During the second week of the school vacation, I traveled to Morocco's capital city of Rabat with Laurel; Calla unfortunately had to return to France. This week in Rabat had a different feel than our sightseeing of the first week. Rabat is not as big of a tourist destination as places such as Fez and Marrakesh, and being a very walkable city, it thus in my opinion a wonderful place to live. We also stayed with the family of a friend, Marwane Zaari Jabri, in Rabat, so our week lingered on at a lovely pace that was accompanied by frequent conversations with our hosts over tea.
Our first full day in Rabat was actually a little rainy! As I discovered on this trip, it does occasionally rain in Morocco. However Marwane had a little joke planned for Laurel and I that made the day memorable, let's just say for a minute I thought I was on Moroccan television. As Tuesday morning dawned Laurel and I were planning to make an early start to benefit from the sunshine, but there were new family members for us to meet! Marwane's mother and younger brother Abdelmalek had just arrived back after visiting with another brother who lives in Belgium. Mrs. Zaari Jabri is a wonderful and kind woman who made a fuss over Laurel and I the whole week as if we were also her daughters, and one day gave us beautiful bracelets from the south of Morocco as gifts. Abdelmalek is quite a funny young man who is in collège, the US equivalent of middle or junior high school. As he is enrolled in a French school we were able to easily chat throughout the visit, but he promised me upon leaving that we could try more English next time!
Laurel and I then went off to the old medina area of the city, which is where I had lived when I studied abroad in Rabat. Again, the Rabat medina is much less chaotic than those we had previously been to, so we enjoyed a peaceful stroll to do some shopping. Then we knocked on the door of the house where I had stayed! The brother Tarik answered the door, and immediately hugged me with the ensuing rush in Moroccan Arabic questions of : "Labas??! Kulshi mezyan?!" (How are you?? Everything is well?) We shared a tea with him, promising to return later once his mother Nouzha had returned. That evening when we went back to see Nouzha, her brother who now lives in California also happened to stop in! Laurel and I had a really interesting conversation with him about some culture differences between Morocco and the United States. We were happy to hear him say that he feels comfortable and welcome in the United States, and he thanked me heartily for bringing friends to see the culture and hospitality of Morocco.
Wednesday was a marathon day for me! After lunch Laurel and I went out another one of the brothers, Youssef, to see other several sites in Rabat. Youssef speaks good English and is a kind young man, it was enjoyable to walk around town with him. First we went to see the Royal Palace, which Youssef had never actually seen before! As the king was not actually in town we were able to enjoy the grounds a little and get nice pictures. Then we went to Chellah, an archaeological site just outside the city center which has both Roman and Islamic historical significance. An interesting part of the site that we spent a few minutes looking at was an eel pond, it is there as a fertility symbol and women apparently buy eggs to feed to the eels in hopes of becoming pregnant. Late that afternoon I met another friend, Hajar! While I first met Hajar socially in Rabat, she later became an intern at the school I studied at and would work there for several semesters following. Hajar so kindly said to me, "You are the same, but more beautiful!" During the two hours I spent with Hajar though I had a wonderful, comfortable feeling, the feeling upon reuniting with an old friend and you feel as if you have come home a little.
After having tea with Hajar and some of her friends, I ran down the street to Ash Wednesday service at St. Pierre's Cathedral. Yes, there are churches in Morocco, and this church has one of the most spectacular and joyful services I have ever attended! The majority of Catholics in Rabat are Sub-Saharan Africans who have come to Morocco as a passageway to eventually get to Europe/France. I had attended mass there several times previously and found the experiences very life giving, so when I had happened to be there during Ash Wednesday I knew I had to go back. As it was the first day of Lent the music was not quite as upbeat as I had heard previously, but as soon as the beautiful, echoing voices of the people in the choir began I knew it would be a very special service. The priest asked the perfect question during his homily, "During this Lenten season, what can we being doing for others?" So many people in Morocco did so much for me while I was there, I can only hope to one day return the favor. One of these very kind people showed up at the end of mass: Marwane! While I had had Communion and was fine with leaving, he insisted I stay, not wanting to feel 'guilty' for me leaving early. So Marwane attended the end of Catholic mass with me, and we both shook the priest's hand on the way out! Everyone can shake hands!
