Scenes From Morocco: Meknes Medina

A minaret soars above the alleys of Meknes' medina

From The Classroom: Proficiency Presentations 2

The second presentation in my Proficiency class dealt with the relations between parents in children in Morocco and how they have changed drastically as of late.

The basic argument was that in the past the relationships were very strong: younger children listened to their parents and adult children took good care of their aging parents, but that has changed substantially in the past few decades.

The presentation was given by a male-female duo, but it was obviously driven by the man. He spoke most forcefully, citing Koranic verses that required children to take care of their parents and submit to their will. He also emphasized the traditional model of the family in which women stayed at home and there were no kindergartens or nursing homes because the woman always was able to take care of the young and the old of the family.

In contrast, today Moroccan children are wilder and more rebellious as a result of their education outside of the home at an earlier age. Furthermore, adults push their parents away into nursing homes, breaking up the extended family living structure that dominated Moroccan family life for centuries.

The two students cited a couple of main reasons for this decline: the lack of religion and Western influence. A growing selfishness reflected a turn away from Koranic precepts and an imitation of Western culture.


In the question and answer period, they were both pressed hard on their claims. I asked if they thought that all the other Moroccans in the room were awful children, as they had indicated in their presentation. They said that no one was perfect and that, despite the best intentions, all participated in this general shift in society.

Another asked if kindergartens were always bad. The male student replied that nothing can replace the mother and that there are no good kindergartens that safely keep the chidlren.

At that point, the female presenter chimed in: "I am for working women. And some kindergartens are safe. I went to one when I was younger and I turned out ok."

Another student asked for possible solutions, and the presenters asserted, "Religion can help. It was the solution in the past and can be now too."

The oldest member of our class, a college professor, told the story of his parents and how unhappy they were in their arranged marriage. He concluded by cautioning against a nostalgia for some ideal past that never existed.

From The Classroom: Proficiency Presentations 1

I teach the Proficiency Class, which is the highest level we offer. Earlier in the semester I required my students to read an article about the Muhammad Cartoon Controversy, which portrayed the Islamic world in a very negative light. The discussion was excellent.

Afterwards, I asked my students to prepare a 10-12 minute presentation that shared an aspect of Moroccan or Islamic culture with the Western world. I emphasized that the audience was Western, because I really want them to think about translating their own culture and beliefs into a different, and sometimes hostile environment.

For a week or so, they worked on the presentations during class and then the last two weeks they presented them to the class.

I figured that I would summarize them for my readers so that their hard work does not go totally unnoticed.

----------------

The first presentation was about feasts and ceremonies in Morocco. The five Moroccan religious feasts, which are celebrated according to the Islamic lunar calendar, are Achoura, Mawlid Nabawi, Ramadan, Aie El Fitr and Aid l'Kbir.

Achoura commemorates when Moses and the Israelites were saved from Egypt. Moroccan children generally receive toys and pound on drums. Water is sprayed in the street and there is a special meal.

Mawlid Nabawi commemorates the birth of the prophet. It is coming up this weekend.

During Ramadan, the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims fast all day and then break their fast after sunset with a large feast.

Aid El Fitr, is the first day following Ramadan. The month-long daytime fast is broken and Muslims are required to tithe. When the men return from prayer the families eat pancakes and children receive new clothes, followed by numerous family visits.

Aid l'kbir, the only one I have actually experienced so far, commemorates when Abraham almost killed Ishmael to fulfill God's command. The celebration involves the killing of a sheep and numerous meat dishes, followed by family visits.

The important ceremonies of Moroccan culture include the engagement party, wedding, baptism and circumcision.

The engagement party is less important than it used to be, since men have so much more access to women these days, but it is still an important time for the families to meet and agree on a date for the wedding and exchange the dowry.

Weddings generally occur in houses, not in churches as in the Christian tradition. Moroccan Pastilla, Chicken, meat with prunes and cookies and tea are all consumed.

The baptism of a Moroccan child usually occurs on the second day after birth. There is a slaughtering of a sheep and the child is named.

Only men are allowed to the circumcision ceremony, which purifies a male's body and helps to identify it with the Muslim community.

The Ignorance of the American Dream

Yesterday I sat down with a fellow English teacher to discuss a project of his.

