Small grammatical errors should be forgiven when one’s writing in his or her tertiary or quaternary language.
Reason 888 Why I Love Morocco: Almost everyone speaks at least two languages, most speak three, many speak four, and it’s not unusual to find someone who can speak as many as six or seven with reasonable fluency. Yet, to a person, all are equally, incredibly humble about this amazing talent..
Hard at work
Reason 742 Why I love Morocco: It’s difficult to find an audience for complaining. The general consensus is “everything is as it should be.”
The other day, it was 110°F/45°C. As I went about doing my errands suffering and complaining to locals about the temperature, every response was, “Thank God for the heat.”
A fairly standard water jug wrapped in burlap to keep it cool. Atop sits the communal cup.
Reason 735 Why I Love Morocco: Nearly every shop, and many households, have water jugs outside for any passersby who may need a drink.
(Compare this to the privatization of water supplies in much of the West.)
Reason 723 Why I Love Morocco: Trademarks are irrelevant.
(Not shown here: Google Café and the innumerable references to “McDo”)
Subway: Salon de Thé
Faceburger, not to be confused with Facebook
Being in a new environment, one that often challenges my previous ways of living and understanding of my life, I was trying to find a way to frame my thinking in an effort to understand where and why I struggle. To that end, I’ve decided to harken back to traditional symbolic systems to see what…
I’ve been to Meknes (مكناس) more than a dozen times, but as with anything too common, it means I never truly appreciated it. Most of the time, I was there for some sort of Peace Corps training or meeting, so the daylight hours were occupied and I never really had the chance, nor the inclination, to…
First, let’s be clear, since I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding. There is an extensive coastline along Morocco’s most southern coast that, as of yet, I am not allowed to enter as a current Peace Corps volunteer. I want to visit Dakhla and Laayoune, insha’Allah, but I can’t. Not yet. So, this is…
Reason 513 Why I Love Morocco, especially after being abroad: There is a camaraderie, a genuine friendliness among people, even toward strangers. Just asking a question at the airport in broken Arabic gets a warm smile and friendly touch on the shoulder.
Reason 621 Why I Love Morocco: There is a patient acceptance to the less than desirable matters of life. Though I see the the flies as aggressive because their always in my face, my Moroccan friends smile and reframe this as, “They’re just curious.” or “They just want to kiss you.”
Reason 612 Why I Love (Rural) Morocco: To quote more than a few shop owners, who more often than not just hang a sheet or lean a broom across the front of their shop when they go home for lunch, “There are no thieves here.”
