The Long Nights of Ramadan

As I said in my last post, my first impression of my host family was definitely favorable. After the weekend, I still think so! My host parents are both warm and welcoming, and are constantly asking me to eat more, but they also taught me how to say, "I'm full, Thanks be to God", in Darija, which is a phrase I think I will be using quite often! My oldest sister, Sarah, is also very helpful with Darija, as she speaks English and is always willing to quiz us. It's a little weird living with people who I can't communicate effectively with, though. My AMIDEAST partner host sister, Evelyn, speaks French really well, as do all the members of the family, so she can talk to them. All of the family members speak Darija and French, but none of them know how to/want to speak Modern Standard Arabic with me. I think that the younger folk don't really know it as they all went to French schools, and I don't know if the parents just aren't comfortable with it, or if my MSA is just so bad they can't figure out what I am saying.

Communication with most people, not just my family, is always a little challenging for me here in Rabat. On Sunday, some of the girls from the program and I wanted to go to church at the Roman Catholic cathedral. I took a cab, and my driver, first didn't understand which church I wanted to go to, and then refused to take me there after realizing that I didn't speak French (the service was in French). He kept trying to take me to a different church, even though I tried, in French, Darija, and MSA to tell him that I was meeting my friends at the Catholic church. He finally let me out after yelling out the window to some random guy who assured him that this was the Catholic church and that I did indeed want the Catholic church. What a mess! The actual service was lovely and most of the congregation was African. The music was especially gorgeous, and even though the service was in French the familiarity of the service was enough to make me the most homesick I've been since coming to Morocco. I started crying right there in the church, which was a little embarrassing, but I felt better afterward, so I guess it was OK.

The most exciting event since my last post, was my evening out with Ranya, my 19 year old host sister who is leaving in five days to study in Canada. Ranya is quite social and took Evelyn and I out Friday night to see her friends. The whole experience was crazy, and even getting ready to go was an adventure. Ranya dressed Evelyn and I in clothes that we did not feel comfortable wandering the streets of Rabat in, and she insisted that Evelyn do her eye make-up. This led to a round of questioning about eye make-up, where you buy make-up in the US, and how expensive it is. When we were finally ready to leave, Ranya took Evelyn and I to a cafe near the AMIDEAST offices where all the youth of Morocco hang out. Now, I've been to this cafe during the day because it is one of the few places open for lunch during Ramada, but it is a totally different place at night. During the day, the cafe is almost deserted and the selection of items for sale is small. At night, the place was full of Moroccans talking, laughing, eating, drinking, and using the free wifi. Evelyn and I met many of Ranyas friends, and some people she didn't know (Ranya is quite the social butterfly), and all of the young adults spoke French, and a little English.

Our night really picked up when we met Ranya's best friend, Ali. He was very eager to speak to Evelyn and I in English, and is leaving in a couple of weeks to study in Marrakesh. After chatting in the cafe for awhile, Ranya informed us that we were going to the beach and told Evelyn and I to get in the car with Ali. So here we were, two American girls in a car with this Moroccan guy we'd known for less than a hour speeding down the streets of Rabat with music blaring so loud conversation was impossible. The music volume did not stop Ali from asking Evelyn and I to explain the lyrics of American songs that he particularly enjoyed. Evelyn was more useful in that respect than I becuase of her French. After we'd been driving for awhile Ali gets a call from his cousin who lives in the area. We pull over, Ali gets out of the car and meets this guy in front of an apartment building. It turns out that the guy is Ali's cousin, Hakim, who promply invites us inside. Well, in for a penny in for a pound I guess, and since Evelyn and I had already decided to go out wearing inappropriate clothes, and get in a car with a Moroccan man we barely knew, we decided what the hell, let's go meet Hakim's family. We were ushered inside and greeted by Ali's sister who was wearing a hijab, which was kind of awkward given that Evelyn and I were wearing American going out at night clothes. We at Hakim's house for a few minutes, until Ranya called and told us to hurry up. Then, we drove around the outskirts of Rabat for a while, picking up more people, until we finally made it to the beach. We just chilled there, talking in a mix of French, English, and Darija, until Evelyn and I insisted we were too tired to stay out, which was at like 2 AM.

Ranya wanted us to go out again Saturday night, and we went, but insisted that we be taken home at midnight. Ramadan is a weird time of year here. There is no school and some people don't have work during the day, so for the young folk like Ranya, it is easy to become essentially nocturnal. Her friends were saying that Ramadan is still pretty boring because all of the night clubs are closed. Ali was complaining bitterly about this and kept saying that he wanted to go dancing on Saturday night.

Hanging out with the Moroccan youth was tons of fun, and a great way to work on my language skills. All of Ali's friends were very excited that I knew the Arabic alphabet. They were all very welcoming and eager to talk to us. Ali immediately added me as his facebook friend, and when we saw each other on Saturday he asked me questions about my family and friends who are in my pictures and the interests that I posted on my profile. That sounds a little stalkerish, but wasn't really, I promise!

This week also saw that beginning of classes for me. My MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) teacher seems really nice. He told us all to think of him as our father while we are here in Morocco. I tested into Arabi 202, which is a level above where I ended at AU, and I think that it's going to be really tough, especially since my teacher makes you talk and speaks to us only in Arabic, but I should learn alot. My Darija teacher is this intense little woman who talks to us very loudly in a mix of Darija, MSA, and French. As a result I have a tough time understanding her and I think it'll take a bit for me to become used to her teaching style. I've also had two humanities classes, Gender, Islam, and Society, and Contemporary Moroccan Culture. For those of you who go to AU, when I took Prof. Howard's IR Researh class, I did my three reserach designs on movements that focus on reinterpreting the Qu'ran as a way of promoting women's rights. My Gender, Islam, and Society class addressed some of the questions that I looked at in that project, in much more detail and looks like it's going to be really good. My teacher is a very intelligent woman who has taught in the US and Morocco and who plans to take us on fiield trips to NGOs in Rabat dealing with women's issues. My Contemporary Moroccan Culture class is taught by the program's academic coordinatior and also looks really good. We have to do a project and paper on some aspect of Moroccan culture that forces us to go out and communicate with Moroccan people for reserach purposes. It should be challenging, but good!

As far as my fasting goes, my host family seemed surprised that I wanted to attempt it in the first place and kept asking if I wanted food. I fasted for the weekend, and then when Evelyn and I told our host mom that we were starting classes, she refused to let us fast anymore. I might keep fasting on weekends, or I might not, but it was a good experience to have had, even just for the weekend. The not eating during the day part was tough, but the hardest part was not drinking, especially on Saturday when Evelyn and I wandered around the medina in the hot sun. Eating at night was also difficult, as I felt like I needed to eat and drink a lot to prepare for the next day, but then just ended up feeling sick. I can see why fasting is such an important part of the Islamic faith, though. It really does make you realize just how important food is to our day to day schedule and activities. I know that as a Christian, I usually take Lent as a time of year to reflect on my life and try to make improvements in areas that I think I need it, such as promising to start my homework earlier, or try to be extra considerate to those around me, and Ramadan seems like a time for that as well, except on an even more intesnse level.

OK, enough heavy stuff. I'm off to start my homework (now that I have class again!), but will try to update a couple more times this week!