Yesterday, after taking our first round of exams, we met with our Moroccan families for Couscous Fridays. My family is very, very nice. There are 2 sons and 1 daughter in the family. When we (me and 1 other person in the program) got to their house we sat on the balcony for awhile and played with their little kitten. Soon afterwards the seven of us sat down around a small table and began to eat from a huge platter of couscous, vegetables, and turkey. It was delicious. I wish I hadn't eaten shortly before going to my family's house, however. They kept telling me "kol," meaning "eat." I'd stop and they'd say "Ben, kol." So I just kept "kol"-ing away...
For a long time we just sat around the living room just talking about anything and everything. We looked through some textbooks that my older Moroccan brother uses. I looked through his Arabic textbook, which was very difficult for me to read. Then I looked through his math book. Even though all the explanation was in Arabic, I understood each lesson since math is a universal language: f '(x) = 3x^2 + 4x +1 is the same in English as it is in Arabic. Beautiful.
In the evening we drove outside of the city to Cap Spartel and the surrounding area. It was beautiful. You can see some of my pictures by clicking here.
One of the highlights, in addition to the beautiful scenery, was eating escargot (snails) for the first time. It was actually really good--just pull it out with a toothpick and pop the whole thing in your mouth. Fun, fun times. It was awesome to chat with our family as we sat near the Atlantic Ocean.
As my Moroccan family dropped us off at the school around midnight (we spent 10 hours with them; pretty short visit, right?) they told me that I should consider them just as my own mom and dad. They gave me a tiny Qur'an that I am supposed to take with me wherever I go (it is less than 1" x 1"). They were very, very nice and generous to us.
Today is a day to rest and to explore. Tomorrow we are going swimming in the ocean!!! I can't wait!
Have a great Saturday, everyone.
And to those in America: Happy Independence Day weekend
And to my grandpa: Happy 90th birthday!!!
1 comment:
Benha!
I know the feeling of being told to "kol" all the time! The Russians did the same thing to me "Kushi, Courtney, kushi!"
It sounds like you are having an awesome time!!
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