A married man with two children, working two jobs and trying to finish his PhD dissertation, Najib is more than just a little busy. But he agreed to help me with my Arabic in return for my help on his project. My end of the bargain requires me to transcribe English newscasts and write questions for students of English, the results of which Najib will examine in his research.

After we worked out the details for my transcriptions and his Arabic help, we sat in the cafe and chatted as if time did not exist.

Unlike many of my other Moroccan co-workers, Najib lived in the United States at length. He won the US visa lottery and spent a number of years in North Carolina and the Northeast.

Leaning back, his right ankle propped on his left knee, he took a long drag from his cigarette. "You know, I almost married an American girl."

"No, really?" I smiled, eager for the story.

"Yeah, I was younger then. Long hair...a soccer player. Her mother hated me, and she let me know it."

I mentioned the negative attitudes of the parents' of one of the other American teachers towards her Moroccan boyfriend. Najib, sporting a crew cut and stylish business attire, affirmed the similarities.

Staring off towards the corner of the cafe, he continued, "I was really attracted by America. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life there...America..."

"But you just liked it too much back here?"

"Well, I was going to enroll at UNC, get a degree...but it was just too expensive. I had to work two jobs just to live. I couldn't afford tuition."

"That's true for a lot of immigrants I think...they have big plans but then they just start working and a few decades later they're doing the same thing."

Najib paused for a moment, "I worked in a kitchen for a while." Then he looked at me directly. "It was a good job," he said waving his hand away. "But it wasn't for me. I moved to New York and worked as a taxi driver for a while. And then I decided to come back here. I applied to teach English, got the job. I got married..."

His voice faded as he stared once again into the furthest reaches of the cafe.

Scenes From Morocco: Meknes Mosque

A few days after the collapse of the Meknes mosque, a barrier has been erected around it, guarded by police.

Life continues as normal in the neighborhood, but many Moroccans stop to gawk and discuss the collapse.

Volubilis

Yesterday I visited the Roman ruins of Volubilis for the first time. Since it's February, the Moroccan landscape looks like Ireland instead of say, well...Morocco.

Volubilis is remarkable for a number of reasons. For one, it's fairly well-preserved given the lack of European-style attention to archaeological sites. The patterns of mosaics are still visible. Walls two millenia old are decayed but visible. The outline of streets that children used to play in centuries ago are clear as day.

But it's also amazing that the Roman Empire penetrated this far inland in this part of the world. This isn't Tangiers, Ceuta or Melilla, let alone Marseilles or Genoa. Volubilis is a very long march from the Mediterranean Sea, and yet the ruins are quite large. I went with a German obsessed with the Roman Empire, and I couldn't help but point out to her that this remote African location was in the Roman Empire while her birthplace was not.

What's more, Volubilis is a reminder of the connection between the Roman Empire and the Islamic kingdoms and caliphates that filled in the southern half of its domain. A few centuries after the Romans withdrew from the southern half of the Mediterranean basin, the Muslim Arabs filled it right back in, bringing a new religion, language, and culture but also maintaining many aspects of Roman civilization.

The public baths, for instance. The Romans loved their baths. The Arabs were required to use them regularly for religious reasons. Medieval Christians, in contrast, detested bathing. In this area at least, the Arabs were much better holders of Roman heritage than Christian Europe.

Meknes Mosque Collapses

All afternoon long, we heard sirens from the house. I didn't remember hearing sirens more than a handful of times since I arrived, so the repeated passings of ambulances seemed out of place.

A Moroccan friend of mine came by this evening, and so we asked him if he knew what was up.

"You haven't heard?!? A mosque collapsed in the medina."

Later, we looked it up online. Sure enough, the international news was covering the story.

At least 36 people were killed in Morocco when a minaret collapsed at a mosque in the central town of Meknes, officials say.

More than 60 people were injured in the accident at the Berdieyinne mosque in Meknes' old city during Friday prayers, according to Moroccan state television.

The TV report said that the collapse came after heavy rains which lashed the region for several days.

The minaret is said to have been four centuries old.

Many people are said to be buried under the rubble of the collapsed tower.

Scenes From Morocco: The Jelaba

The jelaba is the traditional Moroccan garment for both men and women. It is still found in the most rural areas and the most urban areas, almost always mixed with Western dress.

Overheard in Meknes

As I approached the church I saw two teenage Moroccan girls.

It was drizzling and I was headed to a funeral, so I lowered my head and tried to move past them on the sidewalk.

