A Sort of Literary Venn Diagram

Our adventures have taken us from the Levant and into the Maghreb. Alex and I are now as settled as we can be in Fez, Morocco and are beginning to enjoy the Moroccan culture. If you can call my adaptation to the Lebanese way of living culture shock, then Morocco has turned my world upside down. Moving from one country, with its own set of customs and way of life, to one so different has been quite the experience and kind of fun…so let me give you my detailed comparison of life in Beirut with my observations of life in Fez.

Unlike the Western-mimicking city of Beirut, Fez does not have a large community of English speakers. In fact it is hard to find anyone who can communicate, even on a very elementary scale, with me in English. Alex is a real godsend on this trip, because everyone here speaks French (and Alex really paid attention in his French courses). The Lebanese colloquial I studied in Beirut is also not helping me, as the Moroccan dialect is much different.

Everyday, however, I am learning small similarities between the two dialects of Arabic. For example, instead of putting a “b” in front of every verb, Moroccans put a “k”. So “bashrub” for “I drink” in Lebanese becomes “kashrub” in Morocco. Or so I am told.

The overwhelming language barrier, however, is making everyday life extremely difficult. In Lebanon if someone did not speak English very well, they could easily find another in the immediate vicinity who could translate. Here, that luxury does not exist. Fortunately the names for fruits and vegetables are the same in Lebanese and Moroccan Arabic and I can at least grocery shop on my own.

Although Fez has much of the same elements as Lebanese suburbs, or even American suburbs, much of their native culture still exists. They dress and behave very North African-ish (quoted by THE Alex himself). Men and women alike all dress in Jelabas. This is a long robe, covering the ankles, which is usually made of cotton and has long sleeves. The men’s robes have hoods, whereas women have the option as most of them already accessorize with a hijab, or head scarf.

Although not everyone wears the Jelaba, I would say about 95% of the population in Fez rocks the Jelaba. I’ve seen fifteen year old girls skipping around in pink Jelabas, and 80 year old men shuffling around with their pointed hoods up. They wear them to work, to shop in, to go out in, and probably to bed – although my last hypothesis is not yet confirmed.

The remaining 5% are part of the younger population who are perhaps getting tired of the monotony of the Jelaba. But then again, everyday there may be a consistent 5% that usually wear the Jelaba but just want to be daring and switch it up.

In any case, this is the extreme opposite of the flashy and skimpy clothing Lebanese women love to clad themselves in. If you choose any random closet of a Lebanese woman, you would probably find no less than ten shirts with animal prints and sparkling sequins. Every shirt and pair of pants would probably be at least one size too small, and the shoes with ridiculously high heels. And those who wore observed the Muslim tradition of the hijab usually sported the same kind of wardrobe, with just a bit more covered up.

As for their daily schedules, all of Fez shuts down between the hours of noon to three. This is for none other than their daily lunch rituals. Even the center where we take Arabic courses officially shuts down. We can meander in and out of the garden or building, but there are virtually no employees to help a disoriented student.

I am not sure how this aspect of their culture came about, but it is really inefficient in my opinion. There is no way to conduct business during these hours. And that is a huge chunk of the work day. Just ask Alex, who is constantly trying to get ahold of big Moroccan figures during the day for his interviews…and who always seem to be on their lunch break.

Speaking of lunches, Moroccan food, which is quite tasty, is also very limited in variety. Dish number 1: Couscous with either vegetables, chicken or beef. Dish number 2: Tagine with vegetables or meat (tagine refers to the bowl it is cooked and served in). Dish number 3: Shish kebabs of vegetables or meat. And these dishes usually served with either a Moroccan salad or soup.

Thus far I have had pretty decent experiences with the food, but the day that I exhaust all the possible variations of the dishes is very near. And one can eat only so much couscous and tagine before they hate it. So what do I do then? There are only a few restaurants that serve other kinds of food, and the nearest one to us is McDonalds. And as an American used to McDonald’s dollar menu, I am not about to spend the outrageous prices of McDonald’s here, because then I can’t even enjoy the money I’m saving on a meal while simultaneously taking years off my life. If I have to pay a lot of do damage to my body, it’s just not worth it. A Big Mac here is like four bucks, and that is unacceptable.

