Wordless Wednesday

Souk-bound

Here I am, ready to head out to the Saturday/Sunday souk (farmer's market). The scarf and gloves are needed in the cold open-air setting and the boots are to navigate through the huge mud holes after rain or snow. And this is about the only time I wear the Moroccan jellaba as it is worn by most of the women at the souk.

A few entries ago, I forgot to note a major difference between Morocco and Pakistan - expatriates in Pakistan often wear the local clothing and light head scarf. Here, it is rare and stare-worthy unless you are at a place like the souk or in a village. And to wear a head-covering here means you have converted to Islam unless it's cold and you are just preventing your ears from falling off. I don't much mind not wearing the jellaba since I feel like a blob of amoeba in the outfit - as my Mom would say, "All size fits all - fits none!" The advantages are that you can be wearing your pajamas underneath and no one will ever know, and that you can instanly gain 300 lbs simply by putting it on (this, however, is only an advantage if you are trying to gain 300 lbs).

I bought the equivalent of 33 pounds of vegetables and fruits at the souk a few weeks ago mostly for our family and also for a man who stopped me on the way and asked me to get some for his family. Any guesses as to how much it cost?

To kiss or not to kiss . . .

Yes, that is the question. In honor of Valentine's Day (week), I thought I'd do a valentinesish entry.

Kissing is quite complicated here in Morocco.

Kids get a peck on the cheek by anyone (including other children) older than they are. Those of you who know how shy our girls are ("Please - talk to strangers!") can only imagine their immediate reaction to this. Now they are getting used to it and allow the kissing, but haven't returned too many. One time when visiting campus, they got mobbed by a group of college girls who all had to kiss them. They handled it quite well, I thought. Gerald was wondering if he'd get the same treatment, but it never came . . .

Moroccan woman kiss on each cheek as the basic greeting. But then there is the "I-know-you-well-and-really-like-you" kiss which ends with several pecks on the second side. Sometimes one person straightens up only to find they are still getting kisses. They also kiss most of the time when saying goodbye though there is rarely the second-side-repeat-kiss. Then what do you do if you see the person again after an hour or two? Do you re-kiss? Technically, yes. Do you kiss when just passing by someone? Yes, if you know them well. You always kiss if you are a guest or hostess. What about when entering a room of people? You start with the woman on your right who stands up, and kiss your way around the room and kiss everyone again when you are ready to leave. So if you don't want to get up and down when each person enters or leaves, it's best to come last and leave first!

Men - young and old alike - kiss cheek to cheek also if they know each other well (no comments, guys), and Gerald has actually received one of these from one of his students. In his words, "He attacked, so I complied."

Then there are the European or Europeanized men who greet women with a peck on each cheek. Having grown up in strict Muslim countries, this one always throws me for a loop!

And how do you greet other expatriate women? The Spanish and French ladies kiss cheek to cheek, all other European and all American women aren't so sure unless they've been here a while in which case they kiss with the best of them. Then there is my sister-in-law who is French but Americanized. So when we greet each other, should we hug or kiss? Greeting the new crop of American college girls is always fun because no one has any idea what the other person is going to do. Then you throw in the American hug or handshake on top of it all which is really weird to most kissing-country people, fine with Americans, and downright awkward when one person is moving in for a kiss.

Then there are the "sometimes-kissers" (yours truly) who sometimes kiss, sometimes hug, and sometimes just greet in a super-friendly voice to override everything else. People like myself make it hard on everyone else because no one has any idea what to expect from us in greeting.

So there you have it - a kissing analysis for Valentine's Day. And with that, we send you our love . . . and kisses!

Morocco vs. Pakistan

No, I'm not talking about a soccer match - it's just that ever since I've set foot in Morocco, I've been comparing this country with Pakistan, one of the countries where I grew up. Of course, it's been ten years since I've even been in Pakistan, so my observations are probably not accurate now. Anyway, here they are in no particular order -

1. Pakistan is much more densly populated - more cars, more beggers, more people, more hassling, more animals, etc.

2. Less staring here - OK, OK - I'm not 17 anymore, but seriously, Moroccans seem quite used to pale-faces around and I feel far less conspicuous than I did in Pakistan.

