MOROCCO 101

Well, our trio, or band as Maj would say, has been in Morocco now for approximately a week and a half. Even in this short time we have been able to get a great sense of day-to-day life in Morocco, realizing the little idiosyncrasies from the way that CCS has structured their program here, things we take for granted but that those back at home wouldn’t know unless they themselves came here. 

FOOD: A popular tradition in Moroccan culture (that we experience everyday for ourselves at the home base) is tea-time. This period of siesta happens daily in the late afternoon at approximately 4-5 pm. Traditional mint tea, which is loaded full of sugar as most Moroccans enjoy their food and beverages, is served along with some sort of tasty delight. Main course meals for a typical Moroccan family are usually some sort of tajine dish with BREAD! Only the more wealthy families, or those that are having special guests over for dinner, will serve more than one dish for a meal. The serving of multiple dishes, such as a meat, potatoes, veggie-type meal typical of back home, is definitely not the tradition here. However, at the home base, our wonderful cooks, Aicha, Fatiha and Leila, lovingly prepare far more than this traditional standard of one dish per meal each lunch and supper to accommodate the many different individuals in the house. Personally, as I have said many times over the short period we have been here…is that I have never eaten so much bread in my entire life. Much of the each meal is starch or carbohydrate-based, which is a change from normal for most I have met. Bread is definitely the star component of a Moroccan breakfast. The freshly-squeezed orange juice alone is a reason to buy a plane ticket here ASAP!

 Desert in morocco is understated, usually a simple fruit platter. We have all discovered a type of yellow melon, similar to honeydew, which sadly has no English equivalent name, but what the locals call a football melon…very good!

TRANSPORTATION: The main ways of getting around in Morocco are by public transport (bus or metro line in Rabat, which is currently under construction to relieve traffic congestion), moped, bicycle or taxi. For those who have their own vehicles….well, that’s a different story altogether.  To sum it up eloquently, I would coin the phrase ‘orchestrated chaos’. People don’t signal, but they feel free to honk and almost expect their fellow drivers to announce their presence with the obligatory honk. Picking lanes and staying in them is highly overrated….why make a choice if you don’t have to?

ECONOMY: With current exchange rate, one Canadian dollar is worth approximately 7.2 Moroccan Dirhams…which is about the price of a bottle of Coca Cola in Morocco. If you’re feeling a little bit hungry, then only $3.00 Canadian can get you a cheese burger meal at McDonald’s. The cost to travel from Rabat to Fes (about the same distance as travelling from Lac La Biche to Edmonton) first-class on the train will set you back (for a round trip) only $33.00. Note: Travelling first class means a guaranteed seat on the train with air conditioning, while in second class, it is often standing room only. The main economic industries in Morocco are agriculture, fishing, tourism and phosphate exports. Apparently, in the northern parts of the country, large cannabis (locally called kif) crops are grown mostly for export to Europe. There is also a very prevalent section of cottage industries run by local artisans most seen in the medina where you can even watch rugs, blankets or leather goods being handmade. Minimum monthly salary in Morocco is set at 1800 Dh which is less than $250 Canadian. Sadly, although this is a legislated standard it is often not met and many people receive far less. The nurses at the orphanage where we are volunteering make roughly 2500 Dh, which is about $345 Canadian per month. An interesting comparison is that an Army General in Morocco makes about 140 000 Dh per month, which is $19 352.00 Canadian per month.

GOVERNMENT: Morocco is governed by a monarchy. The current King is Mohammed VI and one of the first things we noticed were the pictures and billboards of him absolutely everywhere. On our trip to the Sahara, the driver even had a picture of the King in his van!! He is definitely a revered individual here! The King was quoted in a recent issue of Forbes magazine as the 7^th richest ruler in the world, with the country of Morocco itself being the 126^th richest in the world. The bible of travelers, Lonely Planet, claims that upon ascending the throne, the King vowed to right the wrongs of the era known to Moroccans as the Black Years. Today Morocco’s human rights record is arguably the cleanest in Africa and the Middle East, though still not spotless.

AGRICULTURE: Our trip out to the Sahara was an amazing opportunity to get an idea of the agriculture in Morocco. On the long, long drive we saw countless fruit trees of almost any kind imaginable along with herds upon herds of sheep and goats. The watchful eye of a young boy or man tends each herd as fences, even along the large twin-lane highways are rare. Most cattle that I saw were Holstein dairy cattle and are part of privately owned and operated dairies. Olives,

 vegetables and grapes to make wine (mostly for export to Europe) are also a large part of the agriculture in Morocco.

DRESS: Styles of dress vary widely within the country. In larger, metropolitan cities such as Rabat, dress is varied and most definitely not as conservative as that seen once you leave the city. We had the opportunity to see types of rural dress on our journey down to Merzouga. Even with the incredible heat, both men and women can be seen out on the town in full-length traditional, conservative covered dress.

HISTORY: Well, I’m going to have to cop out under this category, as there is far, far too much to put now, but however I will leave you with the tantalizing promise of a future blog post dedicated specifically to the sites we have seen thus far in Rabat.

LANGUAGE: In Morocco the main language spoken is Arabic, with French being common as well, but more often used in academics, government and other official business. The dialect of Arabic that is spoken here is a unique mix of French and Arabic.

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FUN OR NOT SO FUN RANDOM FACTS:

-Rabat Population: 1.7 Million

-The indigenous people of Morocco are called the Berbers. Their culture is still very much a part of Moroccan life. Alongside them, live a prevalent Arabic population and interestingly a smaller Jewish community.

-Illiteracy rates: 51% overall, with higher rates seen among rural populations.

-Unemployment: At least 16%, however statistics on this are not readily available or actively recorded so realistically rates are predicted to be much higher.

-The coastal area by Essaouira is uniquely known for its Argan trees that are used for their oils in cosmetics and some food. Tree-climbing goats, as they are called, actually climb up the trees, eat the fruit, and poo out the seeds from which oil is pressed.

-Avoiding the phrase “cool dude” is smart as the literal translation in Arabic means “eat worms”!

-Pink toilet paper is NOT uncommon and plumbing here is also NOT good so the T.P. goes in the garbage :-S

-There is an unreal amount of stray cats in Morocco. On a typical day without specifically looking for them, you can easily see 15-30! Meowwwww

This coming Thursday and Friday are holidays in Morocco due to the Anniversary of the King and the People and it is also the King’s B-day. We will be taking advantage of this opportunity to take a whirlwind tour of some popular and historical cities around coastal and central Morocco, such as Fes, Marrakech and Essaouira. More on that later!