The people in my lovely neighborhood of Ziate are starting to recognize me and be more open to my presence as more than a tourist, which I LOVE! Every day after school now I greet the man who weaves rugs in a store on the corner with "salaam uleekum!" and he greets me back. Then I wave to the man at the café and we exchange a "bonjour!" It makes life here seem more real.
A couple of the girls with me in Fés from the Midwest and I went to the hamam on Friday afternoon, which was QUITE an experience! A hamam is the public bath house. Kadie's host mom took us to the one in our neighborhood. You pay about 11 dirham (~$1.40), take off all your clothes (except underwear), and step into a steamy room with a bunch of women from ages 2-90...Once you get over the shock of being practically naked in front of a room full of strangers, it's really wonderful!!
It brought up some interesting contradictions in the culture of Morocco. Out in the streets, most women over the age of 25 (i'm estimating) wear a hijab (cloth covering their hair) and layers of clothes from head to toe, very modest. Then you enter this inner sanctum of the hamam where women let their hair down, literally and figuratively, and are completely free and comfortable with their bodies. I found it fascinating and I hope to observe more things in that realm to maybe do my final paper on!! I would love to post pictures of this experience, but i'd have to blur most of them for censorship purposes...i'm sure you all understand:)
Oh also, I was offered a massage by a fairly large woman with a fairly prominent mustache...I turned it down last week, but who knows what this week will bring!
I think one of the hardest things for me to get used to here is that I can't drink water out of the sink. I've gotten quite good at showering here, which consists of using a small bucket to dump hot water from a large bucket over my head:) That's just a small example of how conscious and sustainable the average family's lifestyle is here in Fés and I really respect it.
Okay, that's it for now as my internet is about to go away!!
Ma Salama!
That was perhaps one of the BEST and most memorable experiences that I had in Morocco. It was an incredible moment of self awareness and acceptance..not to mention that I have never felt cleaner in my life!!!!!!!! xxx
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