Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship

I went to Feminin Pluriel again today and it went very well – only five students but I am hoping the numbers will grow as we get going again. But, even if I have only these five students, we will , hopefully, make great progress in the next four weeks.  After placement today, the driver dropped Harold and me off at the Rabat train station. We hurriedly found our train and one hour later stepped off in Casablanca.

Our first stop was the incredibly impressive Hassan II Mosque. This is the only mosque in Morocco which allows non-Muslims to enter so we knew that this was a “must see.” The mosque rises above the ocean on a rocky outcrop. It was built between 1987 and 1993 and is now the third largest mosque in the world (after Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia). The main hall holds an astonishing 25,000 people and 80,000 more in the courtyards and squares around it. The minaret is more than 650 high, is the highest building in the country, and is topped by a spectacular laser beam that shines towards Mecca. We were lucky to arrive in time to get an English tour.

The outside of the Hussan II Mosque

Inside the main hall

Prayer mats and the brown door faces Mecca

Our second stop was RICK’S CAFÉ!!!! Unfortunately, it was closed (open 12-3 for lunch 6-1 for dinner). Now, we know that the film Casablanca was filmed entirely in Hollywood, but there’s something mystical about Rick’s which was the setting of the 1942 Humphrey Bogart/Ingrid Bergman movie. We have determined that we will return for lunch one day during our time here.

Rick's Cafe

It was a short walk from there to the medina, the ancient walled city of Casablanca. Walking in a medina is always fascinating – there are so many shops, food stalls, homes, people, etc. to see.

A view down a street in the Medina

Beautiful olives, lemons, oranges, etc.

There were fresh strawberries everywhere.

We caught the 5 PM train back to Rabat and arrived hungry and ready for dinner. We are preparing our lessons for tomorrow and thinking about our upcoming weekend trip!

Afternoon cultural lectures

Both Monday and Tuesday, our placement at IBNY went very well. We made macaroni necklaces, flowers (with straws and cut out handprints), and large paper chains. Everyone enjoyed the days! We are becoming very attached to some of the children. It will be difficult for me, but I am going to change back to my original placement teaching English to adults. The Feminin Pluriel, where I’ll be teaching, is open Monday – Thursday so my Fridays are free to go back to IBNY or visit Harold at his placement.

See our macaroni necklaces!

The 5 year old girls love their flowers.

I cuddle my special cutie!

Our two afternoons have been incredibly informative. Yesterday, Khadija talked about women’s issues (allowing Harold to listen, but not the Moroccan men in the house). There are many similarities with women in other countries (like India), but they seem to be making progress, especially in the big cities. After the lecture, she pulled out eight scarves and tied one on each of us. She demonstrated the many ways to wear the scarves. Four of us took a long walk afterwards, showered, had dinner, and prepared for today’s lessons.

The ladies in their lovely scarves.

After lunch today, Mohammed gave a talk on Islam. We listened and asked questions for over 3.5 hours. Islam is a fascinating religion; there are many similarities to Judaism and Christianity. It is so shameful that there is such prejudice in the world. Westerners stereotype Muslims and Arabs and they stereotype the actions of westerners. I am thankful that CCS is an organization that, in some small way, is making a difference in the world by fostering understanding.

Our trip to the Sahara Desert

Hamza, our guide, and Mohammed, our driver, picked up our group of seven at 2 PM on Friday afternoon. We drove until about 7:30, then stopped at a hotel/restaurant in Zaida for the night. The hotel was very comfortable and we had a wonderful dinner (lamb tajine) and breakfast before heading off again. The scenery on the trip was spectacular, changing from large city (Rabat), to small towns, to tiny villages, to the High Atlas Mountains (Zaida). As we drove the last 6 hours to the Sahara, the landscape became more and more like that of the American West, and sometimes like the surface of the moon. We stayed glued to our windows.

Desolate landscape

Our guide stopped at an incredibly rural Berber market, which allowed the people who live in this barren land to congregate once a week and buy their necessities. It was like a really low-key flea market, with cooking oil, fruit, vegetables, used shoes, and piles of clothes.

Berber market

We continued to cruise across miles and miles of absolutely flat rock-strewn ground just as far as the eye could see.  And then, eventually, off in the distance, you saw them--the first dunes of the Sahara. They men helped us wrapped our scarves and we were ready to meet out camels (actually dromedaries, only one hump).

Almost ready

The ride was about three miles into the desert. It was incredibly quiet and serene as the sun began to set.

We drank the three bottles of wine we had hidden in our backpacks and ate a wonderful dinner outside under a sky that defies description. The stars were so bright it felt you could touch them. Zero light pollution, just bright stars filling the entire sky. Then, the young men who led our camel and cooked our dinners joined us with drums and singing. We then retired to our tents. We were up and on the camels again at 5 AM and rode the 1.5 hours back as the sky went from blackness to brightness.

