Shopping (of all varieties!)

It turns out that everything we need here, we need to shop for. Shocking! I know. But shopping in Morocco is pretty different than back home (as well as the "stores")

Daily things:
For most things we need, we go to our closest Hanut (Ha-noot). It's like a convenience store, but different. The one closest to our house is run by the family that lives across from it, and is frequently manned by the dad, the grandpa (I think), or one of the daughters. They have basically anything we need, from soaps to Laughing Cow to fresh bread (it's still warm when we buy it in the morning) to canned tomatoes.  One of the interesting things about Hanuts is the vast number of them. We have that one right next door to our house, but then if you walk just two minutes to the main street, there are four within immediate eye sight. They all sell mostly the same stuff, but with a few variations (some will have the Red Ball cheese while others don't, some will have my favorite brand of chocolate chip cookie while others don't, etc). And if you walk up to one and need something they don't have, they'll generally tell you which other one to go to in order to get it.  Hanuts are also price regulated, so there isn't really an issue of bargaining.

Souk:
This will definitely be worth it's own post later, once we get to go to the massive one for our region (coming next Sunday!). Because Taounate is so big, we do have a decent variety of souk alternatives, though.

On Mondays and Thursdays, there's a mini-souk right near where our host-family lives. It has all the produce options that we would need, as well as spices, home goods (You need a cheese grater? This souk has 'em. You need a blender? Not this one.), and a few meat options. One of the fun things about souk is that the prices are completely open to bargaining. We've seen it done, we've been with people who do it, and we've thought about doing it, but we're still working on our technique.

There's also a daily marche in the downtown part of our city that kind of feels like a souk, but more structured.

Clothes and Household Items:
This is the fun part. One might assume that things like mattresses or refrigerators would be a set price, but they're not. The stores for these sorts of objects are all generally really close to each other (at least in our city - that might not be true everywhere), and it's all a game. While shopping for our big ticket items, we were lucky to have our host-cousin with us to take care of the bargaining, because we're clearly still too new for that. The prices are all generally laid out on the table once you ask (price tags? Of course not!), then if you like an item enough and it's close to your ideal price, you start asking about bringing it down. Anass (cousin) is a champion at this. Not only did he find us the stores with the products we liked and wanted, he got them down to a reasonable price and got the owner to deliver. What a guy.

Clothes are the same way. Our only experience in this was jellaba shopping, and we managed to get lower prices 2/3 times. Slowly but surely we're learning that the key here isn't necessarily to have amazing/speedy language skills, but to be willing to walk away if you aren't 100% on the price. Also, if a store owner isn't willing to work with you a little, just go somewhere else, they'll probably have the same thing.

(You can also buy track suits!)

Poultry:
Could this have gone under Souk? Probably. But this is our most recent experience and also just a very interesting one.

Today, we decided to buy some chicken. We had asked around about ground beef prices and decided to wait for another day, but chicken is generally cheap enough. For this one, we decided to ask Anass about chicken prices (just so we would know if we should try bargaining or not), and he came with us, which was very helpful.
There's a little part of the daily marche that usually sounds like a million chickens are just hanging out, and (not surprisingly) it turns out that that's where you go to get dinner. We walked up to a little chicken Hanut, and learned that today's price for a whole chicken was 30 MAD. Alright, cool, we could work with that. (We do have a freezer in our new fridge! And we're looking to make some chicken stock later anyways, so perfect.) After agreeing to the price, the owner ('mul' in Darija) walks back and grabs a fluffy little lady and brings her up. I won't go into the details here, but barely 5 minutes later, we left with a full chicken (sans feathers or inside bits), that had already been butchered for us. That's it. About 5 minutes and 30 MAD for an outstandingly fresh chicken.

