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Moroccan food

10/4/2016

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It's so funny when people ask me about "the food." I know it's an important part of any culture but I'm so not a foodie as you all know.

Plus...You won't believe my first week here how many times I had pizza! And crepes and French pastries! It wasn't until yesterday, Friday afternoon, that I was finally treated to an authentic Moroccan meal.

Apparently people take off from work on a Friday at like 3p to have coucscous with the family. The couscous takes hours to cook and it's simmering w a bunch of vegetables so it has to be started early in the day.

So we five new American teachers ate at Steve's house. He's the director of the school-American from Boston married to a Moroccan woman. They met at Boston Uni and now have three little kids. Nice family.

So they bring out this HUGE clay pot filled with couscous and slices of cabbage, carrots, garbanzo beans sprinkled on top and pieces of cooked pumpkin (see pic above). It's placed in the center of the table and everyone has a big soup spoon and the protocol is to eat only from the section right in front of you. You don't have a separate plate; you're just all eating from the clay pot so it's ok to double dip (Seinfeld...). But imagine a triangular section with imaginary lines (which actually could be denoted with a carrot stick) that's yours, so you don't go and pick from the other side.

When the meal is being prepared, the person makes sure the vegetables etc are evenly distributed for this reason. I believe there is often meat, but Steve and his wife are both vegetarians.

It's delicious and even this simple dish with just a few ingredients filled me up. Then you take a nap... lol

Tonight, we had a teacher training at the center with like 20 colleagues and guess what? They brought in a bunch of pizzas in boxes like they were from a place like Dominos. They go nuts here for pizza 🍕

All of the restaurants by the beach lining the parc are Italian or with Italian dishes. In fact, Steve's wife, Medeha, said you will get the best Moroccan meals at a home not in the restaurants bc couscous and authentic Moroccan fare takes hours to cook and prepare and restaurants are looking to move patrons in and out. I'm sure there are some top-notch places around especially in bigger cities like Rabat and Casa, but just walking into a little place isn't going to be the best Moroccan meal ever apparently.
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Food is relatively inexpensive. The above groceries in total cost 43 dirhams which equals about $4.40. You can see this includes fresh fruit, vegetables, pastries and milk.
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For the most part, you can find the same products albeit for much lower price than in the States.
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My first breakfast at a Moroccan cafe. Omelette with cheese, tomatoe/greens garnish, olives with olive oil, fresh orange juice, soup, cafe au lait, bread.
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Morocco in Days

9/27/2016

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*Words in italics = Arabic
Morocco-Le premièr jour!
Arrived in Casa. Line for immigration was about an hour. Kind of melange, not really a line. Two men got in a heated yelling match about cutting. I wasn't afraid or threatened but it got intense. He was yelling profanities in English and then other people chastised him for not respecting the older man. I thought I heard a woman say, "He's American" possibly because the guy was speaking in English but I don't think he was American because of his accent.

Walked through customs no prob. A little skrewy locating the right baggage carousel for my flight but my bag was there no prob and I saw Dave, a fellow American, right away. Mostafa is very nice. He speaks no English so he and I talked in the car the entire way from Casa in French which was really fun.

I saw lots of squalor and poverty what I would consider run-down buildings but wondered hmmm as you arrive from JFK or LGA or drive through Queens don't you see the same thing with graffiti or run down buildings or garbage? Very different ride from Keflavik into Reykjavik though where it's all natural, clean and beautiful.

Met Steve DeRosa, the school director, real quick then got pizza of all things at a restaurant on the park. The school is looking good. Some areas are still being built but it's all modern and new and the classrooms look great. Spacious.

Bought some things at the grocery store known as Acima kind of like Monoprix in France and settled into the apt.

Slept fine in the single bed. Reminds me of college. I chose the bigger bedroom. :-)

Sheets blanket and pillow and a few items in the kitchen but no furniture for the salon like couch table chairs etc.

