<-- mountains and palm trees, Ait Mansour palmerie about 7 hours SE of EssaouiraIt's definitely the small things in life that make it sweet. Traveling or living overseas is no different: the small things are what I will remember and miss most. There are probably many things I won't even realize how much I have come to love until they aren't there anymore.
I'm beginning to take stock of these things and count the blessings since I'm leaving Morocco two weeks from today.
Now that I'm staying with Hassan again until I leave Morocco (can't deal with the hassle of an apartment), I'm living on the edge of town in a simple neighborhood. I've never seen another Westerner out there and I quite like that it feels removed from the tourists and commercial side of Essaouira. Although all the action and convenience is really in the medina, I prefer living out of town.
I'm back to heating a large pot of water on the stove for a warm bucket bath, taking a horse-drawn carriage into town each morning for 25 cents (this is what a lot of the locals use too because horses are cheaper to run than cars) and, since Hassan lives within a stone's throw of a mosque, I'm once again much more aware of the calls to prayer- especially the one that blasts me awake at 4 AM. But it is these small things that give life color and which I really cherish.
Life is humble and simple here. As an English man I met put it, the beauty of living a life where not everything is always convenient and cushy is that you stay awake in your life- you aren't lulled into apathy with luxury. The other memorable thing about the neighborhood is that when I stop by the small food shops to pick up a few things, everyone is always so happy to see me; I'm a bit of a novelty out here.
There are so many other little general things I will miss, too: like listening in on conversations as a game to see how much I can figure out. I've come to really like Moroccan Arabic and a lot of the expressions which don't exist in English.
I'm also going to miss how many times a day I hear, “insha' Allah” and “mismillah,” too, which are both kinds of blessings based in Islam and which give interactions with people such a polite and respecful quality.
As a side note, the funniest part of “insha' Allah” for me is how people say this when getting into a taxi. The driver will ask where you would like to go, you state your destination and than either you or him or both of you will say, “Insha' Allah,” God willing. What makes this especially funny is that Moroccans are known for being horrible drivers. So essentially, it's like saying, “I'd like to go to such-and-such place, God willing (if we make it there alive).” hahaha
Obviously, I don't know how I'll survive without live, up close and personal Gnawa music several times a week. It's become my social scene there too. The gang at Ma'alem Seddik's is like my family here. I guess I'll be living off of my recordings from his house since pretty much all I listen to these days in Gnawa music.
I'm definitely going to miss the food, especially Hassan's cooking which is seriously the best food I've eaten in Morocco. And, sadly, it's going to be a long time before I see Hassan again (although I am confident that SOME day, I'll come back to Morocco- as soon as possible!) but we always knew this was coming. It's not like I live in France and can pop down to Morocco for the weekend on a cheap European airline. So that's going to be hard.
One of the most noticeable things about Morocco that I will miss is how the people generally interact with each other. Of course, there are the spats and sometimes emotional arguments in the streets, much more intense than what I've seen back home; but I must say, my experience of Moroccan people is that of touching generosity and just an incredibly humble and human way of interacting. It makes our culture in the West seem so cold and uncaring in a lot of ways.
At the same time I'm taking inventory of all the things I will miss (and so deeply appreciate about Morocco), I'm starting to think about what I'm looking forward to back home, too. First and foremost, of course, is seeing friends and family again- hard to believe it will have been a year of seeing any familiar faces whatsoever!
I've also started having food fantasies. Pancakes and waffles have been the first of these along with high quality cheeses (pepper jack and colby and mozarella!) and good quality black tea with milk (all you can buy here is Lipton). Other strange cravings have to do with clothing since I've been wearing the same 2-3 outfits (depending on how I combine one pair of pants with three shirts and a skirt) for a year now. A long hot bubble bath and sleeping in my own bed seem far away but are on the list as well.
In any case, although I'm leaving Morocco so soon, I've still got a little over 2 months left of traveling with, hopefully, some good adventures in Turkey to come.
