Morocco: Culture & Ecology, Spring 2008

We have been in homestays for a few days now, here is the rundown on my family. My father’s Name is Abdurrahman, he teaches biology at a school in the Medina. He is a very funny man who loves to talk about Moroccan culture. The first day in his house I watched hours of Moroccan traditional music. Our favorite so far is Andulus, which was brought to Morocco after the Moors were kicked out of Spain. My mother, Fatima, is a very sweet woman who keeps her house in impeccable shape. She works harder than anyone else in the family. She doesn’t speak any English and very little French, but we have found our own ways of communicating. I have two brothers, Ahmed and Ottman. Ottman, 16, is big into soccer always practicing some moves with a wadded piece of paper. Ahmed is 11 or 12 and, as his mother says daily, the crazy one in the family. He is always being a joker. His English skills are very good, especially for a Moroccan boy his age. He is always asking me questions like, “what is warm,” or “how do you pronounce environment.” They are a really fun bunch.

One of the interesting things is about a Moroccan family is the passion with which they speak to each other. Sometimes a conversation can become very heated, to the point where I swear that someone is being reprimanded. Usually it is not the case; the conversation has simply escalated into a heated debate. Another interesting cultural difference is the Moroccan reaction to the cold. I cannot walk around the house without my slippers on or wearing long sleeves, or else I will catch a cold. It is really funny because I come from a much colder climate than Morocco in February and I am constantly stripping down as the day goes on.

My house is more of a western apartment layout than of traditional Moroccan riyad. The décor is more traditional, tile floors with ornate tile going up the sides of the interior walls about seven feet. The ceilings are high as in most Moroccan homes; I would guess about twelve feet. Also my family does not like things to be very bright. The shades are always drawn during the day, even at night the very few lights are turned on. Something that I really like is the Moroccan couches. They are thick cushions stuffed with wool set along the walls with cushions along the back. They are excellent for sleeping (especially after lunch when my family and I take our daily afternoon nap) or watching TV.

We are having a great time together; my next step is to introduce my idea of baking an apple pie for them.