Patterns, Peacocks and Portraits

Patterns

I am obsessed. I mean OBSESSED with all of the patterns I see here in Morocco. I want to chop up all of the doors and tile work I see and pack it in my suitcase to bring home with me. I have always loved Moroccan design and it is just as stunning... more stunning... in person. There does not seem to be a trend in the design because every pattern I see is extremely unique and different to the next. The photos to the left are taken at the Hassan II tower in Rabat. This is just a small, tiny scratch at the patterns surface here in Morocco.

Peacocks

Moroccan hospitality is definitely no joke. Everything I read about it was surpassed by our visit to the Moroccan countryside into someone’s home. Giant bowls of Friday couscous (best I’ve ever had in my life), mint tea, bowls of fruit, 6 platters of desserts and a cake ensured that we did not leave their home hungry. The owner graciously taught us how to eat couscous with our - what seemed to be - toddler hands. By the time I finally nailed it, I was properly stuffed.

The property was beautiful. We saw bee hives, olive trees and so many kinds of fruit trees. Guinea fowl were running around as we drank our tea on a blanket outside. And the peacocks. Oh my gosh, the beautiful peacocks. I have never had a chance before to observe them for such a long period of time. At the end of the day, they are basically large and extremely beautiful chickens. Similar behavior, they roost at night and make some crazy noises (Slightly, but extremely different). The one very amazing behavior that is different is when a peacock shows is courting. Shaking their tail feathers for the peahens -- and sometimes their roosters by mistake! An amazing sight to see.

Portraits

The word portraits summarizes our first experience at a Moroccan school. And in the best possible way. Ecstatic, excited big smiley portraits. As the bus rolled in from

Rabat to Casablanca, we were welcomed by students in traditional attire offering figs and milk. Promptly we were whisked away into a poster presentation session. Students had been working hard on various subjects about Morocco to their American visitors. Topics ranged widely from the Sahara to traditional attire to the Chemistry of Love. After viewing a few posters, I had a surreal moment. We noticed a wall with drawn portraits and they looked eerily familiar. “Wait, that looks so much like Abby” I heard someone say. The reality began to sink in that this student had hand drawing every single one of our portraits as a surprise to us. It was the most thoughtful and endearing gesture.

Now, the other reason for the word portraits? Not so much portraits, but selfies. SO MANY SELFIES. As we settled in with the students, the requests slowly emerged which fueled a full on selfie session. Each student wanted a selfie with each of us. Let’s do the math… 14 teachers and approximately 40 students. 560 selfies. That sounds about accurate. But really it’s probably 560 times three because of each angle that needed to be taken (students are fans of the angled selfie). Seeing morocco as been wonderful, but getting into a school felt amazing – where we all belong. As we slipped into our comfortable teacher mode, students opened up. Students were GENUINELY interested in us as guests. They practiced their impressive English skills with us and we practiced our very limited Arabic skills with them. It was a very overwhelming experience to have your photo requested and taken over and over. From my understanding though… this may be the norm as we enter our host schools.

Get ready to glue that smile on your face, Lindsey!