When I got within earshot, the first thing I heard was, "Il fait très froid aujourd'hui." Naturally, I figured they were rich Moroccan girls who prefer French to their native Darija.

But then in a heavily-accented, stuttering English came the same basic idea: "It is very cold today, is it not?"

I ignored their feeble attempt to attract my attention and entered the church.

The Power of Abstraction

In the book for one of my lower level classes, there are a series of activities designed to teach how to give directions in English.

The chapter is well-designed. It starts out with vocabulary of places in the city (gas station, hospital, restaurant, bookstore, etc.) Then it introduces prepositions of location ('next to', 'on the corner of', 'on -- street', 'across from', etc.) It then reintroduces the command form of verbs such as 'go', 'turn', and 'continue'. The chapter then concludes with a direction-giving activity using a map of Manhattan.

All of the preliminary sections went extremely well, but then for some reason, my students got caught up on the last activity. I asked them to locate the Rockefeller Center on the map. It was clearly labeled, a sketch of the building rising from Manhattan's grid. One or two students could give me the location, but then once I started asking them to give me directions to get to Grand Central Station (also clearly labeled), all of them froze up.

I tried two or three other approaches to the question, but all met with stony silence. Then I wrote out the addresses of the two on the board, just using the avenues and streets that intersected at the corner of each. I asked them how many avenues there were between the two and how many streets between the two. All they had to do was subtract the two numbers on the board in front of them. But they couldn't do it. So I couldn't even show them how the numbers could simply be inserted into the stock commands "go up x avenue until y street", "turn left/right on y street".

I kept trying new takes. I went back to the basics again. How does the map work? How do the numbers representing streets change? Avenues? Where are the buildings located? What commands do you give for directions? Even at the basic levels, they seemed utterly confused.

I was confused too.

I drew a rough map of Meknes on the board. I tried asking them questions about their own city. They still struggled. They didn't even know the names of the two main drags of the town, let alone the side streets. I started to realize what was happening. It wasn't a linguistic problem, but a skill problem.

Giving directions is not something Moroccans do.

That is, for the vast majority of Moroccans, giving directions with street names based on a grid system is a foreign concept. My lesson was not just an introduction to new linguistic content but to an entirely new concept.

What strikes me most strongly is that giving directions and understanding location on a grid is a skill involving abstraction--moving from the immediate experience and perspective to a larger, more bird's eye perspective.

I was also reminded of my previous experiences trying to communicate with Moroccans. As a rule, they dislike modes of communication that do not provide simultaneous response, preferring chat and telephone calls instead. Letter-writing and emails require a delay in response and a lack of presence on the part of the other person. In short, they require abstraction. And Moroccans seem to dislike abstraction.

I know there are Moroccans who can abstract when it comes to maps and communication, but most can't. On the other side of the Atlantic, there are a great number of Americans who struggle with abstraction as well. But there is a fundamental difference in mindset between the cultures that I find remarkable.

The question for me, then, as a teacher and a foreigner in this culture is: how do I meet Moroccans on their own terms with regard to communication and direction-giving? And how do I learn to appreciate this desire for presence and immediacy along with my Moroccan friends?

My Valentine's Day

A new group of American exchange students has arrived in Meknes.

Despite some hesitant opposition at the thought of associating with a gaggle of naive Americans, we decided to invite them over for a little Valentine's Day soirée last night.

Before the party I had to teach, though, as I do every Sunday afternoon.

The class seemed rather empty when the first bell rang, so I waited for five to ten minutes. Even then, there were only 11 out of 18 students. I was pretty sure that the Moroccan semester break had ended. And I couldn't think of any other reason for the mass absenteeism, so I asked those present, "Why are there so many people missing? Is today a Moroccan holiday I have never heard of?"

They answered in concert, "Valentine's Day, teacher!!"

I smirked and nodded my head slowly. Then I tried to give them some background on the holiday they are so eager to assimilate. I explained how Valentine's Day has mutated from a regular saint's day on the Catholic calendar to a day to commemorate love to the current celebration of love through commercialism.

Something tells me that my students didn't catch the irony in my tone.


Back home, the party started strangely. I had been expecting eight to ten people, so I was a bit surprised to see 15 Americans file in with my Moroccan friend. She was supposed to have told them to bring their own snacks and drinks, but I wasn't sure if the message had been conveyed: they only had three bottles of wine and no food.

