<-- Me with Ma'alem Arafa during my lesson.I recently stopped by my former language school where I took Arabic my first month in Morocco in 2008 and got to see all my previous teachers and the school headmaster. I hadn't told them I was coming so it was a treat to see their reactions. It was especially delightful to see Mohammed Reda again, who was my private teacher for 2-3 hours a day for a month. I was embarrassed for how much Darija I have forgotten but nonetheless, it was a joy to see them all again. They tried to convince me to come by the school next week and give a performace on my guimbri but I wasn't able to explain to them just how “beginner” I really am. I'll find a way out of it.
Following that happy reunion, I was finally able to catch up and have coffee with Youssef, a musician and artist I met here in 2008 while studying with Ma'alem Arafa. He used to play in a Gnawa fusion band with Arafa but now has his a separate group. He's one of those people who is creative and talented at anything remotely artistic and apparently, has got quite a career as both a guitarist and painter.
On the way home, I wandered through the medina, one of my favorite paths that takes me through the open fish market, down through winding streets past stalls of fresh spices, dates, fruits, and vegetables and I decided to buy some yogurt at one booth to help my stomach, which has been upset for the last few days from having eaten something bad. I had such a delightful and memorable exchange with the shop owner, that put a huge smile on my face. He had been chatting with a sweet young girl when I approached so I let them finish their conversation before I asked for my yogurt. I caught that she said something about waiting for a call from him. When he turned to me, he apologized and I said, “No problem, brother. Is that your lovely lady?” He chuckled and said, “No, no, she's family.” I ordered my yogurt and thanked him and he responded by offering for me to try some of the freshly made goat cheese he was selling. He handed it to me and in the usual way, said, “To your health,” which I followed with, “And may God give you health as well. Peace be with you.”
These are the sorts of small moments, such gems, that lodge in my heart and mind and endear me to the people and country.These are the moments I have missed so much about Morocco, often when I'm buying goods from vendors; there is such a fleeting but precious human connection, even with my limited Arabic.
Later that day, I had my first specifically guimbri lesson with Ma'alem Arafa on playing technique. I asked my friend Nourredine to meet me at Arafa's house to do the translating and he brought with him his five year-old, bright-eyed son, Tamir, who although shy at first, quickly came out of his shell.
We began my lesson on my small guimbri, Awisha, and Arafa called Hassan Alawi to bring another bigger guimbri so I could compare the technique. Over the course of the hour, a small crowd gathered inside Arafa's house to watch, which made it difficult to relax, but it was entertaining. Arafa is such a generous and kind guy with a gentle demeanor, probably in his mid-20s and one of the youngest ma'alems in the country. We have a light and friendly rapport. Nourredine also is an open and friendly man and was an excellent translator. Having lived in London for three years, he also crosses cultural barriers more easily than some translators. Tamir enjoyed watching and didn't want to leave when it was time as some other musicians had arrived to practice in the back of Arafa's music space.
After my lesson, Nourredine, Tamir, and I went off to see the organization for which Nourredine works, a non-profit environmental association working to clean up the country side and waterways. It's so heartening to learn about a large network of social, humanitarian, and environmental organizations doing inspiring work here in Tetouan. From there, we went back to our common neighborhood by taxi (turns out that Nourredine and his family don't live far from the family I'm staying with) and he picked up some sweet patisseries on the way.
On the walk and during the taxi ride, Tamir and I got to know each other more and it was so adorable to overhear and understand Tamir's questions to his father, “Can she come to our house with us? Can I show her my guitar?” So indeed, Nourredine invited me to the home to meet his wife and sister and share in the sweets with coffee. At one moment, Tamir took me by the hand and as one might expect of any little kid, said “Come! I want to show you MY room!” including decals of Tom and Jerry, Dora the Explorer, and other cartoon characters. After I saw his room, he gave me a tour of the house, including the kitchen where he pointed out the names of fruits and vegetables because I explained to him that I'm still learning Darija and need his help.
Maybe one of the more entertaining days lately was going “out on the town” with the two oldest daughters of the family. It was my idea to all go shopping together because I know how much all the girls love that, despite the fact that I personally loathe shopping in my own country. It also makes being in the medina so much more colorful than when I'm alone.
Going out to the medina requires getting dressed up so we spent a good hour getting ready and I let them deck me out with their make-up and various girly things. I told them, “I'm like your doll. You can dress me up however you want.” Before we left, they had eyeshadow and mascara and lipstick on me and had done up my hair, dressed me up with jewelry and various things, fawning over me. It was so adorable. I insisted on buying them earrings at one of the shops and they made such a big deal that I had bought them presents that they insisted on buying me makeup in return: so now I have a compact of 12 colors of eyeshadow, lipstick, and three colors of eyeliner! Haha
Being their guinea pig was such a hit that when we got home from the medina, the second eldest daughter wanted to give me yet another hair-do and practice her beauty school skills. I actually did bring along “feminine” clothes this time around since my practical, REI travel clothes on the last trip caused a lot of staring and apparently, some confusion as to my gender (I had also recently cut my hair extremely short). In fact, when I found myself at that big wedding in Casablanca, I thought to myself, “Thank god I brought a dress and some girly shoes.”
My evenings with the family are so lovely. Although it's usually centered around the television, there is lots of joking and charades. Sometimes we have watched scary movies or I bring out my laptop to show them pictures and videos of them from the first trip, or like last night, my recording device to get them all on tape singing their favorite songs.
I still feel like I'm proceeding one day at a time without much of a program, not really sure how long I want to stay any place in particular but I think I'm relaxing into it more. After all, once school starts this Fall, I won't have the flexibility to make my own schedule so I might as well appreciate it while I can.
