Globalization

Because of its position at the crossroads of Europe and Africa, and the Arab influence in North Africa, Morocco has a ton of different cultural layers.

The indiginous Amazigh people have had all kinds of people come settle in with them. 

The Arabs came over and are now close to half of the population here. The French came down for a shot at colonialization and now French is the main language for business and commerce. They also have a Mediterranean influence with definite cultural similarities to countries like Spain, Greece, and Italy. African migrants are coming to and through Morocco all the time looking for a shot at a better life and are a regular fixture in the big cities.

And of course, as for most of us, globalized media brings in lots of other influences from afar. Moroccan friends here have talked especially about how much they love Turkish and Mexican soap operas and Bollywood films.

Languages
These influences play out in languages too. Even though most (many?) people here speak more than one language, there are all sorts of languages to choose from. 

First the 3 indigenous languages: Tashelheet, Tamazight, and Tarifeet. 

Then the Arabics: Moroccan Arabic (Darija) and Classical/Modern Arabic (mostly used for writing). 

Then the European languages: French (spoken in the central and southern big cities and important for conducting high-level business), Spanish (spoken in the northern cities close to Spain), and English (becoming more important).

So as hard as it is for a foreigner like me to come in and learn a language, you have to make sure you pick the right one(s)!

Here are the Arab and Amazigh (called here Berber) dialects/languages mapped out

And even some Moroccans don't share languages in common. Moha might live in Casablanca and speak Darija and French. Khalid might live up north and speak Tarifeet and Spanish. Both Moroccans, both speak multiple languages. But they cannot understand each other at all.

SO INTERESTING!

Chocolate factory - most delicious field trip ever

Pretty nondescript spot outside of town

The owner is a really funny Belgian guy

Trying our hand at turning circle cutouts into flowers

Chocolate in the molds. They supply several of the upscale chocolate shops across town.

Tasting spread. Wow.

A great group of ladies from AIWA carpooled out to the chocolate factory in Temara. It was delicious! I bought some non-chemical Nutella substitute, which is delicious.

Pre-ramadan party time

Ramadan is coming!

No eating, drinking (even water), or smoking during the day. Especially tough in June and July :/

But after the sun goes down, the parties and feasting begin. I have heard that a lot of people actually gain weight during the month of fasting.

Anyway, the month before Ramadan is called Chabana and I got to go to a really fun all-ladies dance party to celebrate!

We arrived at 5pm and people were already dancing on the tables - which continued throughout almost the whole party - ladies taking their turn or finding a friend and dancing together on the table. Something I love about Moroccans is that they really know how to and love to have a great time! 

These ladies were shaking it! I was super impressed. 

Heather and Janae came with me and we all enjoyed seeing all the incredibly beautiful caftans, dresses, and takshetas around the room. I loooove Moroccan dresses and this was a feast of color.

We danced and laughed and ate and talked and I loved it!

No more weird baby names

Before I moved to Morocco, I used to work at School Choice Ohio, where my fabulous colleagues and I would contact and call lots and lots of parents around the state to tell them about the options they have for their children's education. Apart from the great conversations and sharing great information, during the calling downtime, we would share incredulously some of the most crazy names of the kids we had heard during the day. 

I wish I could remember some of them, but suffice to say that we had quite a few conversations about whether parents should be allowed to name their kids some of these crazy names.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that in Morocco parents actually aren't allowed to name their kids crazy things! If what I've heard is true, there is a list of approved names for parents to choose from. 

And this article shows that Morocco is not alone! Lots of countries have requirements about baby names: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/07/03/mf.baby.naming.laws/

Kind of invasive into people's private lives, but helpful for some in the next generation?

Super powers

One of Ezra's many secret abilities is taking huge bites of corn dogs

Going deeper - podcasts and reading

For those of you who are big nerds with lots of extra time, boy, have I got the website for you! 

Podcasts and links:

The Friends of Morocco Website is put together by former Peace Corps volunteers and it includes lots of good links, including several podcasts called '27 Months' about recent Peace Corps volunteers experiences in Morocco.

http://friendsofmorocco.org/

Some good insights into life here. I recommend the episodes on integration and culture.

Recipes:

Page 82 starts some great Moroccan recipes, but most of it is helping Peace Corps volunteers cook simple recipes with the food ingredients available. 

http://friendsofmorocco.org/Docs/cookbook2007.pdf

My favorite is the pastilla - soooooo delicious. 

Photo from figandcherry.com

Send us pics if you make any of the recipes!

Bonus! Here are some beautiful pics from across Morocco http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2015/04/156653/pictures-moroccos-world-heritage-sites/ and the blog of a study abroad student who lived with a Moroccan family https://ramblingsofanarabicstudent.wordpress.com/

GWA reunion - seeing 4-year-olds who have suddenly become 16!

12 years ago, I taught preschool for a year in Casablanca. It was such an amazing year and each and every one of my colleagues and students was a huge part of it. So I started counting and realized that those little 4 year olds are now in high school and that I could have the chance to see them again! Since we arrived back in Morocco, I have been so excited to get back to see them and ...

Today was the day! 

It was a couple of hours to arrive there, first by train and then in our friends Tim and Katie's car (thank you guys!)

When I was a teacher, the school met in a Casablanca neighborhood with houses across the street from each other. Now they have built a huge sprawling campus about 10 miles south of the city on the beach. When I was there, they had just bought the land, so it was pretty amazing to see how it's new site has taken shape. It's gorgeous!

    GWA stands for George Washington Academy, an international, trilingual, American-style school.

   The basketball courts, put in by our Oxford friends Ken Baker and his team, are still going strong.

   Those are the on-site staff apartments in the background. Foreground are the Moroccan, GWA, and American flags.

I started with a stop to the kindergarten team where I got to see my kindergarten colleagues Gael and Amal!

    Such amazing ladies and it was so wonderful to see them again!

Then Cory, Katie, and I stopped by to see a few other staff members who are still going strong 12 years later! And also got to meet some of the new team. Such a joy :)

Then it was time for lunch with the high schoolers to see if I could find any of my old students. Cory and I bought lunch and sat down at random lunch tables and started watching. We started seeing them. I'm like 'Oh my gosh, Hachem just passed us! He looks exactly the same! And there's Mehdi!' So wild being in a time warp and seeing all these 4 year old eyes and faces now in 16 year old bodies.

We finished lunch and then started to make the rounds to introduce myself as their preschool teacher :)

   Looking at their class pic from the 2002 yearbook

They helped me track almost everyone down for a preschool reunion - it was so much fun! I had a great time hearing little bits of what they are up to now and what they're hoping to do after graduation. 

Such delightful people to reconnect with, and I hope to see them all again soon!