Onion

We apologize for not posting in a while. We've been in Kenya with Ashley's parents where we went to a rural 'town' in the northern part of the country and then did a safari. We haven't had internet access, which has unfortunately caused me to fall behind in my soap-operas. Regardless, we are alive and well--we leave tomorrow morning for London and we'll finally arrive in Jackson at 10:00pm-ish on Saturday night! It's been a long strange trip (yes, that's a nod to Bill Walton...for those of you in the know), and we are so appreciative for people to share this experience with. We can't wait to talk with you all and share more about this summer. We feel like we've grown and learned a lot.


In conclusion, we'd like to confess that we've made many, many mistakes this summer...a few of which we've already told you about. Mainly these mistakes have been the result of our attempts to speak with Moroccans in their dialect of Arabic. We've told you about calling ourselves donkeys, and I (Ben) think I even called myself my own husband. We've also kept speaking Moroccan Arabic to Kenyans (who speak English and Swahili), but we're used to being foolish, strange foreigners.

One example of these kinds of mis-communications happened early on when we were taking language classes in Casablanca. When leaving one day from class we told our teacher Besla, which we thought meant "Good bye." "Good bye", however, is actually pronounced Beslama (which literally means 'with peace'). Besla in Moroccan Arabic is actually the market word for "onion." So our language teacher cocked her head, stared blankly at us, and then walked away without a word.

So, in honor of our stupidity, we would like to say "onion" Morocco. "Onion" Kenya. It's been a long strange trip, but we wish you a very sincere Besla.

Corniche

So we're leaving Morocco on Sunday at 11am. In celebration of our last few days, we went to the corniche in Casablanca. While 'corniche' sounds like an adjective describing something that is corny-ish (just like the joke I've just made), it is actually a French word for "road tracing along the sea" that has made its way into common usage in Morocco. In Casablanca the corniche has several nice restaurants and shops, and it provides a view of the beach (along with the thousands of beach-goers) for a little bit.

In the picture above there are thousands of yellow umbrellas, which give an understated picture of how the beaches are heavily populated. There are nicer 'clubs' where you pay an entry fee and have a 'private' pool (the quotation marks indicate my sarcasm...just in case it doesn't translate across the internet). The club in the picture below, however, was actually quite nice if you wanted to pay lots of money.

Here is a picture of the mosque we posted about earlier. You can see how it is built upon the water. (We were cheated on a taxi not long after walking here...but that's another story.)


As a semi-splurge we ate lunch at Rick's Cafe, which is the restaurant supposedly featured in the movie "Casablanca" (it was actually re-built five years ago and designed after the restaurant in the movie). It was a delicious meal!

Ben had swordfish and pasta (which may have been the best fish either of us has ever eaten) and Ashley had a fantastic curry with a peach chutney. Although neither of these dishes are very Moroccan, they sound adventurous and so we thought we'd impress you with our superd gastronomic preferences.

Here's the most beautiful woman in the world.

This is not the most beautiful woman in the world.


Here's the cafe from the vantage point of our table. At nights there is a pianoman and dancing.



Over all, it was a wonderful dining experience and a great way to begin closing out our time in Morocco.

Cafe Culture

Morocco was a French colony for several decades until its independence in the 1950s. Despite their newly (re)acquired autonomy, however, much of the country is still strongly influenced by Europe. One example of the vestiges of European influence is the cafe culture prevalent in most of the country.

As a general rule, men frequent cafes for hours. Whether because of unemployment or a "business over coffee" mentality, some men even spend the entire day there. It is less common for women to frequent cafes--many have an unofficial but obvious 'no-women' rule. Those cafes where women are able to participate in this aspect of the culture are typically called "glaciers" (when pronouncing this word, envision yourself as a haughty French person and say with a flourish and an up-turned lip "glaas-ee-ay"; then conclude with "oui oui").

I (Ben) have been able to go to cafes to study and read. It's an opportunity to be out in public, soak in the social scene, and drink a year's supply of caffeine in one sitting. At the cafe near our apartment in Casa, however, Ashley is allowed with no social qualms...at least as far as we know. We've seen a few Moroccan women there, but the sign does not read "Glacier" (see above for pronunciation) so we're hoping our ignorance will prove us to be innocent.


To be able to have a conversation in Moroccan Arabic at one of these cafes is the indicator that a foreigner is "in" with the culture and social life of this country. Because this 'cafe culture' lies at the heart of urban Morocco, we've really enjoyed being near the beating pulse and getting a taste of what life is like in this unique part of creation.

English Club

Of the many things we have done in Morocco, one of my (Ashley's) favorite times has been Wednesday afternoons at the Churchill Club. Here, my mentor facilitates a conversational English class. Moroccan women gather at this 'club' (social club of the American League of Casablanca with an odd name), read stories and/or articles in English, and then discuss the contents. Last week the ladies found themselves in a pretty heated discussion about human rights issues in Morocco and abroad. This class is a way for them to practice their English and an opportunity for me to learn more about life in Morocco, to practice a bit of Arabic, and to laugh. These women are a hoot!! They are also incredibly intelligent. It's amazing (and convicting) to hear these women easily switch between French, Arabic, and English in the same sentence, along with Dutch and German for a few of them.



These are not your typcial Moroccan women. They are the 'Vanderbilts' and 'Kennedys' of Moroccan society. Their husbands are politicians and lawyers. Their children are educated abroad in Europe or the US. One member's husband served as the Moroccan Ambassador to Egypt for a number of years. She has never ridden a train or in a taxi (which is insane because the taxi and train systems here run quite well and are the most common method of transportation). Meaning, someone has driven her everywhere she has ever wanted to go. Remarkably (for those of you who know a bit about Arab culture) one of the members has chosen not to marry and is herself a distinguished law professor. Although they might not be typical in regards to economic status, they certainly exemplify the typical Moroccan warmth and hospitality.