Our first full day in Rabat was actually a little rainy! As I discovered on this trip, it does occasionally rain in Morocco. However Marwane had a little joke planned for Laurel and I that made the day memorable, let's just say for a minute I thought I was on Moroccan television. As Tuesday morning dawned Laurel and I were planning to make an early start to benefit from the sunshine, but there were new family members for us to meet! Marwane's mother and younger brother Abdelmalek had just arrived back after visiting with another brother who lives in Belgium. Mrs. Zaari Jabri is a wonderful and kind woman who made a fuss over Laurel and I the whole week as if we were also her daughters, and one day gave us beautiful bracelets from the south of Morocco as gifts. Abdelmalek is quite a funny young man who is in collège, the US equivalent of middle or junior high school. As he is enrolled in a French school we were able to easily chat throughout the visit, but he promised me upon leaving that we could try more English next time!
Laurel and I then went off to the old medina area of the city, which is where I had lived when I studied abroad in Rabat. Again, the Rabat medina is much less chaotic than those we had previously been to, so we enjoyed a peaceful stroll to do some shopping. Then we knocked on the door of the house where I had stayed! The brother Tarik answered the door, and immediately hugged me with the ensuing rush in Moroccan Arabic questions of : "Labas??! Kulshi mezyan?!" (How are you?? Everything is well?) We shared a tea with him, promising to return later once his mother Nouzha had returned. That evening when we went back to see Nouzha, her brother who now lives in California also happened to stop in! Laurel and I had a really interesting conversation with him about some culture differences between Morocco and the United States. We were happy to hear him say that he feels comfortable and welcome in the United States, and he thanked me heartily for bringing friends to see the culture and hospitality of Morocco.
Wednesday was a marathon day for me! After lunch Laurel and I went out another one of the brothers, Youssef, to see other several sites in Rabat. Youssef speaks good English and is a kind young man, it was enjoyable to walk around town with him. First we went to see the Royal Palace, which Youssef had never actually seen before! As the king was not actually in town we were able to enjoy the grounds a little and get nice pictures. Then we went to Chellah, an archaeological site just outside the city center which has both Roman and Islamic historical significance. An interesting part of the site that we spent a few minutes looking at was an eel pond, it is there as a fertility symbol and women apparently buy eggs to feed to the eels in hopes of becoming pregnant. Late that afternoon I met another friend, Hajar! While I first met Hajar socially in Rabat, she later became an intern at the school I studied at and would work there for several semesters following. Hajar so kindly said to me, "You are the same, but more beautiful!" During the two hours I spent with Hajar though I had a wonderful, comfortable feeling, the feeling upon reuniting with an old friend and you feel as if you have come home a little.
After having tea with Hajar and some of her friends, I ran down the street to Ash Wednesday service at St. Pierre's Cathedral. Yes, there are churches in Morocco, and this church has one of the most spectacular and joyful services I have ever attended! The majority of Catholics in Rabat are Sub-Saharan Africans who have come to Morocco as a passageway to eventually get to Europe/France. I had attended mass there several times previously and found the experiences very life giving, so when I had happened to be there during Ash Wednesday I knew I had to go back. As it was the first day of Lent the music was not quite as upbeat as I had heard previously, but as soon as the beautiful, echoing voices of the people in the choir began I knew it would be a very special service. The priest asked the perfect question during his homily, "During this Lenten season, what can we being doing for others?" So many people in Morocco did so much for me while I was there, I can only hope to one day return the favor. One of these very kind people showed up at the end of mass: Marwane! While I had had Communion and was fine with leaving, he insisted I stay, not wanting to feel 'guilty' for me leaving early. So Marwane attended the end of Catholic mass with me, and we both shook the priest's hand on the way out! Everyone can shake hands!