Enjoying wine at the campsite

Shannon shows her drumming talent with the camel leaders

After breakfast and a stop for lunch, we were back at the homebase by 5:30, in time to take much appreciated showers, eat dinner and prepare for our placement tomorrow.

End of week 1

Yesterday and today at IBNY went well, but is always exhausting! The children are very affectionate and always willing to give me items; today, for instance, I think they gave me their colds! We are doing lots of crafts and songs and they seem to love it. Today we made paper plate masks.

Five year old girls with their masks

Yesterday after lunch, we had an Arabic script lesson. For instance القرد فى عين أمه غزال

means “to a mother’s eye a monkey looks like a deer.”  Then, we had a cooking lesson and learned to make chicken tajine and mint tea.

Khadija demonstrates making chicken in a tajine

We are all packed and ready for our weekend trip. We’ll have our special Friday couscous lunch then leave at 2:00.

My Day at the Hammam

After lunch and our Arabic lesson today, eight of us women from the Home Base decided that we must try a hammam.  A hammam is a traditional, communal Moroccan bathhouse. That is a cultural shock in itself going into a bathhouse and disrobing in front of a bunch of Moroccan women strangers. But after hearing about the hammams, we knew that we’d have to forgo pride and modesty and just go for it. If Moroccan women go on average once a week and it is known as their most beloved beauty secret, then we would have to give it a try.

So, we gathered our essentials: shampoo, towel, scrubby mitt and soap and headed to the hammam for the experience of a lifetime. We took three taxis and met at the discreet entrance. There was no sign outside, just an old looking building. We entered the main room where we paid our $2 entrance fee and disrobed. It was a bit disconcerting as EVERYONE, including the woman at the cashier counter, was naked. We immediately hired a tabbeya or bath attendant who took our two buckets and led us forward. We passed through three rooms. The first was the cold room, then the medium temperature room, and finally the hot room where we got our scrub downs.  The hot room was tiled in heated white marble. My tabbeya sloshed hot water on the floor and ordered me to sit. Then, she spread savon noir (black palm soap made from resins of olive) all over my body and began the process of exfoliating my skin by using an el-kis (course glove). She scrubbed (almost) every part of my body and it was like heaven. I was tossed and turned around like a rag doll, thrown around the heated floors and scrubbed and scrubbed. Then she sloshed hot water over and over to rinse me off. She shampooed my hair, did some head and back massage and sloshed some more. By the end we were so relaxed we could hardly move and our skin was silky soft. We paid our tabbeya ($6) and left feeling many years younger.

The Moroccan hammam has been a tradition for ages. Both men and women go to the hammam but of course there are separate times for each gender. At this particular hummam, men’s time is after 8 PM and Harold is anxious to try it. Moroccan women are known for their beauty treatments and secrets. They prefer to use all natural products for their beauty maintenance such as olive oils, henna, ghassoul (clay), eggs, fruits, vegetables and plant-based products. Perhaps that is how they achieve such beautiful, perfect skin! If only we could have the same kinds of traditions back in the States!

[ Sorry. No photos of today’s adventure.]

After we returned and had tea (of course), four of us rallied and walked about 1.5 hours around the area. We had dinner and spent the next couple of hours trading family photos and discussing our past experiences.

First Day at IBNY

Today I went to my second placement! IBNY was started in 2006 as a school for street children. If the children did not come to school, they would be begging; however, they do have parents and homes. Some beggers make more money than some workers and having a child (sometimes doped up) increases the offerings. There are about 200 students, ages 3-9 in the school where meals and education are provided. Shannon, Geraldine and I were dropped off at the Medina and walked a few hundred yards inside the wall to the school for street children. Our “classroom” is a VERY tiny area, really just a hallway – maybe 6 feet wide by 20 feet long. We had three classes: 3, 4, and 5 year-olds with a short outside recess. We made masks and crowns with the children – crayons, feathers, glue sticks and crepe paper everywhere. Kids are kids and everywhere the same; they laugh, fight, cry and grab your hand and heart. It was a tiring but wonderful day.

You can see the size of our "classroom"

Three cuties in their crowns

After lunch, Mohammed, the CCS director, gave a lecture on the history of Morocco (Almaghreb in Arabic). Some interesting tidbits follow. There are two official languages here: Arabic and Tamazight (a Berber dialect), with French also spoken and taught in schools. At age 6, in some public schools, students are taught all three languages (imagine two are written right to left, French left to right, and all three have very different alphabets). The king, Mohammed VI is the 7^th richest statesman in the world but Morocco is 128^th in human development (life expectancy, literacy and GDP). In 2004, a new law was passed which stated that no longer could a Moroccan man have four wives. Now, he can have a second wife only if the first wife and a judge agree.