It was very quiet at first, almost awkwardly so. I made some small talk and then headed into the kitchen to make some Moroccan tea to compensate for the lack of drinks.

Even more Americans came slightly later with food and more drinks. The conversation gradually divided and subdivided, raising in volume at every division. By the time some of our Moroccan friends showed up, it was a lively affair.

The group surprised me. A number had lived in other countries before, in China, in Germany, and in Nigeria. And yet despite their previous international experience, very few spoke any French or Arabic--in fact, many chose the University of Meknes because it has low standards regarding prior language experience.

It was also interesting to hear them talk about the same shocks and jolts we encountered when we first arrived: learning to discern Moroccans' intentions, the differing conception of personal space, the awkward pleasure of the hammam, the prostitution-driven bar culture, etc.

I usually dislike spending time with Americans abroad. I find our values and worldview differ too much. But a number of Americans I have met recently are exceptions to the rule. Perhaps this group will contain some more.

Scenes From Morocco: Transportation

Mules are regularly used for transportation in the narrow alleys of Moroccan medinas.

They are used much less frequently on paved roads.

A Bad Rap

This rap song by the Belgian-Moroccan group Redouane le deglingue is causing quite the international controversy.

At 3:26 in the video, the rapper says, "J’épouserai le Maroc après avoir baisé la Belgique” which translates "I will marry Morocco after having fucked Belgium".

I've listened to the song a few times, but my street French isn't good enough to understand it, and I can't seem to find the lyrics online. So I don't know what the context of the song is, but the video shows a number of Moroccan youth in Belgium with Moroccan flags. And the overall message seems to be one of discontent with Belgium and pride in their Moroccan heritage.

On the political level, there seems to be an issue of integration to say the very least. Belgium, along with Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, do a much poorer job integrating Moroccans than Germany does.

But what struck me most was how the sexual metaphor used to illustrate this political malaise parallels what I have seen and heard again and again from Moroccans. Most Moroccan guys are happy to fool around with prostitutes and foreign girls (who are inevitably promiscuous). But when it comes time to start a family, they marry the "bread of the house", as one traditional Moroccan song puts it.

Yesterday, Daniel asked his class if Moroccan women were expected to be virgins when they get married. All the students nodded 'yes'. Then he asked if Moroccan men were expected to be virgins when they get married. All the students said, "no".

Then Daniel explained the meaning of "double standard".

Truck Drivers' Politics

Daniel and I decided to get some McDonald's tonight. I usually don't like Mickey D's much, but tonight I was in the mood.

On our way, the truck drivers who deliver goods to the electronics store a few buildings down from our apartment building stopped Daniel and started talking to him.

Since I had walked on the other side of the truck, I hadn't realized what was happening. After thirty seconds of waiting, I went back to see what had happened. Daniel was engaged in a Darija conversation with the three truck drivers.

"Did any of your ideas about Morocco change after you came here?" one of them asked.

He wanted to know if we had thought that Moroccans were cannibals or just exotic desert people and at what point we realized they weren't. I chimed in to say that we both were fairly familiar with the world before we came here, so we didn't have such strong stereotypes.

After he had finished that line of questioning, he decided it was time to give us his view of America: "The media in the United States doesn't tell the people what is really going on in the world. Americans don't really know."

I asked for some examples, and he cited the suffering of the Palestinian people and American support for Israeli killing. He then started citing a list of American vetoes on the UN Security Council that allowed Israel to do as it pleased.

I think he realized the conversation was getting heavy and that he was keeping us a bit long. He offered to drive us out to the Algerian border sometime when we were free and then he bid us good night.


As we walked away, Daniel and I discussed the conversation.

"There's nothing I like better before I eat me some McDonald's than a good discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Daniel smiled and remarked, "Stuff like US vetoes on the UN Security Council makes the headlines here in Morocco. Of course it doesn't in the United States."

"Yeah, and this isn't some over-educated professional or academic. He was a truck driver."

A Newspaper's End

Le Journal, one of the two of Morocco's more liberal magazines, closed shop this week.

