Henna

Post by Kaylah Cruz-Herrera

We had to agree on a lot of rules before we came to Morocco.  One of them was "No tattoos".  But, they never mentioned henna.  Ten dirhams ($1.25 ish) will get you one of these beautiful creations.  Just sit down in the medina for about 30 seconds and voila!!  (P.S. Yes, this is a picture of NSLI-Y students, but it isn't mine.  Sorry, Lily, but I stole this from your Facebook!!)

Arabic Mistakes by Sarah

One of my favorite things about learning languages is making funny mistakes. (Not on purpose, of course!) There are few things as funny as a good linguistic error; and, on the educational side, retelling the stories of your errors solidifies the correct phrase or word.

Lucky for me, I make a lot of mistakes. There was the time last summer, in Tajikistan, when I tried to ask a girl in Tajiki, “Do you want to take a husband (i.e. get married)?” In fact, I asked her “Do you want to EAT a husband?” Maybe I haven’t quite matched the hilariousness of that mistake here in Morocco, but here are two contenders. (My two classmates, Emi and Shannon, have heard these already.)

1.       THE WOLF

Early in the program, my Arabic level was pretty far below that of my classmates and my class. Often, I could only pick up a little of what was being said. Anyway, one day, my teacher, Brahim, asked us in Arabic, “What’s your favorite hiwaya?” My friend Shannon answered first, and I didn’t really understand her answer. Then Brahim asked me about my favorite hiwaya.

                Hiwaya… I had learned that word the other day. Animal. I asked in Arabic, “Teacher, how do you say ‘wolf’?”

                “Wolf? Why?”

                He—and Shannon and Emi—were giving me the strangest looks.

                “Yes, wolf! My favorite hiwaya is wolf.”

                Someone broke out in incredulous English, “Your favorite hobby is wolf?!”

Yeah… turns out hiwaya is hobby; animal is hiyawan. Oops.   

2.       HAJJ

A few weeks later, my classmates were sick, so I had a one-on-one class with Brahim. At one point I asked (in Arabic, of course) what he had done after class the day before. I didn’t understand every word of my teacher’s answer, but I got the gist of it; he had talked on the phone with his friend. The friend really wanted to go to Mecca (this was the time of year, after all, when everyone was talking about making the hajj), but couldn’t, because he was busy.

                I was really sorry to hear this and began an outpour of sympathy. “Oh, poor man,” I said. “But inshallah he can go next year?”

                Brahim looked extremely confused. “Next year?”

                “Yes! Inshallah he can go next year!” I really didn’t see what was so strange about what I was saying.

                “To the…. maqha?”

                I turned red. In fact Brahim’s friend hadn’t wanted to go to Mecca; he wanted to go to a maqha, a café. “Poor man!” I had exclaimed. “Maybe he can go to the café next year—inshallah!!!”

Shopping for Sheep - Charlotte C

       Who knew there could be a Souk or market for just one product? Well, anyone in Morocco or around the developing world lives that way all the time, with shops next to each other, selling identical wares. However, what I did not know was you can have Souks that only sell SHEEP. This coming Monday is the main day of Eid Kabir, a huge Muslim holiday that commemorates the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son Ishmael and taking him up to the mountain but God/Allah saves his son by replacing him with a sheep to sacrifice. Eid Kabir is the culmination of the year for herders who probably make a bundle since every family in Morocco and other parts of the Muslim world will all have to buy a sheep. The sheep will be sacrificed in the family home, skinned, and the organs prepared in specific ways and shared with family. Its a huge ordeal that I have yet to witness at the time I was writing this but I'm sure it will be perceived by 17 different perspectives in the coming week.

       Anyway, the past couple of days have been prime sheep-purchasing days. My host family claims the whole city smells like sheep. On the roads you can see cheep being pulled into houses, driven in the backs of trucks or normal cars (my family says that will make the sheep smell stick for way longer than you can handle), pushed in carts, pulled on trailers behind motorbikes, or carried on the motorbike itself. The discontented bleat/croak of disgruntled and overly-handled sheep is commonplace. 