As much as Alex tries to persuade me that he will not miss Lebanese food, I know he is already putting his foot in his mouth. I was rather pleased by Lebanese cuisine, and now I would give anything to have their variety and flavor. Beirut also had a nice array of restaurants, with everything from Middle Eastern and European to Japanese.

More upsetting was my run-in with an older man on my first attempt to jog in a residential area. Fully covered in black sweat pants and a black long sleeved hoodie, I was jogging on a fairly empty street when I was verbally harassed by a man walking past, on the opposite side of the street no less. I am not quite sure what he was yelling, but I heard “haram,” which refers to that which is prohibited under Islamic Law.

Now I was used to the occasional awkward stares of soldiers toting huge guns, and catcalls from the local Lebanese men, but nothing prepared me for the Moroccan man’s blatant disapproval of me jogging. I may have continued if it was not for the numerous honks from cars passing by on the street, or the woman who made no attempt to do her staring discreetly. So five minutes into the run, I was done.

I spoke to Alex about it that night because it really bothered me. At least in Lebanon I could partake in my Western habits, even if the Lebanese didn’t do or understand them. Alex, who is on his second visit to the Maghreb, said the Moroccans are much more closed-minded than their Levantine neighbors. Of course, being the respectful visitor that I am, I will probably not do any jogging in and around my apartment…maybe I’ll look for a nice gym to join.

Morocco, however, has its beauty as well. It is about 68 times the size of Lebanon, which is only a little over 4,000 sq miles. On our trips in and around Lebanon it took only a couple of hours to get anywhere. To travel from Beirut to Damascus it was three hours. To travel from the north of Lebanon to the South was no more than one hour and 45 minutes. In complete contrast, it took us four hours to travel from the airport in Casablanca, Morocco to Fez. And that spans only a fraction of the country.

This weekend we took a trip up to a small mountainous village, called Chefchaouen, and the travel time was a little over four hours by bus. The travel time did not, however, affect my overall enjoyment of the trip. It may have, in fact, heightened it. We mostly traveled through the countryside, and it was one of the most beautiful regions I have traveled through.

Alex had taken the trip to Chefchaouen three years ago, and swore that he didn’t remember it being so green and lush. I may be wrong, but it was probably because he last visited during the hottest and driest months of the year.

This time, however, it was one green mountain after another. With fields of orange trees and wide, still lakes scattered throughout the valleys. We passed countless fields, where young children were herding sheep or helping out in the fields. Women carried small stacks of hay on their backs up the road, and older sheepherders could be seen taking an afternoon nap under the sun while their sheep grazed. Everything about the scenery was relaxing and beautiful.

The village, Chefchaouen, was a sight itself. We made our way through the medina, in and out of a maze of alleyways lined with shops filled with trinkets and textiles from Spain to Mauritania. In the center there was a cobblestone square, surrounded by little cafes and restaurants. There were American tourists, a lot of Spanish backpackers, and other tourists from around the world. Refreshingly, the menus at most of the restaurants included seafood and burgers.

Today, we took a trip organized by the ALIF institution we are studying Arabic at and toured the Volubilis Roman ruins, which had the most beautiful mosaics floors that were surprisingly preserved. Of course I will post the pictures as soon as possible.

We also visited the city of Meknes, where there is another American center for students wanting to learn Arabic. We were able to jaunt around the medina, but after spending a lot of time in Fez we weren’t so impressed. It was a bit more touristy and all the shops in the souks looked as though they had imported all their goods from China. Fez’s medina kadima (old city) is filled with very Moroccan textiles, paintings, trinkets, rugs and leather goods. And most of it is made in the city or from surrounding areas.

Anyway, to wrap up my comparison of Beirut to Fez…I am pretty content here. Other factors that I should mention are that Alex and I are rooming with three other students studying at ALIF. That is quite different than our living situation in Beirut, where we had a furnished apartment to ourselves, with daily maid service. Now we are re-accustoming ourselves to doing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom, living with other people, and having to buy and hook up our own butane tanks to heat water and use the stove.

I wouldn’t exchange my experiences in Lebanon for anything, and I am already quite fond of Morocco. The most exciting part, of course, is the intensive language courses I am enrolled in. Everyday I have four hours of classes, and in all my spare time I am studying. One of my professors thinks I have a future in the Arabic language, and I am learning so much so fast. It’s such a great experience and I would recommend this program to anyone wanting to study Modern Standard Arabic, or even just wanting to travel.