This was followed by a discussion on the best places to travel while in Morocco. Since the other seven volunteers with us are here for only two weeks, they just have this weekend; luckily we have five weekends. But seven of us have plans this weekend to go to Merzouga – more about this on Monday! Other possible trips include Fes, Meknes, Casablanca, Chefchaouen, Marrakesh, and Essuara.

We then had our daily treat – afternoon tea. This always consists of a glass of mint tea (green tea, lots of mint leaves, hot water and sugar) and a Moroccan pastry (we’ve had quite a few and they are all delicious). Five of us women went for a 5.5 mile power walk to try to shed the effects of the pastry.

Meet you at the Kasbah

We were up and dressed and ready to face our first day at placement. Harold and Alana left for the East West Foundation at 8:30. Since the Foundation is closed on Monday, they met with about eight students at a café and spoke English with them over coffee. The rest of us left at 9:00, dropping off four at the Children’s Hospital, two at IBNY and J and I were last. The Feminin Pluriel is preparing for a large conference Wednesday – Friday so things were in somewhat disarray. But J met with her five beginning students and I met with my four more advanced students who spoke much better than I anticipated. So, we spent almost two hours reading, writing, learning and sharing. J and I were very disappointed to learn that, due to the upcoming conference, we will not return for two weeks. So, J will join Harold and Alana and I will join the group at IBNY. Be flexible is the CCS mantra.

Ready for our first day of school

After lunch, the CCS staff took us on our first field trip. First we went to the Rabat Medina, a walled  open air market located in many tiny winding streets. Here they sell everything from shoes to food to clothing to home furnishing. This is like many other markets we’ve seen (think Korea’s Nam Daemun) but without the high pressure to buy.

Next we visited the Oudayas Kasbah. A Kasbah is a fortress, this one built to protect the city of Rabat in the 17^th Century. Inside we visited the gardens then wended our way up the cobblestone streets passing row after row of blue and white homes. From the alleyways, one only sees the ornamental doorway; however, the back of the house faces lovely gardens.



Blue and white homes



We then emerged on a large veranda overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the Bou Regreg River which separates the cities of Rabat and Sale.

View of the Atlantic

Our final stop was the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V. The grandfather, father and uncle of the current Moroccan king are buried there.  This is also the site of the proposed largest Mosque in the world in the 12^th Century; however it was never completed.  

Harold helps guard the Mausoleum

After walking around the neighborhood for exercise, another scrumptious dinner and lesson preparation, we are getting ready for bed.

Salaamu Alikum (that's hello) from Morocco

 Our long plane ride (20 hours from arrival at BWI to Rabat) was largely uneventful. We met up with two volunteers in Paris and were met by the CCS director and driver at the airport. The ride to the home base was about 30 minutes. We are in an upscale neighborhood with lots of beautiful homes, trees and gardens. The home base is lovely. It belonged to a Spanish ambassador at one time and now CCS rents it for $3000/month. Harold and I have a room on the first floor next to “our” bathroom. The bedroom has two sets of bunk beds and lots of storage. There are four bedrooms and four bathrooms on the second floor (several with decks overlooking the large, well-maintained gardens). There is also a large dorm-like room in the basement but no one is there now. There are two women volunteers who came many weeks ago; they are away for the weekend so we haven’t me them yet. There are nine of us new volunteers-eight women and Harold! Poor guy! Two are from Canada, one from Australia and the rest from the U.S.

The Home Base

After we arrived we had our first glass of mint tea – so delicious and refreshing – and our first “bread” called msmn (that's correct - no vowels). We toured the house, got settled in, and chatted with the others. Our first dinner was wonderful – lots of local vegetable/bean/lentil dishes cooked with spices such as cumin, coriander and local paprika. There was also a meatball and cheese dish cooked in a tajine. A tajine consists of two parts: a base unit that is flat and circular with low sides and a large cone or dome-shaped cover that sits on the base during cooking.

Dinner - notice the two tajines

Mohamed, the CCS director, gave an introductory talk. He told us that CCS Morocco began April 14, 2007 and has had 1100 volunteers. Then, we were introduced to the rest of the staff, many of whom speak perfect English after having worked with Peace Corp volunteers in Morocco.

After a fairly good night’s sleep, we had breakfast in the sunny garden. We then met with the program director to hear about our placements. There are four: a children’s hospital (there are only two in Morocco) where four volunteers will work to entertain the children who are awaiting treatments; IBNY, a school for street children where two volunteers will be “teaching” 3-5 year olds; East West Foundation where Harold and two other volunteers will teach English to some Moroccan youth and others who are sub-Sahara refugees; and finally, Feminin Pluriel , where another volunteer and I will teach English to women. More about our placements in the coming days/weeks.

Following another wonderful lunch, we had our first Arabic language lesson. We had free time to walk around the area and discovered the nearby banks, food stores, bakeries, and ice cream parlors!  Now it is almost time for dinner. B’slama for now.