Hi all!
I have now moved into my host family and have begun work! Culturally, it is very different here and I am still slowly adjusting to Moroccan life. I miss home very very much! These are 10 things that I have observed from living with my host family.
1. Moroccans eat a lot of bread. For breakfast, I had bread with orange juice. Then for lunch, it was couscous with bread and l'ben. At tea time, I had bread and mint tea. And for dinner, I had bread and soup. Lots of bread.
2. Moroccans greet each other (woman to woman, man to man) with kisses on the cheek. Then we say salaam wa allais comme!
3. Generally, people here take showers once a week, at the hammam (public bath). But my host family is kind enough to let me take showers every day! They are very kind.
4. Moroccans eat dinner very very late. In my family, there is tea time at 6pm, and then dinner at 9:30pm. Sometimes even later. After dinner, we just clean up, I shower, and we go to bed. We eat dinner outside, because it's much cooler in the evenings out there.
5. In our free time, my sisters and I go to the souqs (markets). Here, you need to bargain for everything. Some stores have "prix fixes", where the prices are fixed, but most of them are not, and you have to bargain your way to a good price. It's very crowded, and it's just like a giant marketplace.
6. At meals, we eat with our hands. When we have soup, we eat with a spoon. But everything else, we just grab with our hands. Also, it's the traditional way to use your right hand.
7. Here, they really like to wear bracelets. My sisters have already given me bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and other pieces of jewelry! They buy them at the souq.
8. A lot of people think I'm Japanese. As I walk down a street, there will be men who look at me, and sometimes they will speak French and ask me how I'm doing, and what my name is. But other times, men call out "konichiwa!" - the Japanese word for "Hello".
9. Oranges here are delicious! Very popular here is le jus d'orange (orange juice), and it is always freshly squeezed. It was very sweet, and very yummy!
10. Couscous Friday. Ah, yes, couscous Friday. Every Friday, Moroccans go home during lunch time and eat couscous with their family. Today, I went home as well from work to eat couscous with Mama Hyatt and my sisters Sara and Ghita. Mama Hyatt made a giant bowl of couscous, with carrots, vegetables, chicken, and cucumbers. Then everyone just takes a spoon, and starts eating, right out of the giant bowl. (I don't know if it's like that in every family, or just mine.) It was quite the experience. We also drink l'ben along with our couscous. L'Ben is a drink that is a mix between milk and yogurt I think..I'm not quite sure but I drank it. As most of you know, I am not a fan of couscous....but I ate my couscous today! Mostly because I could mix it with the chicken and eat that. But I will definitely have to get used to it, because it's Couscous Friday every Friday!
And here is a photo of my room:
In other news, I have met some Americans! Woohoo! There is a group from BU here, so I ate dinner with them last night and they're all super friendly. They are beginning their home stay today, so perhaps I will even be neighbors with some of them! Also, I met another girl also from Wellesley who is working in Morocco, so we are going to try to meet up as well!
I have now moved into my host family and have begun work! Culturally, it is very different here and I am still slowly adjusting to Moroccan life. I miss home very very much! These are 10 things that I have observed from living with my host family.
1. Moroccans eat a lot of bread. For breakfast, I had bread with orange juice. Then for lunch, it was couscous with bread and l'ben. At tea time, I had bread and mint tea. And for dinner, I had bread and soup. Lots of bread.
2. Moroccans greet each other (woman to woman, man to man) with kisses on the cheek. Then we say salaam wa allais comme!
3. Generally, people here take showers once a week, at the hammam (public bath). But my host family is kind enough to let me take showers every day! They are very kind.
4. Moroccans eat dinner very very late. In my family, there is tea time at 6pm, and then dinner at 9:30pm. Sometimes even later. After dinner, we just clean up, I shower, and we go to bed. We eat dinner outside, because it's much cooler in the evenings out there.
5. In our free time, my sisters and I go to the souqs (markets). Here, you need to bargain for everything. Some stores have "prix fixes", where the prices are fixed, but most of them are not, and you have to bargain your way to a good price. It's very crowded, and it's just like a giant marketplace.
6. At meals, we eat with our hands. When we have soup, we eat with a spoon. But everything else, we just grab with our hands. Also, it's the traditional way to use your right hand.
7. Here, they really like to wear bracelets. My sisters have already given me bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and other pieces of jewelry! They buy them at the souq.
8. A lot of people think I'm Japanese. As I walk down a street, there will be men who look at me, and sometimes they will speak French and ask me how I'm doing, and what my name is. But other times, men call out "konichiwa!" - the Japanese word for "Hello".
9. Oranges here are delicious! Very popular here is le jus d'orange (orange juice), and it is always freshly squeezed. It was very sweet, and very yummy!
10. Couscous Friday. Ah, yes, couscous Friday. Every Friday, Moroccans go home during lunch time and eat couscous with their family. Today, I went home as well from work to eat couscous with Mama Hyatt and my sisters Sara and Ghita. Mama Hyatt made a giant bowl of couscous, with carrots, vegetables, chicken, and cucumbers. Then everyone just takes a spoon, and starts eating, right out of the giant bowl. (I don't know if it's like that in every family, or just mine.) It was quite the experience. We also drink l'ben along with our couscous. L'Ben is a drink that is a mix between milk and yogurt I think..I'm not quite sure but I drank it. As most of you know, I am not a fan of couscous....but I ate my couscous today! Mostly because I could mix it with the chicken and eat that. But I will definitely have to get used to it, because it's Couscous Friday every Friday!
And here is a photo of my room:
In other news, I have met some Americans! Woohoo! There is a group from BU here, so I ate dinner with them last night and they're all super friendly. They are beginning their home stay today, so perhaps I will even be neighbors with some of them! Also, I met another girl also from Wellesley who is working in Morocco, so we are going to try to meet up as well!
yay for surviving couscous friday!! maybe you'll even like it by the end of your stay there ;)
ReplyDeleteyour room is just 3 big couches?
miss you!
What the crap, how have like 3.5 beds .____.
ReplyDeleteeating late? fresh orange juice? tons of bling? SOUNDS FUN TO MEEEe.
It sounds like your host family is very welcoming. My favorite is the fresh squeezed orange juice!
ReplyDelete