I'll come back if I don't die

"Inshahallah" or "God willing," is hard to get used to. It's a saying used for anything that you want to do or will do, for example...

Me: "My mom is coming to visit me in April!"
My host mom: "Inshahallah."
Me: "No, I mean, she already booked her plane ticket. It's really happening."
My host mom: "Inshahallah."

AND

This morning, I said goodbye to my host sister: "See you later!"
She replied, "Inshahallah."

It puts a whole new spin on your day...as you walk out the door, you wonder, who knows if you will actually see someone later? It makes each time crossing the street and almost getting run over slightly more thrilling.

In my Berber culture class last Friday, we learned that literally translated in Tamazight, "God willing" is actually "I will come back if I don't die."

Touchè.

At home in Morocco

At home in Morocco...



Saad (he's shy) and "The MSN"

Living room

Smile!

Marthe and Karima preparing the tajine...

Visions of Marrakech: Part V

Chez Ali, a touristy Medieval-Times-ish (but Moroccan) dinner and show. Complete with a whole lamb on our table that we named Rupert after some people ate his kidneys (not me, clearly), a sparkly belly dancer, a flying carpet on a wire, fireworks, lots of horse tricks and many near horse disasters, and absolutey amazing fruit.

Did I tell you about the fruit? Sweet, perfectly ripe and confusing for English speakers (orange=leemoon, lemon=citron).

Visions of Marrakech: Part IV

The Atlas mountains!

Visions of Marrakech: Part III

A greyish brown monkey tugging very violently against his chain and the owner tugging very violently back.

Visions of Marrakech: Part II

The snake charmers in Djama el Fna. Apparently they sew the mouths of the snakes closed so they don't bite tourists. They die after a few weeks and have to be replaced. This is the best shot I could get without paying for it!

Visions of Marrakech: Part I

The inside of a hotel room. I was sick with food poisoning for most of the trip.

Sad!

Who wants some culture shock?!?

The hammam is the public bathhouse, a beloved tradition here. I was told it was a place for women to get together, relax and talk for hours. I was pumped to go...

You walk in and EVERYBODY IS NAKED. And staring at you. It's kind of an industrial operation, so you strip down quickly and a woman (also naked) comes over with a huge bucket of water and pours it over your unsuspecting head. She grabs a grommage and literally scrubs your whole body like you're two and it's bathtime. A few more buckets over the head, some hair washing and lots of exfoliating, and then...it's time to go.

I went with my Dutch sisters Arwen and Marthe (who are also visiting students doing research) and my homestay mom Karima. Karima didn't go inside, except for a few appearances in which she was fully clothed and I was smooshed on the floor being scrubbed.

Kiiinda embarrassing. Kiiinda like NQR minus the cover of darkness (or the snow).

Mmmm so this is what they meant by culture shock!

MSN

Sihame and Saad are addicted to MSN the way I was addicted to AIM in 7th grade. It is their lifeline, to their friends and any romantic (cyber) encounters they might have.

I'm talking obsessed--I'll be checking my email and if someone messages Sihame, I have to stop typing immediately and let her respond. She speaks with her friends in transliterated derija, with 3 as the 'ayn and 7 as the haa.

Once, Sihame used my phone to call her boyfriend and tell him to go on MSN! (Phone calls are expensive here...) She was very sophisticated on the phone and giggly after...she reminds me of me or any of my friends after talking to a cute boy for the first time. In some ways I can completely identify with her and in others I feel almost sorry for her; Sihame is 20 and in a few years she will be married but her only private communication or interaction is through MSN.

In Contemporary Moroccan Culture, we're studying the effects of the media on the new Muslim public sphere. It's fascinating that the internet provides access to members of the opposite sex for Moroccan teenagers; any other interactions are at school or parent-supervised. It is at once very private and illicit and also very accepted (her parents definitely know that she talks to boys on MSN). It's changing what is acceptable in a Muslim society.

Here's a question: is MSN-ing acceptable during Ramadan? Does chatting on the internet break the fast? Apparently some girls in Saudi Arabia asked the oulema (religious scholars) there. Any ideas?

Sarah

A small victory

Yesterday, after my host father finished praying, I asked him to tell me about Islam. He explained the five pillars and their significance...in derija.

I understood!

Ok, don't laugh...

For those of you who know me very well, this will be very funny.

Remember those days at the dinner table when Steve would touch my plate when no one was looking and after that I couldn't eat...because it was germy? And no one believed me! It's all he had to do...

Well, the eating situation here:

Moroccans mostly eat with their hands. There's a big communal bowl of food and you eat from that. Lately I've been getting my own special dish (along with the baby, Ayman) that is "son viande" or "bla lahm." Before I think my host mom tried to sneak beef into my food, until she realized I was serious about this whole no-meat thing. At first, though, I didn't want to be disrespectful so I ate what I was given.

I'm gonna come back a different woman, I think!