Being vegetarian in Morocco, or "Get over it and pick the meat out!"

Before T and I moved to Morocco, I knew that one of the greatest difficulties for me was going to be surviving as a vegetarian here. Most of you know that, for more than my adult life, I have been an unusually strict vegetarian. (Sorry pesco people, but fish have brains and eyes--they're animals in my book.) Add in my significant allergies to eggs and peanuts and a low tolerance for dairy, and you have one person who is annoyingly difficult to feed (right, G and K?).

My diet was sometimes challenging in the U.S., but I was at least dealing with people who spoke the same language as me. It may have embarrassed my co-diners, but I could always ask the server at a restaurant, or the host or hostess of a dinner, about the ingredients. The concepts of veganism and vegetarianism are fairly widely understood in the U.S.--even in Wyoming! :)

Now I'm in a country where English is not widely spoken. Nor is the concept of vegetarianism widely understood. Meat, being high in protein and in price, is highly valued. I get that. I certainly understand that people, especially those in poorer countries, like and eat meat. I wouldn't expect any Moroccans to convert to vegetarianism.

However, I am already frustrated by the lack of understanding of what to me is something much greater than a dislike of meat. I had a somewhat unpleasant encounter with an (originally American) person yesterday who, upon discovering that I am vegetarian, essentially told me to "get over it" and to get used to picking meat out of things (at a minimum--it was obvious this person would prefer that I return to the natural state of human food consumption and start eating meat).

I don't want to write much more about that encounter, but it did get me thinking more about my dietary habits. It made me ask, for the hundredth time, what is my problem? What's the big deal if my vegetable couscous or tagine has meat broth in it? These are not easy questions to answer. For me, the decision not to consume a certain category of animal products is not just based on health or environmental issues. It is not just based on the very real disgust I experience at the thought of consuming meat (sorry, carnivores). It is close to religious. Too bad there are probably no Buddhists here. Maybe they would understand. In any case, my strict vegetarianism is not something I could give up lightly, nor easily. To be blunt, I am concerned about the impact it would have on my conscience.

I think I am also frustrated because I would expect Muslims (and 99% of Moroccans are Muslims) to have a better understanding of dietary restrictions based on religious or philosophical reasons.* I don't think anyone would ever think of inviting a Muslim to dinner, make something with bacon in it, and tell the Muslim guest, "Well, just pick out the bacon. What's the big deal?" And yet that is essentially what I am being told to do. What gives?

Anyway, I think I'll be eating a lot of meals like this one, here in my apartment:

A simple chickpea and tomato salad with fresh lemon juice and YUMMY olive oil, with some biscuits and imported Spanish cheese. I don't yet have the supplies to cook any real meals that, you know, follow actual recipes.

I'm also going to find all the vegetarians I can find on campus and talk to them about what they do. I already found one, and I have the names of more. I can do this! Right?

I'll end with the major successes and failures of the day.

Successes:
-Went to the marché and found a vendor who speaks quite a bit of English. I taught him the English word for pois chiche--"chickpea." Also bought some much needed food supplies.
-Met a nice American who invited T and me to join him and his family at La Paix (a downtown restaurant) this evening for ftour (the Ramadan fastbreaking meal at sundown). (BTW, this meal will be an interesting test of the "to be, or not to be a vegetarian" question.)

Failures:
-Forgot to look for almonds at the marché. They're supposed to be everywhere, but I didn't see any. Must find more protein!
-Have continued to be unsuccessful at getting our apartment maintenance issues taken care of. Must learn to live on Moroccan time.

*Just to be clear, I'm not saying that no Muslims, nor that no Moroccans, are understanding of vegetarianism. But I have done enough reading and talking to other people to know that I will encounter little understanding of it here.