A Place to Call Home

It's been almost 3 months since I arrived in Morocco, and almost 3 weeks since I arrived in my site. Sometimes, I feel like I just got here: adjusting to a new town, no matter how small, takes time, especially when combined with language and cultural differences on top of it all. In little ways, though, I'm finding ways to become accustomed to my new home and to begin to make a life for myself here.

A lot has happened in the last 3 weeks, perhaps the most monumental being that I moved into my very own Moroccan apartment last week! This is the first time in 4 months that I'm be living away from a family setting (ie. my family at home, then 2 different Moroccan families), and the first time in my entire life that I'm living solely on my own. Sure, I lived away from home for 5 years when I moved away to college, but I've always lived with roommates - not to mention it was always in an area surrounded by people my age with similar interests. Plus, I haven't lived in one place continuously for longer than 9 months since high school; I've always moved around with each school year and traveled/stayed with family during the summers. Given all of this, I was super excited - and honestly quite a bit nervous - about moving into my own place, one that will be mine for my entire 2 years in Morocco.

The volunteer whom I'm replacing left about 2 weeks after I got to site, and that meant that I had the incredibly lucky ability to essentially take over her apartment! She left me all of her furniture, household appliances/supplies, and even some clothes! Most volunteers have to start from scratch, finding an apartment, shopping for all of the furniture and basic necessities, and eventually filling their homes shwiya b shwiya over time. Though I suppose it would have been a fun challenge to do all of that myself, I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to have all of these things taken care of from the start!

I'm planning on changing a few things like the color scheme and basic decorations to make the place feel more like my own, but I though I'd share what my home looks like as of now!

My street - it's a cute, quiet residential neighborhood

Knock knock!

The main hallway

My Moroccan kitchen!

I think the little kitchen table is just too cute!

Bathroom, complete with turkish toilet. But wait, there's more......a shower!! I am able to take a hot shower in the mornings, a blessing I will never take lightly!

Spare room - potentially to house guests in the future? :)

My "courtyard' out back - complete with clothesline.

Side note: washing clothes by hand is HARD WORK!

My living room! Those are Moroccan sofas, called ponjes - they're everywhere!

Look how awesome this archway is!

I got these things decorating my living room table from two women in my community. In a wonderful show of typical Moroccan hospitality, I was invited in for tea and kaskrot (snack time). After a wonderful time, they sent me home with these two beautiful gifts! On the left is a painted tajine lid, and on the right is a small decorated jar of sorts. To top it off, for some reason totally unknown to me, they even apologized for not having better gifts for me! If Moroccan generosity and hospitality has a limit, I have yet to find it!

My bedroom - check out the nice shelves AND hooks!

Built-in closet! Whoop!

There you have it! It's definitely been an adjustment learning to live entirely on my own, particularly after being so close with my previous host family and my fellow volunteer friends. Shwiya b shwiya, though - and with lots and lots of music and a few American movies to keep me company as background noise - I've been getting to know this place as my home. My landlord and his family live in the apartment above mine, and I can always hear them talking, watching TV, or whatever. Plus, his wife, Fatima, and I are always calling out greetings to each other through the courtyard windows: Salam, labas? Kulshi Mzyan? (Hello, are you fine? Everything good?) It gives the feeling of living with a family sometimes, which I'm so grateful for!

Aside from the move, I've been getting to know my community in every way possible - spending time at the Dar Chebab (youth center) and Nedi Neswi (women's center) where I'll be working, going to local events, going for walks and saying hi to everyone, sitting in the park and talking to mothers and their kids, and accepting every invitation to breakfast/lunch/kaskrot/tea that I receive. Once, on a leisurely walk to the park where I intended to sit and read, I stumbled upon the equivalent of a neighborhood block party, with tons of people, music, and lots and lots of cous cous! It just goes to show you that you never know what you may find in Morocco, even when just going for a walk through a small, quiet town like mine.

I've been able to attend a lot of wonderful events in the last few weeks, and have even started working with the women and youth in my community in some small ways to get my feet wet. Stay tuned for a more detailed update on those - and much more, I'm sure - soon!