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| On the way to Rabat! |
Salaam from Morocco! This past weekend, I learned the true meaning of Moroccan hospitality. I had the wonderful opportunity to be invited to a Moroccan student's home in Rabat, the capital. Only once before had I felt so loved in a stranger's home.
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| Sometimes you just need some JIF |
I traveled to Rabat to stay with Sultan's family with three of my good friends. We took the train and were picked up by his brother and sister-in-law. We were greeted with the traditional Moroccan greeting and as though we were family. The conversation was easy and relaxed. When we arrived at the house (which was stunningly gorgeous by the way), we were again greeted warmly and enthusiastically by Sultan's parents and sat down to the traditional Friday meal of couscous.
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| A picture of the house |
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| Udayah: The Blue Neighborhood |
For those of you who know me well, I don't like small talk. I find it awkward and unappealing. However, it has never been so easy for me to converse with complete strangers! We were talking and laughing and just had the best evening! I cannot put into words how welcome I felt. This family, who had no prior knowledge of us, took us under their wing and acted as though we had known each other for years! I am still blown away by the extreme hospitality shown to us.
We talked about everything under the sun! We talked about politics, ISIS, the US legal system, Hilary Clint, AUI, the previous lives of our hosts, sports, the future lives of our hosts, our perceptions of Morocco, etc. I have never felt less awkward with strangers. They were incredible conversationalists and made us all feel at ease and as though we were part of their family.
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| FRESH FRUIT! |
Now...the food...my favorite part! We ate every single meal with our host family. They ate every single meal together. It doesn't happen as much during the week because they all work, and Sultan is in school, but on the weekends, every meal is eaten together: breakfast, lunch, and dinner with tea and dessert after lunch and dinner. INCREDIBLE!
Here is just a sampling of the food that we had:
- Couscous
- Tagine
- Pastilla with egg and nuts and some kinda sweet saucey thing on top
- FRESH FRUIT! LIKE OMG! Strawberries, pineapple, oranges, tangerines, kiwi, mango, bananas, apples
- Little chicken pastry triangle things
- Chicken with mushrooms...like a chicken marsala almost...but with roasted chicken
- Tea and tea and MORE TEA
- Yogurt
- Msemen (pronounced misimin...or something...I ALWAYS get it WRONG)
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| Our beautiful host mother |
- Little almondy honey pastry sweet things
I have never been so continuously full in my entire life! The meals were huge! We would eat, go out and do fun touristy things for a few hours, come back to the house, eat some more, go back out into Rabat, come back, eat MORE FOOD, socialize, drink tea, EAT MORE, have great conversation, and head to bed.
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| Elegance |
As I stated earlier, Moroccan hospitality is amazing. These people, who you might never see again, take you into their home and offer you everything at their disposal. It's difficult to put into words how welcome and loved you feel after ten minutes with these people. I was awestruck.
I also learned how important family is. Not that I didn't already love my family and my friends. I love and cherish them to the ends of the earth.
In Morocco, things are different. They take the time...hours really...to prepare home cooked meals for every meal. They sit down together, as a family, for every meal: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They have amazing conversation over meals and over tea and after meals. They take the time to sit and chat and not do anything else.
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| Wonderful breakfast spread |
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| TEA! |
It's refreshing. It's different. It's un-American. I loved it. I know that the American way of life and the Moroccan way of life are VERY different, and in many ways, I prefer the American way (sometimes I'm too type A for Morocco), but this is something I hope to bring back home with me. The idea that food is communal. Food is a way to put the day behind you and relax and catch up and have stimulating conversation without worrying about the next due date, deadline, paper, exam, meeting, etc. It's part of the day in which we forget about the outside world and all we worry about is the person sitting across from us and how they are doing and what they are thinking about.
Sometimes it's good to sit back and listen. Sometimes it's good not to be the center of attention. Sometimes it's good to forget about everything except for the people you've surrounded yourself with for meals. Sometimes it's good to be Moroccan.