Home-Stay Day 3
The Home on Day 3
We woke up to breakfast on our last day to our final traditional meal of bread and assorted jams, olives, and butter. After, we took a walk down to the river, which you can read more about below as I have separated it out. When we arrived back at home to pack our things to leave, we had to go through much convincing that we needed to leave as an invitation for lunch at a Moroccan home is very hard to turn down, though we were grateful for the offer. Upon leaving, the mother got one last photo with us, and both wives (the two brother's families live together) gave the traditional kiss on each cheek. Saying goodbye to an unforgettable weekend was difficult.
Walk to the River
Our walk to the river was filled with people on their way to and returning from the Sunday Souk; in fact this village's nickname literally means Souk on Sunday. Most souks are all weekend, but this village has such a small souk that it only occurs on Sunday. The streets were bustling with people on this day; the streets came alive. Along the side of the river, donkeys could be seen everywhere. People riding donkeys across the small river was a common site. A man made money off of us by telling us to take a picture and then insisting upon money. Not the first time this has happened here. The area around the river was bustling. Cafes were busy for lunch time. People set up shop to sell on the streets to sell anything from live turkeys to Converse shoes. A man washed clothes in the river, while others crossed the river on their donkeys. Some children played in the water while others washed items. Downstream, a herd of cows crossed the river near where some excavation was happening. Standing in the river-bed, no matter which way you turned there was a site to be seen. We met a young boy who spoke almost perfect English - in a small Berber village such as this it was amazing to find someone who spoke any English. He said that he learned it all from watching American movies. I have to admit this was impressive - if learning a language was as easy as watching a lot of foreign films, by now I would know Spanish! Unfortunately, language skills do not come as easily for some of us. Community and Family Observations
There was a lot that I learned on this trip. I am going to attempt to concisely summarize some of the most important here as my blog on the home-stay comes to an end.
Meals
I feel as if meals are part of what brings these village families together, as well as much of Morocco. The traditional seating that is much more like long couches around a room and eating around one table with one large plate of food brings a sense of togetherness that I don't feel in the US. We are accustomed to sitting in a single chair, eating off of our own plate. In Morocco, this is much different and I think it is part of what makes the families strong - the sense of togetherness around meals. Also, at least for me, the structure of the day around meals is much more prominent in Morocco. This family in particular worked like clockwork. 9AM breakfast, 2PM lunch, 6PM Kaskra, 10PM dinner. I don't think I've ever met a family in the US that all eats together at specific times in the day. Here, much of daily life focuses around eating and this schedule. Also, eating from the same dish, though from your wedge in front of you, I believe also helps bring people together. Even from an observational standpoint, I believe this family looks more engaged during their meals, talking about their day or whatever it may be, than families in the US who all eat from separate plates. It may be completely unrelated, but I honestly believe that the style of seating and eating is truly part of what draws these families together. The Village at Night
One of the observations I made very quickly is how much women sit around outside their homes and talk with one another. One night we sat watching the one mother weaving a rug on her loom. Children played in the streets with one another at night. No one was worried about their children being kidnapped - they all looked after the children like one of their own. I loved the sense of community in the village - how everyone came out to talk to one another and let the children play. As time went on in the village, I also began thinking about the other side of this. The women came out because they did not have anything else to do. The house work was done and the food was cooking. In the village, there was not much else to do than talk with one another or weave on the loom. What at first I loved became darker as I realized why it occurred. They didn't know much about what else was in the world, nor would they most likely ever have the opportunity to explore it. For the most part they were uneducated; the ones who were considered educated for the most part had only gone to school until 6th grade - or possibly high school. I also got this sense from the hammam (which you can read about in my last post). The women could sit there for hours socializing - my shower? Usually lasts about 5 minutes. I wish that communities in the US could have the same sense of community as this village had, but I realize that we don't have this feeling because we have busy lives full of opportunities, unlike most of this village.
Greetings
Walking around the village at night with all the children out may be a slower process than you think. Why? Because the traditional greeting between women is the kiss on each cheek. When walking around the village at night, it is almost guaranteed that every child will come up to you at least once to greet you in this manner. It wasn't even uncommon for children to get back in line to greet us again when there were so many children waiting to greet us that they formed lines. For the most part, this was amusing, except when the little boy that always had boogers all over his face kept getting in line!From Edge to Edge
One of the first things I noticed when arriving in the village was how you could actually see the edge of town all around. I don't think I've ever been in a place where I can stand at one edge of town and distinctly see where it ends on the other end. This should be apparent in some pictures I took from the roof of one home on the edge of the village. There is a distinct line where the desert turns to established buildings, and it is visible from one edge to the other. It makes me wonder what it's like to live a life confined to such small borders. They don't have transportation to the next village for the most part so most of these lives are lived within the village itself, with exception of course. It was one thing to spend a couple days here, but I wonder what it would be like to live your entire life here. To me, I think I would go crazy. But, if I didn't know any different would I be okay with it? If I thought that was all there was to life, would I be happy with it? Conclusion
As simple as that. In just 48 hours, your perception on so much of life can change. You learn a lot about others and in the process about yourself too. This is an experience I would not trade for much else. More from Morocco soon!
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