3. The form of Islam here is much, much more liberal - most evident in women's dress and the amount of alcohol available. The minarets here are all square - in Pakistan they are domed.

4. Both countries have fascinating histories with ancient sites all around - I am convinced this is one reason I love history so much having grown up in a place rich with it.

5. The old cities - both countries have them, but Morocco's are much more noticeable being surrounded by huge, fortified walls and gates.

6. "Mountains" in Morocco are 5,000+ ft. high. "Mountains" in Pakistan are 20,000+ ft. high. And, related to that - people in the States often seem surprised that either country has mountains and cold weather at all!

7. Both countries always have people always walking along the road no matter what the weather is, and abundant flocks of sheep, goats and cows are always randomly crossing the road (in SW Kansas, a stray cow makes the newspaper!).

8. The people in both countries are very hospitable, though in Pakistan more so.

9. I saw camels all over Pakistan - here? I haven't seen one! I think they are in the south.

10. Moroccan food is not spicy, but flavorful. Pakistani food is hot and delicious.

11. My favorite Pakistani/Afghan crafts are the rugs, cloth and pottery. Rugs here just don't match up - but I love the lighting, pottery and painted wood here.

12. We feel very safe here. The terrorist attack in Casablanca several years ago was met with such a nation-wide outrage that there has not been one since. In Pakistan, it seemed people almost got used to the violence/bombings (in the NW, anyway).

13. Pakistan drives on the left, Morocco on the right.

14. Morocco's proximity to Europe is evident everywhere. Not so in Pakistan.

15. There seems to be a great deal more wealth here. Malls, superstores - you name it - almost everything is available here in the major cities (not in Ifrane!). Having said that, the villages look a lot like Pakistan's - there is a huge discrepancy between the poor and the rich.

16. There is actually a Jewish population here, though much smaller than it used to be. I don't feel the anti-Jewish (or anti US for that matter) sentiments nearly as strongly in Morocco.

17. Everyone's second language here is French - in Pakistan, it is usually English - Why? The French colonized Morocco, the British colonized Pakistan (India at that time). Along with language, the evidence of colonization is very evident in both countries.

18. Morocco has a king, Pakistan is a federal democratic republic (yes, I had to look that up) with a president.

19. Both countries have refugees - Pakistan's are from Afghanistan, Morocco's are from sub-Saharan Africa - but Pakistan has had many more refugees for a much longer amount of time with constant unrest/war next door, affecting the entire country's resources.

20. Both countries have a disputed territory with ongoing issues - Western Sahara for Morocco, and Kashmir for Pakistan.

21. Being a mom here is a lot harder than being a kid there - my respect for my mother has increased!

22. Speaking of kids - I need to go!

Oh - one last thing - I love both countries!

Cat Hater

Here is our resident cat hater who, as you can see, has changed his tune. Now our pshycotic kitty is much bigger, but I've always liked this picture of the exhausted professor trying hard to keep working, but just not quite making it.

This semester began several weeks ago for Gerald although he went to work many of the days during break to either finish up last semester or prepare for this.

Gerald has one repeat class, though with a new book; and two brand new classes. Not only is he teaching them for the first time, but one is on Moroccan accounting and the other is international accounting - so you can guess how much experience he's had with those in Topeka, KS! He has to do a lot of studying to keep ahead of the game and his students.

In spite of this, he was prepared for many of the surprises and unknowns this semester based on his experiences from last fall, and so has had a much smoother start this time around.

Gerald takes pictures of all his students and works hard at memorizing their names (not an easy thing to do here). I wish I could show you the pics, but he has promised his students he will not post or publish them. Moroccans are such beautiful people. He received great evaluations from last semester and often sees his former students around campus because it is a small university (1200).

The guy probably should be taking a nap again right now because he stayed up to watch the Super Bowl last night! He figured out a way to get the game with amazingly good reception on our computer and stayed up from 11:30-3:30 AM to watch the colts win (did I get that right?). This was after he had firmly decided he simply could not watch it right before a full week!