        But tonight I personally went to one of the places where the madness begins. Herders from the country bring in their herds on huge trucks to sell in cities like Marrakech. The Sheep Souk near my house consisted of men standing and holding their sheep for display, people looking to buy, and those transporting their sheep home. Sheep can be displayed in a number of ways, on a truck or on a leash. There are huge sheep that some up past my hips and could probably push me down and then much smaller sheep. They have to be checked thoroughly before the purchase because you want one with a good shape, well taken care of, with good teeth and large horns, and for the best price. People run around feeling sheep hips and picking them up to test the weight. Once they've found the right one, they can get someone to carry it on a cart or they just sling it over their shoulders. Some try to urge the sheep in the correct direction which does not tend to work and thus they pick up the back legs and push the sheep like a wheel barrel. Even after all of that we did not find the perfect sheep and we will have to go back tomorrow. 

Our Eid Experience by Negina and Lilly

As you know, the holiday Eid Kabeer is going on right now and you got some good background info on what it's all about from Rachel's post a few days ago. Yesterday was the first of the holiday's four days and it was incredible. Lilly and I experienced so many new things that we wanted to do our best sharing them with you in a joint post.

We woke up around 6:30 yesterday to get ready for morning prayer. Us, our two host sisters, their dad, and our host brother-in-law drove to the oldest mosque in Marrakech where hundreds and hundreds of people were looking for a spot to lay their prayer rugs out on the cement and dirt grounds. First, there were numerous lines of men, standing shoulder to shoulder, ready for the prayer to come on. And us women weren't too far behind them. We followed along to the traditional morning prayer and also stayed for a specific prayer for Eid that came on afterwards.

Once we got home, our host mom had an amazing breakfast ready for us. There were cakes, and breads, and soups, and cookies that our sisters (and us for the most part) made in the days leading up to yesterday. We were warned that food was what the day would center around and that is exactly what we got. While eating, we still had planted in the backs of our minds that the sheep sacrifice was bound to happen within the next couple of hours... and there came our host brother, calling us all up to the roof, announcing that they were ready.

Negina and I were getting pretty nervous as were standing there with the butcher and his son. They were there for the skinning and to take the insides out, but the real sacrifice was done by our brother. We had our cameras ready and my eyes were glued on the knife in Hassan's hand right when he touched it to the sheep's fur. Negina looked away until the cutting was over and then all we saw was blood. Hassan seemed like he knew what he was doing because the sheep didn't suffer really at all. The whole process afterwards took about twenty minutes and then we took the bowls of insides to the kitchen where they were chopped up and prepared for the day's lunch. Our host brother-in-law, Negina, and I couldn't bring ourselves to eat the gizzards, so the family kindly made us some delicious chicken kabobs and pasta. 

We finished the night off with going to their extended families' homes and it was nice to see how close they all are. Now we're in day two of Eid; can't wait to see what's for lunch today!

Beach Haikus - Cassie

This past Saturday, Oct 29th, our group went to a beautiful beach in Esfee. I was really excited about this because I hadn't swam in the ocean since I was in 5th grade. I feel the spirituality and beauty of the beach is best described through poetry, so I wrote a couple haikus about my experience.

Title: Sea Urchins

Old man's livelihood.
Spiky new experience.
Slimy but tasty.

Title: Playing in the Waves

Sand in all places.
Getting knocked off of my feet.
The most fun all day.

Title: Shells

Scouring the ground.
Searching for nature's treasures.
I found the best one.

Title: Landscape

Endless water world.
The sunset of all sunsets.
Waves crash on the beach.

Schools in Morocco - Emi

During our trip to the mountains, we saw two different schools – the public school where students have two hours of class each day with a dedicated but overworked teacher, and the private school where art and lots of outdoor time supplement the regular curriculum. Since then, I’ve encountered a lot of the aspects of schooling in Morocco, and that’s what I’ll post about today!

We attend Arabic lessons at the CLC (Center for Language and Culture), a private institution whose main purpose is teaching English to Moroccans that also hosts a number of student groups from the US throughout the year (ours being the only one now). The students are of all ages, children through adult, and from most social backgrounds. The school aged children attend a range of schools – public and private. Our host siblings, who are all or have all been students at the CLC, attend different schools all over the city.

The public school system in Morocco is greatly influenced by the French. It starts with kindergarten, elementary school, three years in middle school and three years in high school. Students must pick a specialty before their first year of high school, at age 14 or 15. Specialties vary, including economics, mathematics and science, literature, and experimental science. These are the most popular choices according to the Moroccan youth I’ve spoken to, but there are other, less chosen options including technology and art.

