Salaam
Door: Demi dawn
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Demi
06 Februari 2016 | Marokko, Rabat
Salaam Alaikum! (Hello)
So I have already been here more than one week and as always: time flies!
Last week has just been full of impressions and I've spent most of the time at the Embassy. In general, the work is interesting and the people are very kind. I will not disclose too much about it on here but if you have any questions, you can contact me personally. For now I've just spent my time getting my French up to date and learning to make phone calls in French.
I have spent last week getting to know my colleagues but also other interns from other embassies and just broadening my horizon. Cornelia has been a huge help so far and I really really appreciate all the trips we take because it helps me get accustomed to the environment here! It's nice not being alone in a foreign country and I feel like I'm blessed by not having to figure everything out all alone.
It is extremely hard to put into words how my experiences here have been so far, so I've decided to just point out the things that I have found 'interesting' about Morocco, so far!
1) Sugar. Oh My God. I love sugar but the amount of sugar that gets thrown into pastries and drinks is even too much for me. I'm used to certain things being sugary but when it comes to fresh juices or tea, I like to not add sugar to it. Here, however, that is the standard and I keep forgetting to ask for “sans sucre” so my mint teas and strawberry juices are exceptionally sweet to the extent that I don't finish them all the time. However, what I find more perculiar is the fact that even with automatic coffee machines, the standard setting is “with sugar” so if you want coffee, for example, you need to first select “sans sucre” because otherwise, sugar will be automatically added. One time I pressed for a latte but the machine had run out of espresso so I just got warm milk and since I forgot to press “sans sucre” I ended up with warm milk with sugar – Not my thing. Also, at work, if I press “sans sucre” and then just tea, it still has so much sugar in it that I don't want to know what the setting avec sucre tastes like. Somebody told me that when you get tested for diabetes in the Netherlands, one of the questions is whether you are from Moroccon descent and I am kind of starting to get why: the sugar level is extremely high here.
2) Taxi's. The phenomenon taxi's is very amusing to me. I've made use of them more often than I've walked so far and I find it very interesting. First of all, let me clarify by saying that taxi's are not very expensive here. It's very affordable and typically around 10 dirham (1 euro) for me to go to work. However, what I find very amusing is the fact that the price differs every time. The first day I went to work, it cost me 8 dirham. I have also had it happen that it costs 15 dirham (which is really almost twice as much). I am starting to feel more familiar with the city now so I can now kind of explain to the taxi drivers what route I'd like them to take but sometimes (especially at night) there is so much traffic that it really does not matter. In the mornings there is less traffic so it's cheaper but the taxi's from the embassy to home are typically more expensive. Second, it's normal for taxi's here to pick up people from the road while there is already a passenger, which is something I had to get used to. I thought that once I had a taxi, it'd be “mine” but it has occurred several times that on the way, somebody else gets in as well. As long as it's less than 6 people, taxi's pick up people from everywhere, it's kind of funny!
3) Relationships. When I left, my mother made me promise her that I would not end up falling in love with a Moroccan guy (kind of impossible since I have a boyfriend) but it is insane how many Dutch people I've met who have a Moroccan partner and how many Moroccan people I've met who have a Dutch partner. Apparently this is a thing that I was never aware of and I think it's very interesting how apparently people from these two countries end up getting together.
4) The Arab language. Aside from learning French, I am also learning Arab through Cornelia who is extremely kind to teach me. So far I've come to about 15-20 words (it goes quite fast!) but the three words I hear All. The. Time. Are: 1) Incha'allah (if god allows it). 2) Marsha'allah (how god wants it) and 3) Alhamdulillah (praise be to god). But the way it's said it makes me feel like it almost has the same meaning as the word “okay”. But of course, I could be wrong and I enjoy learning it.
5) The street life. Just like in South Europe, life is being lived on the streets rather than inside houses. Everywhere you go, there are people. Of course by now I have been addressed several times but my strategy is just to ignore people (especially if they go "you are so beautiful" or "come here" it's a no-go). However, within my neighbourhood, I'm starting to understand who to talk to and who to just ignore. I typically do not pay any attention to my surroundings and as I expected, it is quite the blessing here. I've had it happen several times that Cornelia and I walked down the streets and some guy would say something to us and I would just not even realize. It's partially the fact that I'm not paying attention to my surrounding but it's also the choice I make to shut myself off from that. The way I see it, there are three options: 1) they address me in Arabic which I won't understand. 2) They address me in French which I, most likely, will not understand. 3) They address me in English and in that case I probably don't want to understand it so most of the time I ignore it. Other than being called beautiful and having been blessed several times (why thank you), nothing weird has happened and I actually think it's kind of hilarious that people spend time and effort into sending me positive messages. (Even if half the time I ignore them). It's also nice to be able to respond in French or Arab, especially if there are beggars, because you do notice a difference in the way they talk to you once they realize you're from here. Even if it's only been one week, I'll fake it 'til I make it!