We have a small round dining table with four metal chairs so that's good. Fridge works and the place is clean seems just painted and cleaned. It's a spacious apt with two bedrooms and real nice sized living room once we get the place furnished.

So far so good in terms of it being relatively calm and quiet not a lot of traffic on my little street.
Call to prayer: 17h00
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Morocco Day Deux
Breakfast at Cafe Le Paix w Dave. Omlette fromage cafe au lait du pain and little bowl of soup which I think might be grits or hominy? Le jus orange sans sucre. They add four cubes of sugar to your orange juice.
La=no in Arabic

Later on, I was nervous about the evening in terms of should I walk around? Where can I go for dinner? Is it ok as a woman to be walking around? How late is too late? Anyway I left the apt and got a coffee at the joint on the corner just to use the wifi. Then I departed and turned down the street and ended up at The Skipper restaurant. I guess it's a seafood place lol

The server was very nice of course and suggested la salade nicoise which ended up being huge so I have leftovers tonight. He spoke English and readily wanted to continue in English. We chatted a bit about my stay and he offered me his number if I need help with anything. Apparently Moroccans want to offer you their number and help you. It's their nature whether you're a man or woman.

Call to prayer 5h

Words today
L'Abonnement (masc) = subscription, when you want a phone "plan"

Morocco Day Trois
A lot Accomplished today!
Mostafa fixed the shower head and the stove situation.

Purchased stuff like slippers and food and staples for kitchen like butter and eggs and olive oil. Some items are totally cheap like a two liter bottle of water which was $0.35. In the USA that bottle would have been easily $2 or $3 or more?
Yet a bath towel at the store was $14. Go figure.

Made friends with a girl at Acima, Sokayda, who wants to learn English and will teach me Arabe.

Met nice ladies at Carrefour pharmacie too. Louba and Nadja.

Walked to beach and went through the parc which is awesome. Love that area right near the préfecture.

Met guy at beach who bought me mint tea and offered to give me free surfing lessons. Hmmm? He spoke English and I was able to ask him a few questions like are the seats with the parasol/umbrella free to use on the beach? Oui. I asked BC as I sat on the beach, a man approached me saying something about the parasol so maybe he detected I was a tourist and wanted money? I felt safe and fine all day but self conscious as I stick out as the only American, white woman at all. I see women with the head scarves and long robes and I see Arabe women in jeans and regular tops. But no white girls like me or British or even French.

Made dinner at home and my phone rang! It was Sokayda so we spoke in French a few mins and plan to meet on Monday.

"In a pinch" as they say...I moved the fabric shower curtain to the rod in the bedroom to cover my window for a little privacy and so I can keep the window open for air but subsequently got the floor all wet during my lukewarm trickling hot water shower. Lol. Tomorrow need shower curtain.

Words today
Ravir, je suis ravie = To delight, I am delighted

Salam alaycham = hello/greeting
Shukraan = thank you

Morocco Day Quatre
Ceremony at ALC
Very nice presentation. Met lovely people. Very gracious. All of them gave me their number and offered to help if I need anything in the country. Offered to take me traveling. Offered to host me and show me around. Very proud of their kid who speaks English. Can understand my French.

Spoke French for a long time with lots of people today young and old mixed with English. Met woman who offers French language lessons. Apparently the school offers both English and French so I'm in luck and will take lessons.

Took petit taxi to the mall where there's a big store like Wal Mart. Spent entirely too much time here but needed housewares like French press, can opener, shower curtain etc. and yoga mat which I got at Decathlon same sporting store as in Montpellier. All told $125, probably a steal compared to the USA.
​
Quick shower and need to crash as we're going early to Rabat for a training. Gotta catch train at 7h55 and am meeting Michael, new American teacher guy at about 7h20.
I have coffee here and yogurt and an egg then onto the gare. He speaks pretty good French and even Arabic and just a nice well traveled open guy.

I need to exercise!

Call to prayer 13h26
Call to prayer 20h40

Morocco Jour Cinq
Took an early morning train to Rabat. Super easy to get on ad figure out. The one way ticket was 28MAD which is $2.80. The ride was about 30 mins.