The most important part of schooling in Morocco is the Baccalaureate at the end of “lycee” (high school). One recent high school graduate said it was more important than a PhD. Without a good grade on the Bacc, it is hard to enter university in the most valued fields – Economics and the sciences.

Another interesting aspect of school here are the subjects that people value. Teachers and students alike have told me that literature is more of a “slacker” subject for some, because it requires less studying.  It has no minimum required grade on the baccalaureate to enter university, whereas economics and especially the sciences do. When I talk to people about what I study, they automatically assume economics or business, and it seems as though the majority of our host siblings are studying econ! A Moroccan teacher was lamenting this imbalance of value – he said that public universities of science receive more funding and attention from the government than others. He especially worried about Quranic studies receiving the least attention, least funding, and students with the worst grades. He suggested that may create a more conservative and uneducated focus for religious scholars in Morocco.

Private schools are a large presence in Morocco. Public schooling is generally not reputed to be of excellent quality, so many parents who value education make a huge effort to send their kids to private school or private English lessons at places like the CLC. There are a variety of private schools in Marrakesh for all ages, and in fact, a Nun-run Catholic private school is right across the street from the CLC. My Arabic teacher sends his children there and said that almost all of the students are Muslim, and since the school doesn’t teach Catholicism it is a good choice for children of all religions in contrast to some of the public school options. At a high school level, I have met students who attend the private French high school (Lycee Victor Hugo) and my host siblings attend the American School of Marrakesh. These are more costly than the other private schools but are very helpful for students wishing to attend university abroad. Public schools in Morocco do prepare students to enter the French system because they both use the baccalaureate test, but most students stay in country for their undergraduate studies.

In Moroccan schools, children begin learning both Arabic and French from the start of their education, and are required by the national curriculum to add English beginning in seventh grade. Some students even add on Spanish or German. This is on top of the colloquial dialect, Darija, which is spoken at home and in the streets. We have earned respect from Moroccans for learning Arabic simply because they value language so much – they are used to tourists not speaking a word of Arabic or Darija.

This was just a summary of the basics. There are so many details that are impossible to take in just by knowing the facts. I hope to post a “part 2” with more information on how Moroccan schools relate to Moroccan culture.

A New Holiday-Rachel Sandman

     The holiday season is off to a great start for all of us here at the Center for Language and Culture in Marrakesh.  On Sunday, a Halloween party was organized by the NSLI-Y students for our Moroccan colleagues. I was right at home among the familiar games, foods and traditions of Halloween and had lots of fun sharing the holiday with Morocco.  However, a much more exciting holiday has overshadowed  the "Halloween buzz".  Eid  Kabir, the Muslim Thanksgiving, is next week. This three day feast marks a celebration for the pilgrimage returnees that includes the entire Islamic world. On Eid Kabir, each Muslim family buys a sheep (or many sheep) to sacrifice in remembrance of Abraham's actions in the Koran. The particular story that is remembered tells of the time when Abraham received a message  from God, telling him to kill his only son, Issac. Abraham took Issac to the top of a mountain and prepared to do as the Lord told him. Upon seeing that Abraham obeyed him, God sent a ram to Abraham so he would not have to sacrifice his son. So, on Eid Kabir, Muslims sacrifice sheep to remember that obeying God is important. After the sheep sacrifice (which can be done by a butcher or the head of the family), people eat the entire sheep, starting with the insides on the first day and then with the meat for the following week. Each family keeps one third of the meat for themselves, give a third to their family and give a third to the poor.
    Needless to say, my American counterparts and I are very anxious and excited for this foreign holiday. The Moroccan's enthusiasm is contagious and we have already heard many stories of sheep sacrifices and celebrations that last for days. We are all mentally preparing ourselves for the moment to witness a sacrifice and  to eat parts of the sheep that we normally would not dream of tasting.  In moments like these I am reminded of the value of an exchange program as opposed to an Arabic classroom. Never in a million years would I have imagined a holiday like Eid Kabir and am sure it will be a memorable addition to my 2011 holiday season.





Sheep for sale outside of Marjan! (The "Walmart" of Marrakesh).

Photo by Melanie Bahti

***The information I present in this blog are conclusions I drew from talking to Muslim colleagues. I recognize that Eid Kabir traditions may vary across the Islamic world and am by no means an expert on this holiday.