Culture in Morocco

One might wonder about the dichotomy between American and Moroccan cultures and as I have been in Morocco for a week and half, I would like to share my opinion.  To be completely honest, Moroccan culture shares vast similarities with American culture.  Not the answer you were expecting? It’s true!  My host brothers know more American music than I do!  They know Kanye West (literally all his songs), Drake, John Legend, and all the other popular teenager songs that are typically played on the radio.  Additionally, my host brother, Amine, has watched more American movies than I even though I consider myself as someone who has watched countless movies.  Their knowledge about American culture and world affairs is astounding and their proficiency in our language supports that claim.

However, there are differences between the two cultures.  For example, they always eat their meals in a communal fashion and it is customary to always have bread as part of the meal.  Eating food in a social setting and often is considered normal and a sign of prosperity and wealth.  Another difference is the influence of religion on people’s schedules and daily lives.  Although both my host brothers pride themselves on not being religious (in fact my host brother even claims he is not a Muslim), most Moroccan families’ daily lives revolve around religion.  Whether it be the call to prayer or moral and ethical decisions, most Moroccans use religion as a signpost to make decisions.

Another difference is the way that people interact amongst each other.  For example, Moroccan people are extremely hospitable and it is considered rude not to invite guests to stay over when someone visits the family for tea or dinner.  Moreover, people are never in a hurry like they are back home in America.  Moroccan people love to chat and pride themselves on their hospitable nature.

Overall, Moroccan culture is rich and full of positive aspects that make living in Morocco a fun and pleasant experience.  Observing the differences between American and Moroccan cultures was an interesting exercise for me and helped me appreciate different people and cultures.

This week, we participated in a lecture and discussion around the politics of Morocco and North Africa. We also invited another group of US high-schoolers participating in a 2-week exchange program for this discussion. This provided us a nice opportunity to meet with other Americans in Rabat.

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A meet and greet for the NSLI-Y students and all their host siblings was organized by Sanjay, our counsellor.  This ‘Ice Breaker’ helped to connect the host siblings to one another, as well as with the other NSLI-Y participants. The NSLI-Y Rabat group also baked a batch of cookies to share with everyone at this event.

First Week in Morocco

My first week in Morocco has been a lot of fun especially since my stay has coincided with the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month where people fast during the day.  In fact, today is Eid, which is the holiday where everyone breaks the fast.

Before Eid, we went to the Medina – which has a distinctly Andalusian style to its buildings. Most of the architecture in this area dates from the 17th century when Muslims from Spain’s Andalusian region arrived here. The area has a beautiful view of the sea.

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We enjoyed special Moroccan tea and talked about the purpose of our trip and international travel.  We also talked about our host family and what we liked about them.  My host brothers Taha and Ameen have been very hospitable and kind. They have provided me with transportation every day to my language school.  They speak English extremely well and are very inclusive in their group, while maintaining a vast appreciation for our privacy.  Ameen is constantly introducing us to new food and aspects of Moroccan culture.  Ameen wishes to visit America later in his life  – he has never left Morocco in his life and cannot wait to travel abroad.  Today, as part of Eid celebrations, we visited some homes and gave gifts to those who needed help such as widows.  Then we went to a family get-together where we ate food and talked to the rest of the family.  Most of the family had a limited understanding of English, so we communicated using the basic understanding of Darija we knew and then Taha would translate for us.  Later we talked to Taha’s cousin who knew more English than others in the family while two little kids ran around the home.  We played songs that we all could recognize on the guitar – we had a great time with the entire family.

First Days In Morocco

When I landed in Casablanca, Morocco, I could feel the heat touch my face and the longing for water fill my body.  As soon as we got through security and baggage claim, we were met with salesmen trying to sell us merchandise at the airport.  We smiled at them and cried out “laa”, which means “no” in Arabic.  At the airport, we boarded a bus that made its way through the city of Casablanca to a nearby hotel.  During the ride to the hotel, we got a fabulous opportunity to see one of the biggest mosques in Africa.

