T and I arrived in Ifrane around noon on Thursday. We had been travelling since 1:40 on Wednesday morning, when we left my parents' house in Nebraska for the Omaha airport. A combination of dehydration, lack of food, lack of sleep, and a couple of doses of dramamine had made the morning's drive from Casa (apparently no one says "Casablanca") rather unreal. I felt, the entire time, as if I was watching a very, very boring movie about an American woman moving to Morocco. It certainly wasn't something I was experiencing!
I have not yet figured out how to cook in this kitchen, although I am trying to be okay with it. I know we are lucky to have a kitchen with a stove, with running hot and cold water, and with a fridge, whatever size it is.
T and I have had a lot of practice moving (this is our seventh move in eight years), and we have learned that finding and eating food, especially regular meals, can be a difficulty. It has been a particular challenge with this move, for several reasons, some of which are:
#1: We haven't been hungry since getting here. I'm assuming that's a normal part of international travel?
#2: We moved here during Ramadan. One cannot eat nor drink in public during daylight hours, and all businesses are on "Ramadan hours."
#3: We don't speak French or Arabic, and we have yet to meet a merchant who speaks any English.
#4: There is no such thing as a grocery store in Ifrane. There is the marche (oh, shoot...how do I put an accent over that "e"?), and the weekend souk...but there is no one store that a person can walk into and take from the shelves what he or she wants. Those of you in Powell who complain about the selection of groceries and other products...come visit us for a few days. You won't complain anymore!
Another thing to note about moving to another country is that--at least based on my experience--it appears to be marked by serious emotional ups and downs, by incredible successes and devastating failures. Our first major success, after which I was ridiculously ecstatic, was that we managed to get to the marche and buy some basic supplies. Here is a picture of the meager supplies which so excited me:
I immediately experienced a devastating low when I realized we had somehow returned to the apartment without dish soap, which I really thought we had purchased. (Luckily, there is a very nice American woman in the building next door who offered to lend me some. She also went shopping in the souk with T and me, which may be the topic of my next post.)
My big goal for tonight: Make a meal, even if it's just a chickpea and tomato salad. Wish me luck!
Nice first post! What is all that stuff you bought? Nothing is recognizable to me except the toilet paper. Also, about how much did that all cost?
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog JABS!! (I didn't realize that your initials yielded a pronounceable acronym.) Yes, the emotional/ physical ups and downs are a part of adjusting to a new country - and even to the "old country" after an extended absence!
ReplyDeleteI think the small 'fridge has something to do with frequent shopping being a big part of the Moroccan culture. You go to the market, pick the day's groceries, cook and eat. Rinse and repeat. Yup,one of the biggest culture shocks when you leave the USA is the size of items (food portions, appliances, etc.) and selection of grocery items. It's great that there's a helpful American woman next door! Maybe there's a "Billings equivalent" with a larger selection of groceries.
From the photo, it looks as if you guys have purchased some cups of yogurt, a bottle of juice (grape? pomagranate?) and some spices, besides the obvious water and TP. Why water? Can't you just boil the tap water?
I'm curious, how's the shower at your place? Foreign showers are a frequent source of frustration when away from the USA, 'cause they just don't deliver that "skin searing water pressure". (I read that somewhere in a book by an American expat. Right now, I can't remember the source; sorry. I feel ethically bound to use quotation marks when using a borrowed phrase in an English major's blog. :))
Take care and post some more.
Oops, when I signed on to comment as my google profile, my post appeared under my online alias. Anyway, you know who I am. Meow, meow.
ReplyDeleteJessica: Let's see, in that first group of purchases was some olive oil, cleaning products (multipurpose cleaner and bleach, specifically), a scrub brush, some yogurt, honey, salt, and a little produce. Seems random, doesn't it?
ReplyDelete"Citrine": We just haven't gotten used to the kitchen enough to even boil water. I just today got dish soap, so I can now clean the pots and start boiling! Also, yes, the shower is, umm, not so great. When the water pressure is good, the water hits the back wall of the shower and goes onto the floor. Sometimes the water pressure is so low that there is no water. I assumed this was normal.
JABS: As this is a private blog, feel free to use my initials. No one will connect my online alias to incriminating photos of me on the internet, 'cause there aren't any.
ReplyDeleteHope the boiling is only in reference to the water. :) When I first arrived in the USA, I had to learn how to use a microwave, washer & dryer, dishwasher, ATM, US currency, get used to people's accents and way of phrasing things, cars on the other(!) side of the road and a whole lot more. I even tried to pronounce "nuclear" as "nucular", thinking that that was the correct American usage. I thought that the professors who actually taught us Nuclear Physics were saying it the British way, 'cause they grew up in Europe. Remember the story of the foreign student at NWC who knocked on an RA 's door, repeatedly saying "I need sheet". He kept pronouncing the long ee as an "i" sound as the RA continued to direct him towards the men's room. Anyway, this long soliloquy is to belabor the point that acculturation is an extended, often frustrating process. BTW, is "long soliloquy" redundant? Feel free to correct my English. Students comment in my evaluations: "she needs to speak better English".