Day started off normal- breakfast at 9am, class at 10am, started making lunch at 1pm. It wasn’t until 2pm rolled by, finally sitting down to eat, that I suddenly remembered I had scheduled a meeting for 4pm. Like I usually do, I started panicking about time and figured I should leave for my meeting 40 minutes earlier. But to my relief, the person I was meeting, Souad, had emailed me to push back the meeting for 5:30pm. Taking “advantage” of this situation, I decided to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and just go on my phone. Dumb decision. It wasn’t until 4pm that I realized I have not charged my phone and haven’t even looked up the address for the cafe that we were supposed to meet up at! I ran to Ketaki, because previously we talked about going to the meeting together, however after reading her body language I suggested that she didn’t have to come with me if she didn’t want to. To my recognition, she said she would rather not go, which was I was fine with, however I would’ve rather her come with me. I figured this was my time to finally be “alone” in the city. One problem though; I had NO IDEA where I was going!
I would consider myself pretty good with directions, but the ONE TIME I needed to look up an address, the Wi-Fi decided not to work at my residence. As the time approached, I started panicking and emailed everyone I could possibly email for help with directions, even asking the kind ladies at the front desk. As soon as my phone dinged with a text message, I was ecstatic to get directions from Mr. Brahimi, although vague, I had trust that I would figure it out.
Getting closer to the time of the meeting, I rushed to the tram station. I figured I would just weave around the streets to try and find the cafe Giovanni, that did not exist according to Google. Once I heard the speakers say my stop, I left the tram and just walked straight. It wasn’t until I heard my name that I turned around, and to my astonishment saw my friend NourSadate. Being the emotional person I am, I almost started crying with relief that I could finally ask someone for directions. My meeting was with the wife of the director who coordinated a conference with NourSadate, so it was almost perfect that I saw him. He knew exactly where the cafe was, and even said the director told him that he also would be at that exact cafe!
Once I walked in, I was welcomed by a beautiful environment and a worried lady, who I presumed to be Souad.
“You found the place alright?”, she asked to which I responded by a light chuckle. I thanked NourSadate and he promptly left, to which I was again left alone. The meeting began with her teasing that I thought she was male, in reference to my email heading to which I said “Mr.” instead of “Mrs.”. That simple joke made me relax and calm down that she was also probably nervous to meet someone she has never met before. I loved every second of our get-together, and learned that Souad was living the life that I dreamed about; having a professional title, but using her spare time saving animals. I gave her an overview of my research topic, emphasizing that I would like to focus on either cows or cats and how they are viewed by Moroccans. Souad was excited about my topic, however she gave me a slap of reality. She believed that it would be easier to make a difference with researching cats, rather than cows, due to the reality that cows are usually just seen as food, versus the ideas of pets. She emphasized how cats changed her life for the better, and how she felt that it was her social obligation to protect them. Understanding what she has done, and what could possibly happen in the future, I was inspired by her passion and felt her pain when she emphasized change in Morocco.
Leaving the meeting, I was on a “natural high”. I was so happy, having a better idea on what my topic is now and how I met someone so sweet as Souad (she even payed for my tea (‘: !!) I was practically skipping with glee towards the tram stop. I quickly texted Laura, telling her that I was safe, how well the meeting went, and that I would be coming back soon. Arriving back to the residence, I ran to my charger and plugged my 2% phone in. I walked over to Laura’s room, and gave her a quick overview of how the meeting went. She responded if I wanted to go to the Kassba to meet up with some friends we have made, here in Morocco. Still gleaming with joy, I agreed and we were off!
As we hopped off the tram to the entrance of the Medina, we entered hoping we would figure out where we are going. It wasn’t until it started getting dark, and we were walking towards the end of the end of the Medina with less lighting that I remembered I had data on my phone, that I purchased as I was freaking out over the limited Wi-Fi at the residence. As google maps popped up on my phone, we found out we were completely off from where we thought we were and had to turn around and go ALL the way back. With the diminishing light and people, we were doing what IES specifically told us not to do, travel late at night in an unknown location. Even with all the cat calls and looks, nothing could make me upset, because I was still happy from the meeting. Luckily we both had each other to laugh with, however it kind of felt like going through a haunted house with people jumping out to try and scare you, but you know that they can’t hurt you and instead of jumping out, men just scream out “My pee-pee loves you”.
After a 15 minute detour, we finally arrived to our destination. We entered our friend Moniers house and at this time I’m thinking about their idea of home decor. As soon as the door opened, we were welcomed by a steep set of stairs and to a comfy “hangout” room. After talking and hanging out, Monier suggests we go up to the roof. Being already dark at night, I was anticipating what the view would look like. My mouth was ajar for the first 5 minutes, just looking at his view of the ocean and all the city lights(view above). I tried taking a photo, but it did not do it justice to how it looked like in person. We continued talking, having Monier and his friend Karim teach us some Darija words as we mutually corrected their English grammar; a win-win. As it started getting late, we told them that we would be heading out, to which they responded that they would walk us out. This reinforced the idea in my head that men are more chivalrous to women outside of America. They helped us grab a taxi, since the trams stop working after 10pm, and I am proud to say that during my stay here, I was able to make friends with someone, so much so they invited me over their house.
Since religion is such a strong characteristic in Morocco, I was flabbergasted when I discovered bars nearby our residence. Intrigued, I figured since it was a Friday night, I should try it out and see how “discrete” these bars are. The entrance of the bar had a “bouncer”, that ironically just opened the door for us. I would assume his job is too make sure no one was too drunk to leave or enter the place that would make a scene. As we entered, the aroma of the place quickly entered my nose and my eyes adjusted to the smoke of tobacco. We sat down and embraced the live music that was playing. The guy that was sitting next to me, caught my eye because he was the only guy slying dancing. Trying out my Darija, I asked what his and his friends name were and they responded with Youness and Aaisa, respectively. To my relief, Youness spoke English and was very proficient, despite him saying that he wasn’t “good”. We spent the night getting to know each other and asking questions about life in Morocco and America.
Taking about politics was one of the “no-no” subjects Professor Brahimi told us not to bring up when talking to Moroccans. However, after befriending Youness, I was very curious to know his opinion. To my astonishment, he declared how awful the monarchy was and how he can’t wait to leave. Growing up in a country where I am not exposed to the system of the monarchy, I was very interested in hearing what he had to say his personal struggle was to it. I asked if he votes, and laughed when he responded no. Growing up in the era of politics in America where it is crucial to vote in order for your voice to be heard, I was in disbelief when he said he didn’t vote.
As the time creeped up to be 1:30, the bar’s closing time, people started dispersing out. We said our goodbyes to the new friends we met and went our separate ways. I was really glad I decided to go out, and was extremely lucky to have met someone as chill as Youness and Aaisa were. I can confidently say, we got the true Moroccan hospitality and kindness that I was awaiting to get.