By abbymarco
As an English-speaking, white woman in the United States, I have never in my life been a true minority anywhere. Of course, I have taken gender, race, and minority classes and have learned about the experiences of minorities—I am a Human Services and Social Justice major, after all-- but there is something to be said of living that role yourself. In Morocco, women certainly do not enjoy the same luxuries as women in the United States, especially as a visiting American woman who does not speak either of the common Moroccan languages of Darija or French. An inability to speak these languages in Morocco is essentially the equivalent of being illiterate.
What a strange, uncomfortable feeling it is to be twenty-one years old and suddenly illiterate; it is almost like someone wound the lock back seventeen years without any warning. As an American today, there is always a certain expectation that others will learn English, that signs will have translations, that movies will have subtitles, all so that the native English speaker (me) can understand. It is difficult to comprehend just how much privilege you have until it is gone.
And now, I find myself here: survival mode. I am rummaging through all of the nooks and crannies of my brain to drag what little French I learned in high school to the surface because, quite frankly, I need it. I am focusing all of my energy into my six-day intensive Colloquial Modern Arabic (Darija) class and am looking forward to the start of my regular Modern Standard Arabic class. I am practicing both French and Darija with my host family, watching the local news, and trying my best to absorb everything I can in the crowded streets of the old city. I have never been so determined to learn something in my life because without language, it is nearly impossible to live the sort of life I would like to have in Morocco.
My host family, my program directors, and my fellow students are certainly a huge help, l-hamdullah, and it is comforting to know that I have people to support me even when I am 3000 miles away from everything I have ever known. I have only been in Morocco for a week, and already, I have been thrust so far out of my comfort zone than I ever would have anticipated—and this is only the beginning. I cannot wait to see all of the amazing adventures that are in store for me in the coming months, and I am looking forward to the impact that my time in Morocco will undoubtedly have on my life.
Until next time, bslama!