John gets a haircut and we meet Nawee

Before I start recalling the events of Tuesday it is worthwhile to know that I have been unsuccessful in uploading photos to the blog as well as facebook. They may come they may not, but I assure you they are good. In sha'allah.

Tuesday like everyday, the morning begins with breakfast before catching the taxi to school. The morning meal in Morocco is traditionally light as lunch is the largest and most important meal of the day. So far, breakfast consists of mint tea (always), bread, fruit jelly, and cheese or butter. Bread is a large part of the diet in Morocco, as is tea of course. But if I could sum up bread in a sentence it would be : "respect the bread". In Islamic culture bread is seen as a gift from god. So, bread is never wasted and always has its own place wherever it is.
The first class of the day with Ahmed was good as always. The instructors here are very good and I have greatly increased my grasp on subjects learned this past year. After class I headed out to get lunch on my own. I decided to walk around the Ville Nouvelle and see what I could find that was good, cheap, and included meat. Meat right now is not cheap in Morocco. Chicken is economical, but beef and fish can be more, seafood is especially expensive. Beef isn't bad though. So many families serve beef once a week and rely on vegetables and chicken normally. That sidenote done, my excursion was a success. I found a small place with a few tables on the sidewalk and a grill that served sandwiches and kebab. I was able to get a half a round loaf of bread filled with grilled beef for 12 dh which is about $1.50. So far, I have found some of the cheaper street vendors a better option than the cafes for lunch. After eating on the sidewalk I picked up a cantalope from a juice shop that I ate on the way back. Walking through the street while cutting up your own fruit is something you can do here that is a little out of place in America, but I like that.

After lunch brought class and class brought our new teacher that we still were not formally introduced to. At the beginning of class he introduced himself as Naweekheeri but said we could call him Nawee for short, or just plainly ostetha. Afternoon class was especially enriching and opened up a comppletely new window of understanding in Arabic through verb patterns. I won't bore you with a lesson but I assure you it was very good.

For the past couple of days John had expressed interest in getting his haircut. It had been almost six months since his last one and he was starting to need a 'fro pick. After class we headed down a couple blocks to the salon de coffuer pour hommes. Or for those of you who don't speak French but can proabably guess, the barber shop. We entered and went through the traditional Arabic greetings and sat down in the small streetside shop to wait our turn in line. There were two chairs and one barber and a small t.v with a soap opera in Arabic playing. Just like in the U.S. there were lots of mirrors, newspapers, and a t.v. that played whatever was on. While waiting the barber explained the show was a Mexican soap opera, but dubbed in Arabic. So, I taught him some Spanish and explained that these were called novelas and we had a couple small discussions in a mix of a few languages, the subjects of course trivial but the communication essential. Soon enough the t.v. show changed to a cartoon of talking boats, water vessels, and shipyard structures, and it was John's turn in the chair. He had been looking up the vocabulary to explain what he wanted in his phrase book and informed me that 'he had it'. Turns out the MSA Arabic didn't convey the exact meaning John wante since the barber knew only Moroccan Arabic. Though, through trust and hand signals it is amazing how one can communicate. Now John looks even more Moroccan than before, even though his heritage is Jewish. Though today he says he wants to go back to have his beard shaved, so he might loose his look of religious authority. A haircut here is about $4 by the way. That sums up the adventures of yesterday, more to come on today tomorrow. Until then, illa a'kaa. In sha'allah. ma'salaama.

~Andrew