Last night our program had a welcome dinner for us. The meal was incredible! It was pastille which is basically a pie with filo dough and it was chicken with almonds, saffron, and and chopped nuts and its was super sweet delicious. As a surprise the center had a band come play traditional Moroccan music it was amazing! Also because it was Rosh Hashanah me and two other Jewish girls that I met hunted down some apples and honey and ate them by the river. It certainly wasn't my traditional New Year but I think I'm off to a sweet start so far :)
Today I met my host family and tonight is my first night with them! In my immediate family is my mom, two sisters one who is 19 and one who is 29 and a host brother who is 30. My host sister Imam picked me up from the school today along with her little 4 year old cousin, her cousin who is 7, and her cousin who is 14. Imam explained to me thamt she lives in her grandmothers house with her brother, and her mom is in her aunts house. When we first got to the house I wasn't sure of what to do so I kind of awkwardly sat down while we watched television for a while. Our homestay coordinator explained that in every Moroccan house, the television is like another member of the family because it’s always on! After awhile Imam and I went to the beach with her cousins best friend and her best guy friend growing up. It was nice to finally be able to hang out with guys and not be harassed, checked out, or made fun for being American. The two guys were very nice and funny and they picked on Imam like she was their sister, pretending to throw her in the ocean and playing with her hijab. We all went to the beach and walked around. Tomorrow after school we are going to go back and go swimming! Luckily enough Imam speaks English pretty well but no one else in here family or her friends that I’ve met really does. Because I don’t speak Arabic or French I was just content to listen. Imam is so sweet and would hold my hand sometimes when we crossed the street or so I wouldn't feel left out. She also calls me “Meelo” because she can’t really say my name. So to all her friends and family I am now "Meelo".
Today I met my host family and tonight is my first night with them! In my immediate family is my mom, two sisters one who is 19 and one who is 29 and a host brother who is 30. My host sister Imam picked me up from the school today along with her little 4 year old cousin, her cousin who is 7, and her cousin who is 14. Imam explained to me thamt she lives in her grandmothers house with her brother, and her mom is in her aunts house. When we first got to the house I wasn't sure of what to do so I kind of awkwardly sat down while we watched television for a while. Our homestay coordinator explained that in every Moroccan house, the television is like another member of the family because it’s always on! After awhile Imam and I went to the beach with her cousins best friend and her best guy friend growing up. It was nice to finally be able to hang out with guys and not be harassed, checked out, or made fun for being American. The two guys were very nice and funny and they picked on Imam like she was their sister, pretending to throw her in the ocean and playing with her hijab. We all went to the beach and walked around. Tomorrow after school we are going to go back and go swimming! Luckily enough Imam speaks English pretty well but no one else in here family or her friends that I’ve met really does. Because I don’t speak Arabic or French I was just content to listen. Imam is so sweet and would hold my hand sometimes when we crossed the street or so I wouldn't feel left out. She also calls me “Meelo” because she can’t really say my name. So to all her friends and family I am now "Meelo".
The traditional time that Moroccan families eat dinner is anytime between 9-11:30PM. They do lunch around 1 or 2 and then do tea and a snack of bread or cake around 7 or 8. After the beach Imam and I went to her aunt’s house for tea and I met more of her cousins and her mom. I love love love her mom. My host mom I guess. She is so funny and just kind of plays rough with all the cousins and smacks them around lovingly. She also makes funny faces and dance moves randomly. She is quite the character. We ate dinner at 10:30 which was an early dinner for them. It was a tajine which is a stew of chicken and potatoes and then Imam and several of her cousins and her mom and I went down to the river because there is a carnival with rides for children there. My host family is big and crazy! The entire night and on our way down to the river and back we all sang and danced and beat boxed and played football with empty bottles and trash with the little kids. Selma who is 7 is quite the dance and her brother Amman who is 4 is adorable. By the time we got the river, the carnival was closed except for the bumper cars. So we got to ride bumper cars. Around 12:30 we started to make our way home. Even walking through the medina the family was paying and laughing and singing. Swear that at one point there was a conga line formed! I'm so happy to get what I'm sure is the biggest craziest host family out there!
What a day! Also today was my second day of Arabic and I absolutely love it. I feel that I am picking it up pretty well I can’t wait until I can speak with Imam and her family and friends soon!
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