Anyway, that's it for now. Just know I'm safe and well and I hope you all are, too!
xx
So I have already been here more than one week and as always: time flies!
Last week has just been full of impressions and I've spent most of the time at the Embassy. In general, the work is interesting and the people are very kind. I will not disclose too much about it on here but if you have any questions, you can contact me personally. For now I've just spent my time getting my French up to date and learning to make phone calls in French.
I have spent last week getting to know my colleagues but also other interns from other embassies and just broadening my horizon. Cornelia has been a huge help so far and I really really appreciate all the trips we take because it helps me get accustomed to the environment here! It's nice not being alone in a foreign country and I feel like I'm blessed by not having to figure everything out all alone.
It is extremely hard to put into words how my experiences here have been so far, so I've decided to just point out the things that I have found 'interesting' about Morocco, so far!
1) Sugar. Oh My God. I love sugar but the amount of sugar that gets thrown into pastries and drinks is even too much for me. I'm used to certain things being sugary but when it comes to fresh juices or tea, I like to not add sugar to it. Here, however, that is the standard and I keep forgetting to ask for “sans sucre” so my mint teas and strawberry juices are exceptionally sweet to the extent that I don't finish them all the time. However, what I find more perculiar is the fact that even with automatic coffee machines, the standard setting is “with sugar” so if you want coffee, for example, you need to first select “sans sucre” because otherwise, sugar will be automatically added. One time I pressed for a latte but the machine had run out of espresso so I just got warm milk and since I forgot to press “sans sucre” I ended up with warm milk with sugar – Not my thing. Also, at work, if I press “sans sucre” and then just tea, it still has so much sugar in it that I don't want to know what the setting avec sucre tastes like. Somebody told me that when you get tested for diabetes in the Netherlands, one of the questions is whether you are from Moroccon descent and I am kind of starting to get why: the sugar level is extremely high here.
2) Taxi's. The phenomenon taxi's is very amusing to me. I've made use of them more often than I've walked so far and I find it very interesting. First of all, let me clarify by saying that taxi's are not very expensive here. It's very affordable and typically around 10 dirham (1 euro) for me to go to work. However, what I find very amusing is the fact that the price differs every time. The first day I went to work, it cost me 8 dirham. I have also had it happen that it costs 15 dirham (which is really almost twice as much). I am starting to feel more familiar with the city now so I can now kind of explain to the taxi drivers what route I'd like them to take but sometimes (especially at night) there is so much traffic that it really does not matter. In the mornings there is less traffic so it's cheaper but the taxi's from the embassy to home are typically more expensive. Second, it's normal for taxi's here to pick up people from the road while there is already a passenger, which is something I had to get used to. I thought that once I had a taxi, it'd be “mine” but it has occurred several times that on the way, somebody else gets in as well. As long as it's less than 6 people, taxi's pick up people from everywhere, it's kind of funny!
3) Relationships. When I left, my mother made me promise her that I would not end up falling in love with a Moroccan guy (kind of impossible since I have a boyfriend) but it is insane how many Dutch people I've met who have a Moroccan partner and how many Moroccan people I've met who have a Dutch partner. Apparently this is a thing that I was never aware of and I think it's very interesting how apparently people from these two countries end up getting together.
4) The Arab language. Aside from learning French, I am also learning Arab through Cornelia who is extremely kind to teach me. So far I've come to about 15-20 words (it goes quite fast!) but the three words I hear All. The. Time. Are: 1) Incha'allah (if god allows it). 2) Marsha'allah (how god wants it) and 3) Alhamdulillah (praise be to god). But the way it's said it makes me feel like it almost has the same meaning as the word “okay”. But of course, I could be wrong and I enjoy learning it.
5) The street life. Just like in South Europe, life is being lived on the streets rather than inside houses. Everywhere you go, there are people. Of course by now I have been addressed several times but my strategy is just to ignore people (especially if they go "you are so beautiful" or "come here" it's a no-go). However, within my neighbourhood, I'm starting to understand who to talk to and who to just ignore. I typically do not pay any attention to my surroundings and as I expected, it is quite the blessing here. I've had it happen several times that Cornelia and I walked down the streets and some guy would say something to us and I would just not even realize. It's partially the fact that I'm not paying attention to my surrounding but it's also the choice I make to shut myself off from that. The way I see it, there are three options: 1) they address me in Arabic which I won't understand. 2) They address me in French which I, most likely, will not understand. 3) They address me in English and in that case I probably don't want to understand it so most of the time I ignore it. Other than being called beautiful and having been blessed several times (why thank you), nothing weird has happened and I actually think it's kind of hilarious that people spend time and effort into sending me positive messages. (Even if half the time I ignore them). It's also nice to be able to respond in French or Arab, especially if there are beggars, because you do notice a difference in the way they talk to you once they realize you're from here. Even if it's only been one week, I'll fake it 'til I make it!
Anyway, that's it for now. Just know I'm safe and well and I hope you all are, too!
xx
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
