This blog has never been a guide book. I don't recommend Morocco for everybody, I recommend her for the deserving. I will miss Morocco for an incalculable number of reasons, but the following matter to the blog;
Easy Things to Miss:
Drawn-out greetings
The neglect of personal space
“Magharba” the only way Moroccans say 'Moroccans', and no one else
Fes, the biggest small town in the world
Commercials during Ramadan
Bitching about mild, comparatively pleasant weather
Praising G_d for bad weather
The fact there are no trees around my house that do not bear fruit
Subsistence agriculture, generally, especially amongst those who don’t need it
Buying great organic veggies for no money off the muddy ground in souk
Unloading animals from trucks w/ non-chalance
Carrying things for old ladies
Open, respectful affection among men (kissed lots of cheeks)
Making wordplay jokes in Arabic and Tamazight
Learning how to plant wheat with draft animals
The fact that none of this was a big deal at the time
Saying hello to the room/bus/café/anywhere and getting hello back
The bad-ass history of Berbers in Marmoucha
Living in a 100% Berber town
The worldview of illiterate women
Gaining a new appreciation for women, here and in the West
The “guesting” culture
Never ever ever running out of small talk
The 1985 Mercedes Benz Taxi
Explaining a part of a man’s language to him
Learning from my village, and how they scratch it out
Becoming friends with old men with great stories
Putting Shabekia in my harira
Dakshi li kayn, dayn ag illan; how else could you end a sentence in NAfrica?
My go-to jokes… for when I’m in a tight spot (TWSS)
Being endeared instead of feared for my size and demeanor
“Casa sport, kaysift lqbur, blla passport, qabl lftoor.”
Having full conversations with my hands in Moroccan sign language
A few really cool American people
My water project, and knowing I made people’s lives easier
The knowledge that no matter how bad a day gets, you can just go drink tea
Hammou
Aheydus
Teaching my village “That is what she said” and having them use it fluently
Goat shoulder and plum at your wedding!
Shiba, na3na3, l3ashoob camliin in your tea without special request
Hanging out at the Ministry of Health and talking shop
Getting respect from the new Volunteers
The Traveling Sink
The fact that I, once again, lived where you vacation
Barreling through the Northern desert on an old French train
Having that train derail and having to walk
Spending nights on the road with friends
Treating Fes like Las Vegas in the winter
Marjane (admittedly)
The fact that I lived on an apple orchard in a desert country
4 full seasons in Marmoucha
Finding a bomb during a toilet survey
Teaching in my schools, and getting good at it
Getting the replacement that I wanted, and being right about him
Good sleep
Facial tattoos, especially those of my host Mother, Fatima
Making fun of Guigou
Unpretentious gastronomy
Never having to worry about where you will eat or sleep, anywhere, ever
Jerry-rigging everything, and making it work
Not having running water, and learning to appreciate the resource
Dispelling or properly ameliorating myths/fairytales/rumors about life and people in Europe and the US
The Barbary Macaque
No cars, anywhere, really
Being held in high regard by the village, and being asked for help in tough situations
Encouraging bright young students who don’t get much encouragement
The looks on faces when they really can’t figure out why you speak Arabic, Berber
Being asked to prove that I am an American National
Watching large groups of grown men completely F simple tasks up
Being assigned simple tasks around the family farm
Doing the books for the apple farm, and learning a bit of the business
Learning something at 9:00, applying it at 9:03
Discussing important, sensitive, world issues and nobody takes it personally
Working with educators
Doing health education
75
Doing my laundry in the river with the women