Overall, shopping is pretty fun. The owners are generally impressed with the Darija we try to speak, and if they know any English, they try it on us, too.
Some other prices, if anyone is interested:

Giant bushel of fresh mint: 1.5 Dirham (1 D if you get an older bunch)
Bananas: 15 D/kilo
Ground beef: 80 D/kilo
Round of 8 Laughing Cow Wedges: 10.5 D
Fresh bread: 2 D/disc
Garlic: 1 D/head (but they're pretty small)
Onions (Red): 3 D/kilo
Avocados: 40 D/kilo
Lemons: 10 D/kilo
Ground black pepper: 5 D/approx. a half cup

You get the idea.

Integrating?

One of our goals as Peace Corps Volunteers is to integrate in to our community. That means something different to every volunteer and in every site, so we're still figuring it out here. 

However, one thing that feels like a step in the right direction is our blossoming relationship with the guy who makes good sandwiches outside of his butcher shop. 

Our host-cousin, Anass (who also happens to be one of the most helpful people in the world) walked us by one day for a quick snack. 

It turns out that for just 7 MAD (less tha $1), you can get this gorgeous behemoth of a sandwich. It's half a loaf/disc of bread, cut open and stuffed with ground beef and sautéed onions in a glorious combination of spices and seasoning. 

We've now been there three times in three days, and I see no need to break the streak any time soon.  

Coming soon: posts about a new house and a new pet!

Fret no more! You can now send us things!

BP # 112
Al Barid Bank
Taounate PPAL
34000 TAOUNATE
Maroc

Sites in Rabat

We finally have a rainy day in Rabat, so I have a chance to write about the sites we've had an opportunity to see while we're here on our medical delay. 

Our first hotel was right across the street from Parliament. While we couldn't go in, it's still a gorgeous building. We also heard (during a security briefing) that all sorts of protests go on right in this area, and we have seen a few now. 

We then (I say then- this is really in no particular order) made our way through the Old Medina en route to a few other places. The Medina here is wonderful. It's much smaller than the one in Fes, and there are significantly less tourists, so no one was hassling us into buying anything. It's also got wider lanes and more distinguished sections (go straight for food, go right for clothes, etc). We've eaten in there a number of times now and will continue to do so on Rabat trips. 

(Okay so I apparently forgot to take pictures of the more bustling part. But you get the idea.)

This is one of the outside walls of the Old Medina, but it's also a way to show that the tram system is above ground. Portland- we miss you!

After looking up what a Kasbah was, we decided to walk through the one here. It might be the most beautiful part of the city, honestly. It's up on a cliff, jutting out over the confluence of the river and the Atlantic, and it's all sorts of majestic. It used to be partially a fortress, but now it's pretty residential and touristy. There are big gardens, a couple tea shops, places to buy crafts and legit Argan oil, beautifully painted walls, and overlook points along the back. 

It would have been silly to go to the Kasbah without stopping by the beach, and what else are two red heads to do on a sunny day. The water was surprisingly warm (not enough to go swimming, but I could still feel my feet after walking in it for 10 minutes sooo....). And! Because it's still not considered beach or tourist season here, it was pretty empty and easy to find a really good spot for sitting. The Pacific might be the prettiest ocean, but the Atlantic seems the most friendly (at the beach).

(If you look closely, you can see the sun laughing at our spf 50)

We also had an opportunity to visit the Old Medina of Salé. I'm not sure of all the history here, but Rabat and Salé were two cities for a long time, then became one, and now there are two medinas. The medina was also great. We didn't see as much of it, but we liked what we saw. Including, but not limited to, these strawberries that go around around 10 dhs a kilo (or roughly $1.10 for 2.2 lbs). 

As it turns out, Morocco is covered in all sorts of Ancient ruins that are still in great shape. Conveniently, there are some right near downtown Rabat. The Ruins of Chellah- look them up! They have a really cool history that I am not knowledgable enough on to repeat. 

The grounds include an old cemetery, a number of big gardens, a really old mosque, a school, a bath house, and a ton of other stuff. And what might be the best part is that you can walk in and around the whole place! There are very few sections roped off from the public, and the rest is free reign. Are you, too, thinking ACK won't stupid people break them?!?! Nope. Good architecture lasts, man. I would also be remiss to not mention the huge storks that are nesting all over the tops of the buildings. They're huge. In other cities, they're usually just on cell phone towers and the tops of mosques, but they seem to run Chellah. 