Our hotels were nice and big and we had dinner and breakfast.  In the morning, we took a diagnostic placement test for Arabic to place all of us at the right level.  Then we traveled to the U.S. Consulate in Morocco.  In the Consulate, we were met by a security officer with experience as a Green Beret and Special Forces Officer. He was a pretty impressive soldier with tours to Iraq, Libya, Iran, and Syria.  He briefed us on the security threats in Morocco and what to do when faced with danger.

After the presentation, I was taken to my host family who were extremely hospitable and friendly.   My host brothers Amine (22 years) and Taha (18 years) along with their parents live in an apartment. The host brothers live on the first floor while their parents are up on the second floor. I presented my host brothers with a Boston Marathon poster after which we went to the beach. Everyone stays up late in the night as it is the month of Ramadan. We walked on the beautiful beach where the sand felt extremely soft to my feet.

The next day, we began our Arabic lessons. We were instructed on Moroccan Darija the Arabic being spoken in Morocco. It has been heavily influenced by Berber, French and Spanish. While standard Arabic is used for official communication, Darija is the most commonly spoken language in daily life and naturally, we need to be able to converse in it. The instructor was quite good and had a very interesting manner about him. Attached is a photo of our Rabat group, taken this morning at the entrance of the Bridges Cultural Center in the Hay Riad neighborhood of Rabat.

 

Orientation Week in Washington DC

The pre-departure orientation was in Washington DC where the entire group traveling to Morocco came together. The NSLI-Y Morocco program was divided into two groups – one staying in Rabat (capital city of Morocco) and the other in Marrakesh. I was placed in the Rabat group. Today was the first real day where the NSLI-Y counsellors provided us an introduction about the program and the customs and traditions in Morocco. For example, they taught us how to greet people in Morocco and how to greet people from the opposite gender.  For guys, we were supposed to shake hands and then touch each other’s cheeks.  For girls, the girl could decide whether they wanted to shake hands, and if they decided not to, you were to put your hand on your chest and bow ever so slightly.  However, I look forward to learning more about Moroccan culture.

Our resident director, Sanjay, was very friendly and willing to answer questions I had about life in Morocco.  After multiple discussions, the group talked about other customs in Morocco such as food and what to expect in Morocco.  Later, we went on an excursion and traveled to the National Zoological Park (commonly called the National Zoo) using DC metro.  In the zoo, I took some pictures of pandas, elephants, birds, and many other animals.

National Zoological Park

National Zoological Park

Panda in National Zoological Park

Preparing for My Trip to Morocco

As a my trip to Morocco starts in a few weeks, I want to be prepared with everything before I leave for Morocco.  In addition, I would like to learn the Arabic alphabet before my departure.  Currently, my knowledge of Arabic is limited, but I do know a couple words in Arabic as well as half of the alphabet.  My goal is to know the entire Arabic alphabet before my departure.  In addition, I want to be aware of the different customs and rules in Morocco, so that I do not offend my host family in any way when I am there.  I have been placed in Rabat, the exciting capital city and I am looking forward to being there with the other NSLI-Y participants.  I want to use this incredible opportunity to gain a better understanding and appreciation of Arabic culture as well as the Arabic language.  This will allow me to understand and appreciate the Arab community better. Such programs are crucial to strengthening relations between the US and Arabic-speaking countries because currently our relationship needs improvement.  By learning more about the Arabic people, I can teach others in my community about their culture and traditions.

I received a very nice letter from the State Department congratulating me on my scholarship. I am hearing rumors that the State Department is thinking about cutting funding for the NSLI-Y program. That would be tragic and I really hope that this amazing program does not suffer from any budget cuts.

State Department Letter

I also had the opportunity to speak briefly with Congressman Joseph Kennedy, who is the House representative for my district (4th). He was extremely supportive of NSLI-Y and congratulated me on my trip and encouraged me to make the best use of my opportunity. I am looking forward to meeting him after my trip and sharing my experiences with him.