Casa's Mosque

Casablanca is home to the third largest mosque in the world, which is named after the former King, Hassan II. This mosque in Casablanca can hold 25,000 people; only the mosques in Mecca and Medina have larger capacities. It has a retracting roof for days when the weather is nice. Although it is smaller (in terms of square feet and capacity) than those other two mosques, its minaret makes it the tallest religious structure in the world. It is covered in beautiful, ornate designs, and 1/3 of the mosque was built overhanging the ocean (which you can't see from our photos).




They allow non-Muslims to tour the mosque during certain times of the day. So Ashley and I went yesterday morning (Monday), and we were able to take a few photos inside. The lighting was not so good, so have some compassion if things are blurry or dark.



The picture above is of the floor where men come to pray. Particularly on Fridays this area can be pretty close to full. The ropes set off the area where the King processes in to pray. At the end of this area is a niche that points toward Mecca (it looks kind of like a doorway in the center of the photo above), and to the right is a podium-like stand where an imam delivers the Friday-sermon. The picture below is of the terrace area where women pray. It's difficult to see in this photo, but there are slots in the walls of the terrace for the women to see through.


Below is a picture of the fountains used for washing, which is required of devotees for purification before prayer. There is a separate area for men and women, but this area was only used for tours (which, of course, are not conducted during prayer times). The purification process includes washing hands, arms, and the face three times. If I understood correctly, they also wash their forehead and behind their ears once (as opposed to three times).

Also, near the mosque is a theological school, but currently it is not in use. It is designed in similarly ornate patterns. This school forms a kind of U in the beginning of the vast courtyard area that you can see in the first picture of this post.

4th O' July

To celebrate America's Independence (those dang Brits!!!), we decided to invite a few friends over to our apartment for some semi-grilled, semi-burned hot dogs (beef, not pork, of course) and other American-y things. We ate juicy watermellon and had a wide array of other summer foods. I (Ben) had a little trouble with the grill: apparently people don't communicate in smoke signals here, and so there was a little confusion that I had friendly intentions. But once the grill's gaseous black smoke died down, the hot dogs turned out to be pretty decent.




(A brownie...in case you were suspicious.)


Ashley is a bit more patriotic than I am, as you can tell by the disproportionate size of our flags. The American plates and napkins you see in the picture above were supplied by a friend, so at least we didn't go over board that much.

Couscous Friday

Couscous is the national food of Morocco. It's an amazing dish with vegetables and meat and several spices (including saffron!) that you eat from a common plate around a table. Typically you eat it with your hands by rolling/smushing the food into a ball in your hands and flicking it into your mouth, but a lot of people now eat it with spoons. It's also customary to eat this meal on Fridays, have fruit for dessert, wash it all down with mint tea, and then take a nice, long nap.

I (Ben) was asked to eat couscous yesterday with a Moroccan friend whom I met while playing soccer with some other friends. Another guy and I went to this friend's house, and we enjoyed a wonderful meal. I've had lunch with these guys once before, and both times after we've eaten we've all talked for a little while afterwards and then fallen asleep. It's pretty funny (in the sense that it's so different from our culture and customs) to wake up from an hour-long nap with a bunch of other guys you've basically just met. I'm always worried that I snored or something.

While I was doing this, Ashley was able to join some other friends for (another) lunch of American food. One of her Moroccan friends is going to be a Fullbright scholar in the U.S. teaching Arabic, and so Ashley went to a lunch to talk about the part of the U.S. where she'll be teaching. The girls, however, never take naps like the boys...they talk and dance instead. They're missing out!

Sorry that we don't have any pictures to post today. We forgot our camera for both lunches. Thanks for following our blog...we're so appreciative of our friends!

Tea Time

One of my (Ashley's) favorite things about Moroccan culture is 'Tea Time'. Women invite friends into their home where they sit and chat for hours over mint tea and goodies. I went with my mentor for tea at one of her friend's villas (quite possibly the largest home I have ever been in) and was amazed by the multiple rounds of cookies and treats, coffee, juice and tea. On one visit for tea in Marrakech, we chatted about a recent wedding, saw all the wedding pictures, and then watched the wedding video... for three hours. As a general rule, Moroccans are very hospitable, which is reflected in the custom of sharing tea. I have enjoyed visiting homes and attempting to speak with Moroccans in broken, toddler-like Arabic.

Most recently I spent an afternoon with friends drinking Southern-style sweet tea. The two Moroccans in this picture are sisters (the one on the left is older, and the one on the right has a twin who wasn't there). One of them speaks English very well, so talking with her about life and Moroccan culture was a real treat!


We talked about many things. We talked about our understanding of who we are as human beings and about our creator, about life and death. I pray that God will bless my new friends as they have certainly blessed me. It was a 'Tea Time' that encouraged and challenged me, one that I will not soon forget and one that I would love to share with you sometime.

Birthday Fun

Tuesday was Ben's birthday, and so we got to celebrate here in Casa. We began the day with homemade cherry muffins. The fresh cherries here are amazing!


We went to TGIFridays on the beach for lunch with some friends and both enjoyed a little taste of home-- cheeseburgers! I know what you are thinking... We are in Morocco, a land known for its succulent suc-sou (cous-cous) and tasty tajine, and we chose to eat a grease and meat patty with french fries. Yes, that's right, and we liked it!!




It was a beautiful day (like most in Casablanca) to celebrate Ben! We finished out the day relaxing and playing cards. In honor of Ben, we devoted a couple of days to doing what Ben loves best... It was a fun and memorable birthday.