By ahblackwell
My first week in Rabat is not even over, yet, and I already feel as though I could not possibly take in anything more. I’m excited to see myself after the end of the program. The amount of adjustments we (the other students in the program and I) have made over the past few days are endless, and yet we still seem to stick out. The biggest adjustment so far has definitely been learning how to walk through the souk (market) in the Medina (the old Arab part of the city). As a woman, especially a woman who is noticeably foreign, it is best to walk through streets without making much eye contact. I have never been so aware of my body language as I have been in the past few days. The more I have gotten to know the streets and the people, however, the more comfortable I feel about saying salaam (hello) and smiling at people. The first day that we arrived in Rabat, we dropped off our luggage in an old hotel and then headed for the Center for Cross Cultural Language, the center that hosts our program for the semester. From the outside, buildings in the Medina look old and worn down and poverty-stricken. However, when I walked inside the CCCL’s building, I was pleasantly surprised to see this is not truly the case. The whole building is covered in colorful tiles and curvy Andalousian architecture. A large enclosed courtyard dominates the middle of the first and second floors with archways dripping with engraved flowers and tresses. In order to get up to the cafeteria and the roof, or the terrace as our directors refer to it, you have to climb winding tile stairways that branch off into tiny doors and other mosaic-filled hallways. After exploring the building and meeting our directors, we headed down Rue Mohammed V and through the souk to a restaurant where we were having dinner. At first the souk terrified me because of its masses of people and smells and noises. However, after navigating it a few times and bargaining in Arabic with shopkeepers over the prices of the items, I’ve learned to love the souk.
My homestay family, with whom I moved in last night, lives on a side street right off of Mohammed V. The family includes Mama Fatiha, Baba Bouselham, and their children Khouloud and Khalid who are 10 and 6 years old, respectively. No one in the family speaks English, which is intimidating but also surprisingly not the most difficult thing I’ve experienced, so far. I have enough experience in both Arabic and in French to get by, and I have yet to hit a point where I cannot portray what I want to say in some way. My family lives in a one-floor apartment in the Medina. I have to push through a small wooden door and walk through a concrete hallway in order to reach the door to their house, which is constantly opening and closing for visiting aunts and uncles. I share a bedroom with Khouloud, Fatiha and Bouselham’s daughter. She speaks perfect French and fusha (fuus-haa) Arabic, which is helpful for me. Khalid, the six-year-old boy, is one of the most adorable children I’ve ever met. Last night, I was left in the house with Khalid while his parents and sister went off to various activities. He went into the bedroom that he and his parents share and came running out with a deck of “UNO” cards. I have been playing UNO with my parents for as long as I can remember, and I was floored to see that the game was so universal. Khalid and I played UNO for about two hours, and later, after I gave them the deck of cards with pictures of DC that I had brought as a gift, Khalid, Khouloud and I played cards for another hour or so. I am so happy that I have children in my homestay family. Adults often get caught up in the notion of not being able to communicate simply because they do not share the same language, but kids seem to be free from that notion. Khalid, Khouloud and I have become fast friends, and I’m sure that bond will only grow stronger as I learn more darija (Moroccan) Arabic.
Today, while walking me to the CCCL, Mama Fatiha told me that our family and the families of her sister-in-law will go to the beach to play soccer. I can’t wait!