them to be! My sister who is leaving in a week to study abroad in Canada loves fashion and high heels ans speaks excellent English. She was wearing a dress with a halter top when she picked us up and changed into shorts and a tank top when she got home. She was eager to chat with Evelyn and I while we unpacked and her room (which is the one we are staying in), is covered in pictures of singers and actresses from magazines, including Brittany Speares. My other host sisters also seem like lovely, welcoming people, and the three of them laugh and tease each other all the time. My host mother owns a beauty salon, which is cool. She does not cover her hair and was wearing jeans and a tank top. My host dad is so friendly. He drove Evelyn and I to AMIDEAST this morning and chatted the entire time. We arrived early and he drove us around for 15 minutes, pointing out places we might need along the way. My host brother seems like a typical 15 year old boy, although I haven't interacted much with him.
Last night, Evelyn and I had ftour with our family and one of their friends who stopped by. It was a strange meal with everyone talking in a mix of French, Darija, and English. I couldn't follow much of the conversation, but my youngest host sister, Renya, talked to me in English and my host mother kept urging me to eat more, which I did, so I need to learn how to say no or else I'll come home weighing 300 pounds. The food is SO good here! After dinner the women hung around drinking tea and talking for an hour, which was a lot of fun. The family seems really open and chatty and I look forward to learning more Darija so I can take part in conversations. Evelyn and I went to bed pretty early, but I'm going to try to stay up later tonight.
Just a few more notes and I have to be at class soon. First, I think I might try to fast with my family next week, so be waiting for updates on that front. Also my host family doesn't have any internet so I probably will only be able to post a few time a week when I can take time to use the internet at AMIDEAST. Finally, just randomly, the clothes I brought (T-shirts and sweaters), are surprisingly conservative for my host family! Renya probably thinks I'm the least fashion forward person in the world. As soon as she saw me in my sweater yesterday, she exclaimed, you look so hot! Take it off! I guess some clothes shopping is in order for the weekend!
I have to go to class now, but expect another post Monday.
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I told you to bring a knife! See how handy it could have come in? That sentence made no sense ... See how it could have come in handy?
ReplyDeleteYour host family sounds wonderful ("chatty" is a positive quality in such situations I believe) and I'm glad you don't have to wear sweaters in August!
I didn't know Rabat had a kasbah, but it makes sense what with it being a coastal city in need of defense and all. I've read about the Casbah in Algiers and such places sound fascinating.