Morocco 2012!: My apartment and contemplation on the terrace

I’m feeling reflective today. We are finally getting settled in the new apartment and getting used to how living together is going to work. Last night we had friends over for Mexican food and we all ate on our terrace that overlooks the river in Rabat. All in all, it was a fabulous night. I realized how lucky I am that I love the people in my group so much and how close we've become over the past couple months.

We also have the most fabulous landlord. He has helped us so much. (We seriously need to buy him a cake or something for all his help) Today, the washing machine overflowed, all over everything. We also had trouble with locking ourselves both in and out of the house. He’s just fabulous and helpful. And actually as I think about it, people here are almost always helpful. Sometimes it can be hard to get by the negative parts, like being followed and catcalled after. But every time I have needed help, or directions, or anything there is always someone willing to help. The people here are overwhelmingly welcoming. The sense of community is unbelievable in the Medina and Kasbah (where we are now living.) At first we had wanted to live in the more “hip” part of town, Agdal, but here in the Kasbah our landlord is our neighbor and was like, “If you need anything, you are part of my family while you’re here just ask.” And the thing is…I believe him one hundred percent. The generosity is just fabulous and overwhelming at the same time. My friend met an older woman today while hailing a cab. The women helped her hail one and then they spilt the fare because they were going to the same place. It turns out the women lives near us and has invited us over for tea. In the U.S it would be strange to invite someone you met in a cab to your home for coffee. Here, it’s normal and almost always with the best intentions.

One of the hardest parts of being here is coming to terms with the fact that I am an American. There is no way around that and it is clear that I am a foreigner here. It is important to me that if I travel or live in a place for an extended period of time, that I want to be a part of the culture. I want to be immersed. I was having a hard time with the idea of being immersed versus assimilating. I have come to realize that I can still be a part of the culture. Yes I am American and yes I stand out. That is frustrating, but I am still able to show people that I am trying to learn about their way of life and language. They appreciate that and are willing to show me more or talk to me in Arabic to try and teach me. Shop keepers that speak English will say, “Practice your Arabic with me.” And will then only talk to us in Arabic to help us understand better. (Also, they don’t try to us as much because we are trying to be part of the community and like that we are putting in an honest effort.) It is a great feeling to walk to a store in the Medina, that recognizes me, and gives me the local price for food. So although I am a “Westerner” and I stand out for many reasons, I have been welcomed by many into their culture. I have successfully immersed myself in a lot of the culture here and have gained a lot.

The one thing I wish I could understand more is the role of Islam. As a non-Muslim, I am unable to enter mosques or really understand it. It plays such a huge role in everyday life and I do know the Five Pillars of Islam and have learned about the call to Prayer and other various informational pieces about Islam, but I can’t really understand it. In general there are a lot of things here I wish I understood more about but Islam is definitely one of the top ones.

There is still a lot I am figuring out and it’s hard to believe I only have a month left but I have definitely come to peace and understanding with a lot of the questions I was having. I’m sure things will happen in the next month that will challenge what I came to as an answer and maybe it will change but as of right now I am feeling very at home here.

Speaking of which, here are pictures of the apartment. Let us keep in mind, we're living in the Kasbah, in a traditional home that is very tall and skinny.

This is the view from my bedroom!