The reasons for its closure were ultimately political:

A Moroccan court declared the magazine's publisher's bankrupt, and seized its assets on Wednesday. But the underlying reason for the magazine's end was political: It had been one of the few Moroccan publications that dared to touch some of the country's most taboo subjects, from criticizing the monarchy to the issue of the country's over the Western Sahara. The magazine's co-founder, Aboubakr Jamaï, contends that his finances were crippled by the Moroccan government's pressure on advertisers to boycott the publication. Jamaï's finances have been in disarray since a Moroccan court ruled against him in a defamation case in 2006, which ordered him to pay a punitive judgment of $354,000.

The other fairly liberal magazine, which I read weekly, wrote an interesting editorial about its closure. On the one hand, it decried the direction the country was going and expressed solidarity with Le Journal. On the other hand, it clearly marked some of its views as "extreme", thus distancing itself politically.

Most Moroccans I know prefer news that comes from the Persian Gulf, TV stations like Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera, because they know there is no Moroccan political influence over what is reported.

Efficiency and the Pace of Life

At the teacher's conference this last week, some of the other ex-pat teachers and I were discussing life in Morocco.

When I was asked directly how I liked it here, I said the first thing that came to mind: "I really enjoy the pace of life. People have time to hang out, to get a coffee, to drop what they're doing and spend hours helping you with some simple task. That's hard to find in the United States sometimes."

Another ex-pat, who has lived here much longer than me, chimed in: "Yeah, but what happens with that same mentality when you really need to get something done?"

He's right. So far, I haven't had any real emergencies or necessary paperwork situations.

When that day comes, I'll be able to more fully judge life here in Morocco.

Grocery Shopping

The grocery stores in Morocco have lower quality produce and meat than the specialty shops like the produce market and the butcher.

So since the fridge was empty after our week in Agadir, I made a quick run to the produce market this morning. Then, loaded up with two huge bags of produce, I stumbled into the butcher's to get some sausage and turkey. While I was waiting in line for the butcher, an older man dressed in traditional garb came in and started looking at my two bags.

It surprised me a little when he started mumbling to me in Darija. Usually Moroccans profile me as Western and start talking to me in French. Partially because of the surprise and partially because of the mumble, I didn't understand what he was saying. So I just assumed he was commenting on how much produce I had. I lifted the two bags and said in a sing-songy Darija "Lots of produce, right?"

He shook his head. Obviously I hadn't understood him.

"...the oranges..," was all I understood.

I didn't have any oranges.

I raised the bag filled with three kilos of mandarines and said, "These are mandarines...three kilos." I nodded my head and raised my eyebrows to emphasize the grandeur of my produce purchase.

He shook his head again. "No I just want one."

I suddenly realized he didn't care about how much produce I was carrying. He just wanted some of it.

In Morocco, there is a different conception of personal property. People share the same bowls and cups in restaurants and at home. Water stations (not always fountains) have one cup that everyone shares. A message from a cell phone of your friend's friend is often from your friend. Someone eating in a public space is almost obligated to share his snack with those around him. I surmised that carrying produce in public falls into the same category.

I awkwardly reached into the bag with the mandarines and pulled one out.

"Thank you. God's blessing on you."

I got my meat from the butcher, paid, and headed home. Now my produce sits safely in the fridge and on the kitchen counter.

Scenes From Morocco: Agadir's Port

Tuesday's sunset over Agadir's port as seen from the old kasbah

My Presentation

The past few days I have been in Agadir, Morocco for the yearly teachers' conference for our center.

On Tuesday evening I presented my American Culture Club to an audience of 30 or 40 other teachers. Despite some technical difficulties, the talk seemed to be well-received.

I explained the motivation behind the club (greater cultural understanding and the nuancing of stereotypes). Then I quickly surveyed my curriculum, showing clips of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech as well as Barack Obama's.

Afterwards, one teacher asked me how I handled a certain issue:

"So how did you handle it when students asked about the different terms: 'Negro', 'African-American', 'Colored', 'Black', etc."

I began to respond with a fairly detailed analysis, "Well, 'negro', which comes from the Spanish for black, was used in earlier times, but more recently 'African-American has become the more accepted term..."

"I know the history." At that point I suddenly realized that the man questioning me was an African-American.

"Well, I just write down all the terms on the board and say that they all have been used at different points in time. It's the simple answer to a complex question."

We agreed that the subject could be discussed at length but that in the classroom setting, a quick answer sufficed.

The questions continued, although we soon ran out of time in the question and answer period.

But then, that is probably a good sign for my presentation.

Scenes From Morocco: On The Road

Early Monday morning at a road stop on the way to Agadir