Couscous Friday!

I’m a day late again, but here is an update from Friday.

Yesterday was actually a pretty busy day for me. I decided I want to try and gain as much knowledge as possible while I’m here, so I am going to audit a couple of classes. Yesterday I forced myself to get out of bed early and went to the Gender and Islam class. As hard as it was to stay attentive at 8 a.m., I’m really glad I was there for the discussion. We talked about the rise of monotheistic religions from Zoroastrianism to Islam. This was paired with a discussion of how the roles of women in culture, religion, and family developed and were shaped by each dominant religious belief. There were also several digressions to the culture here in Morocco and how women are viewed as a part of society. I found it really interesting that a lot of the monotheistic religions utilize a God à Man à Woman structure, which the professor said probably developed out of a need to stratify society to achieve order. Hierarchy helps to stabilize the system. In Morocco, there is obviously a strong presence of the tradition Islamic influences on society and gender. However, I think a lot of people assume that Islam oppresses women, when this isn’t necessarily the case. From what I’ve learned here, many people believe that Islam frees women from oppression. It’s hard for me to really understand all the cultural implications of gender here, especially from my personal cultural background. Needless to say, I definitely want to keep attending this class. I think it’s really an excellent course to be offered for students studying in Islamic countries.

After class a few of us went in to town to the fresh market. It is absolutely one of my favorite things about Morocco. I love all of the locally grown food and spices, every vendor displaying his collection a little differently. There is so much fruit you can never decide what you want, old men sitting on pieces of cardboard to sell roses, whole carcasses of meat hanging outside of shops. It's truly an experience. The best part for me is the colors. When I think of the store in America I see white floors and white walls with bland food and plastic packages. Here grocery shopping is a beautiful array of yellows, reds, and greens and a hundred different smells and sounds. It makes me want to go every day to try something new. This time around, I bought a large mango and a half kilo of green olives - fresh and flavorful.

OLIVES!

In the afternoon, Mouhsine took me to another organization in Meknes called Jasmine women’s cooperative. Women from the community gather there to learn new skills and to make goods that they can then sell. The women there were so excited to have me there and right away asked about anything I know how to make or any skills I have. They were thrilled that I know how to crochet and some of them wanted me to teach them how to make washcloths. The director of the cooperative asked me if I knew how to cut or style hair, and when I said yes she started rambling on excitedly in Darija, which made me assume this was the right answer. While I was at the center a sewing and embroidery class was going on. The woman in charge of the class taught me how to measure and make the pattern for a “jlaba,” the traditional dress that Moroccan women wear. The process was very specific and everything was measured exactly to fit the woman who would wear it. Seeing how these clothes are made gave me a lot of respect for the woman who choose to make their own and maintain the traditional dress. I am kind of hoping that by the time I leave I might be able to make my own jlaba.

There was a girl, Fatima, who came to the cooperative with her mother and spent the majority of the time helping to translate for me. She is an English major at Moulay Ismail University. After the class was over, she took me to meet a couple of her friends at a café near my apartment building. We spent a long, Moroccan style time sitting in the café sipping coffee and chatting. Fatima and her friend Abdelghafour took turns playing songs that they thought the other would like and singing along. They looove American music, especially jazz, blues, and rap. Fatima is a particularly adamant Chris Brown fan, and told me that her father always says “Chris Brown is my son-in-law.” Getting to talk to Moroccan students my age in a social setting was a really great experience. We spent a lot of time talking about the different cultures and what is and isn’t acceptable. In Morocco, what you’re allowed to do in public is very strict and conservative (ie. no kissing in the park, kids). We all agreed that, in both of our countries, the young people wish the older people would stop being so stuck in their ways. Fatma said, “All the older people, they think the same way. The young people all think different things, and we know that’s okay.” And, ironically, we both wanted to live somewhere other than our own country. Maybe a trade is in order?

Afterward I came back to the apartment and spent a relaxing evening with my housemates. And it was cous-cous Friday, which just makes Friday a pretty great day.