Rabat is the capital so on a Sunday morning was pretty quiet. We walked to the training center and grabbed a quick coffee beforehand.

Today I really felt like I was in Morocco despite having New York style pizza for lunch lol

Met about a dozen more fellow teachers who are all stationed around the country. We did some ice breaker games and get to know you. Met Emma from Portland, ME, Syracuse Uni grad. All of the teachers were either from the USA, Australia or New Zealand it was a long day but we covered a lot of ground about customs, safety, expectations, traveling etc. I now how an entire network of people I can connect with when traveling around the country. Emma just finished a two year Peace Corps stint.

Later a few of us traveled around Rabat with the three Moroccan buddies, native Moroccans who speak fluent English who are helping us acclimate. Rabat was amazing as we walked through the medina where the vendors are selling shoes, clothes, everything. Then we ended up at this beautiful overlook for the sunset where we had mint tea and almond pastries-quintessential Moroccan. A bunch of them decided to stay for a jazz concert and I wanted to head back so they got me to the train station and I navigated myself back to Mohammedia.

I supposed I was a little nervous but it was totally fine and I sat next to a nice man who spoke French to me the entire ride. In fact, he wanted to practice his English and all I had was my novel, Ruth Ozeki's "A Tale for the Time Being." So I opened up to a random page and he read aloud in English and then together we translated. It was so much fun and I realized how well I can translate (actually it's interpret as translate is written and interpret is spoke word).

Then I read aloud in French from my copy of Le Matin I had in my bag and he wade equally impressed with my French pronunciation. Moroccans find English kind of easy since many words have French origins. Still it's not too common to meet people on the street or in the stores who speak English. Even some folks ball at French and speak only Arabic. See pic above.

Call to prayer 19h55
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What brings me to Morocco?

9/26/2016

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What brings me to Morocco?

Since the time I was a high school student in the 1980s, I've had the dream of traveling to French speaking countries around the world, particularly in Africa: Morocco, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, and also to other places like Haiti, Vietnam and of course Quebec.

I love the French language and am fascinated by our ability to think, read, speak, and understand bilingually.
http://www.pinkpangea.com/2014/11/quit-day-job-finally-pursued-dream-speaking-french/>

So in 2014, I earned an ESL (teaching English as a Second Language) degree -- effectively my passport around the world. It gives me the opportunity not only to travel but also to live in a country and experience it as a local rather than only as a tourist.

When you are planted in a city for an extended stay (9 mos-1yr) and visit the same cafe, shop at the same stores and get to know the shopkeepers, you get the deeper experience.

To boot, I get paid to learn a new culture, customs and language. In fact, the ESL school here offers courses in French language.

As a side note, my advice to young people going to college is to consider complementing your studies by looking into earning an ESL degree.

I took my course through The Language House in Montpellier, France (so I actually have a TEFL degree, Teaching English as a Foreign Language). It was an intensive 4-week course, which met Mon-Fri, 9-5p with two weeks of grammar review and testing then two weeks of lesson planning and student teaching in small groups and one/one.

You are observed by your instructor and then your peers. It's intense but within one month you have completed 120 hours and are finished with certificate in hand. It's also advisable, if you can, to take a supplemental Business English course which qualifies you to teach business English to managers, CEOs, and professionals.

This is nice because under this type of work, you can command higher fees so if you gravitate toward teaching adults over children, as I do, then it can be a good career move. The course I zoom was about US $1,500 and I paid a separate housing fee of $500 to do a homestay with a French speaker for the month.

Of course I needed to cover my airfare to France and allot money for food and personal items. Doing the homestay was more affordable and gave me the opportunity to practice French while having a nice cozy home base to live and relax and study. You don't have much free time during the month while taking the TEFL course because it's quite intense with assignments, homework and studying but the payoff is great once you are done.

Read about my travels in Montpellier, France: http://www.jenniferkarchmer.com/montpellier-france.html>

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