Hello friends,
As promised, here is my first note about my time in Morocco. I have been here for three days now having arrived on Sunday morning. My plane arrived on Sunday at half past six and I took the eight o'clock train from the airport to Casablanca proper. I sat at Casa Voyageur train station until a little after ten when my next train arrived. Even as I sat waiting for my train, I began to notice many things about Morocco. I saw mothers wearing jellabas and scarves walking with their daughters who were wearing regular street clothes and I saw young women wearing tight jeans and mini skirts. As you can plainly see, the culture here is diverse and it is not possible to paint all Moroccans with the same brush. They are mostly Muslims but they do not all adhere to Islam in the same manner and some are more conservative than others.
When My train finally arrived in Fes at half past two, I was greeted by my enthusiastic friend Youness Abeddour. We then took a taxi to the home of his aunt where I was given the opportunity to eat Moroccan food for the first time. It contained couscous and chicken along with numerous vegetables that I did not readily recognize. His aunt was very hospitable and very insistently encouraged me with "mange, mange" (which is French for eat) every time I began to slow down. That was the first time that I drank a glass of the local water which I have so often been warned against. I was so tired that I forgot myself and when water was offered to me I drank it all. I have consumed a great deal of Moroccan food and water by now and still I am not sick.
On Sunday night I went with Youness and two other friends Driss and Hamzaoui into the city. We drove about looking at the sites and stopped at the Royal Palace to take some pictures before the gate.
You can see me above standing before the gates of the palace of His majesty King Mohamed VI of Morocco. His kingdom has stood for 12,000 years.
The next day I visited Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University which is named for an 18th century sultan who was a correspondent of George Washington. The university was very nice and I found every one there very friendly. I have been greeted many times in the streets with "hello" and "welcome to Morocco".
On the night of March 7th, I attended an English course which was being taught by Mr. Driss Ziyane. The lesson was concerning the use of English idioms which surprised me at first but as I reflected upon it, I realized that knowledge of such speech must be necessary if a foreign person will ever understand what an American is talking about. During the course a young man gave a presentation in English about the celebration of Mother's day which led to a discussion among the members of the class. It was very interesting to see how formally the students conducted themselves for when they addressed the speaker they greeted him. They continually addressed one another as Mr. or Miss and thanked the speaker for his presentation before they began to comment upon it. The discussion of Mother's day sparked lengthy debate among the students about whether or not a Muslim should celebrate a western holiday. One young gentlemen in particular was very adamantly against it. He was very passionate as he tried to persuade his colleagues that they ought not to follow the west but to keep their own traditions. What struck me most was that at the end of the class this young man who was so opposed to being like the west shook my hand as he walked past and smiling he welcomed me to Morocco. I think this is a good illustration that we can disagree and maintain different beliefs and perspectives without making enemies of one another. Since I have been here I have been treated well by all. As far as I know, I have only encountered one Christian since I arrived and all of the rest have been Muslims. They do not keep account of such things however. Friends are friends no matter what their religion might be.
This afternoon I think I shall go out walking. It is warm here and I quite enjoy my promenades with my friends on the streets which are lined with orange trees. I will write more soon. Farewell until then.
As promised, here is my first note about my time in Morocco. I have been here for three days now having arrived on Sunday morning. My plane arrived on Sunday at half past six and I took the eight o'clock train from the airport to Casablanca proper. I sat at Casa Voyageur train station until a little after ten when my next train arrived. Even as I sat waiting for my train, I began to notice many things about Morocco. I saw mothers wearing jellabas and scarves walking with their daughters who were wearing regular street clothes and I saw young women wearing tight jeans and mini skirts. As you can plainly see, the culture here is diverse and it is not possible to paint all Moroccans with the same brush. They are mostly Muslims but they do not all adhere to Islam in the same manner and some are more conservative than others.
When My train finally arrived in Fes at half past two, I was greeted by my enthusiastic friend Youness Abeddour. We then took a taxi to the home of his aunt where I was given the opportunity to eat Moroccan food for the first time. It contained couscous and chicken along with numerous vegetables that I did not readily recognize. His aunt was very hospitable and very insistently encouraged me with "mange, mange" (which is French for eat) every time I began to slow down. That was the first time that I drank a glass of the local water which I have so often been warned against. I was so tired that I forgot myself and when water was offered to me I drank it all. I have consumed a great deal of Moroccan food and water by now and still I am not sick.
On Sunday night I went with Youness and two other friends Driss and Hamzaoui into the city. We drove about looking at the sites and stopped at the Royal Palace to take some pictures before the gate.
You can see me above standing before the gates of the palace of His majesty King Mohamed VI of Morocco. His kingdom has stood for 12,000 years.
The next day I visited Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University which is named for an 18th century sultan who was a correspondent of George Washington. The university was very nice and I found every one there very friendly. I have been greeted many times in the streets with "hello" and "welcome to Morocco".
On the night of March 7th, I attended an English course which was being taught by Mr. Driss Ziyane. The lesson was concerning the use of English idioms which surprised me at first but as I reflected upon it, I realized that knowledge of such speech must be necessary if a foreign person will ever understand what an American is talking about. During the course a young man gave a presentation in English about the celebration of Mother's day which led to a discussion among the members of the class. It was very interesting to see how formally the students conducted themselves for when they addressed the speaker they greeted him. They continually addressed one another as Mr. or Miss and thanked the speaker for his presentation before they began to comment upon it. The discussion of Mother's day sparked lengthy debate among the students about whether or not a Muslim should celebrate a western holiday. One young gentlemen in particular was very adamantly against it. He was very passionate as he tried to persuade his colleagues that they ought not to follow the west but to keep their own traditions. What struck me most was that at the end of the class this young man who was so opposed to being like the west shook my hand as he walked past and smiling he welcomed me to Morocco. I think this is a good illustration that we can disagree and maintain different beliefs and perspectives without making enemies of one another. Since I have been here I have been treated well by all. As far as I know, I have only encountered one Christian since I arrived and all of the rest have been Muslims. They do not keep account of such things however. Friends are friends no matter what their religion might be.
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| Mr. Ziyane before his class. |
This afternoon I think I shall go out walking. It is warm here and I quite enjoy my promenades with my friends on the streets which are lined with orange trees. I will write more soon. Farewell until then.
It is a pleasure having you here in Morocco! You are quite an interesting guy to meet. You jokes are the best ever (though I might say not the kinda funny back in USA). It is going to be such a pleasure reading your updates in Morocco! :)
ReplyDeleteI have read the article three times for Three reasons: First, obviously because There is a part which talks about me =]. Second, I enjoy reading your articles, they remind me of Daniel Defoe.. Amazing style.. Third, It is a pleasure to have you here and exchange cultures. All in All, The Article is AMazing and if you write books I am sure You'll take the world of writing and poetry by storm :)
ReplyDeleteThanks very much my friends. You are both very kind and honor me beyond what I deserve.
ReplyDelete