Ther Mohammed V Museum of Modern Art reopened just before we got here, so we decided to check it out. It's a gorgeous building with an impressive collection. 

Potentially the most well-known sites in Rabat are the Tour Hassan and the Mausoleum Mohammed V. The Tour (giant tower) is currently undergoing renovations, so it just looked a lot like the Washington Monument did for the last year. We're excited to come see it later during our service. There's also a big plaza and the mausoleum, which are both phenomenal. We've seen the mausoleum on the news a number of times when foreign dignitaries visit Rabat and pay their respects to the past kings. The building is only open to the public occasionally, so we consider ourselves very lucky for getting to see the inside. 

Architecture nerds out there: here's your moment. 

And finally, our glorious Peace Corps Morocco headquarters. Not only is the compound ready to handle all of our lives (I think there are around 225 volunteers in country right now), but Morocco is also the hub for the region (the whole Middle East/North Africa region, which is just Morocco currently, as well as most of the rest of the African countries) for all of the important stuff (medical, safety and security, etc). We also happen to have a gorgeous compound, and a library significantly larger than expected. 

And here's just the travel section of the library:

It's a big deal. 

Alright. While Rabat has been great, we're stoked to finally head off to site on Friday afternoon!

Obligatory food post from Rabat.

Just got the final word - we'll finally be out of here and heading to our new home on Friday!

But until then, we've been taking full advantage of Rabat and how glorious of a city it is.

As anyone who knows us knows, food is a top priority. After two and a half months of the best Moroccan food in Morocco (read: home cooking by our Host Mom and Sister), we decided  to venture out into foods from other parts of the world for a while. Our next Host Mom is a cook for big events in town too, so it just seems silly to try and compete with their magic.

Surprising fact: pizza is everywhere here. It's 15 Dirham (like $1.50) for a little personal pizza, freshly made right in front of you, with all sorts of toppings. What a delight.

We've also ventured into other genres, while the cheap pizza is the best for our budget.

Chinese food: okay it's fine, and the sweet and sour chicken was the right neon color, but not the best ever.

Sushi: We're near the ocean, so sushi was less terrifying than it initially seemed. It was really good! There are a few sushi places here, but the one we found was in a neighborhood with a big public square and lots of little shops and cafes; definitely worth going back to.

Syrian food: there's a restaurant that the Peace Corps staff go to here (and by default, all of the Volunteers are learning about it now), and it has hummus (which we didn't realize we hadn't had since getting here), and falafel and all the other goods. We also happened upon a little food stand/store front situation in the Old Medina. It seems to to two dudes in a tiny little 4 foot by 6 foot kitchen area that make hummus and falafel for very cheap - and it's perfect! They arrange each dish of hummus so the veggies look perfect and symmetrical and they hand roll out the little falafel guys and fry them fresh. Ugh. Now I want to go get some...

French: You can really notice the French influence in the food around town. We found a restaurant in our guide book that said it catered to ex-pats and carried pork products, so we decided to go for it. It was cute little crepes and open-faced sandwiches and salads galore. Plus pork - life bonus.

And then there are a million cafes with "juice" (see earlier post for why there are quotes there), European influenced coffee and Moroccan tea (which we can now successfully order in Arabic and we don't have to repeat ourselves then revert to French or English), gelato, chwarma, paninis, and little tajines.

All in all, Rabat is a good town for those of us who like eating.

More pictures from our swearing in ceremony

Medical work

As mentioned in the earlier post, we're staying in Rabat for about an extra week. I figure this is a good chance to explain the amazing medical team with Peace Corps. 

About 6 weeks ago, I (Alexis) rolled my ankle. It hurt but I assumed it was just a normal sprain. Right before swearing in, we got an email asking if anyone wanted an appointment with the Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO). Since my ankle still hurt and kept swelling, I decided to go for it. After getting an x-Ray and going to the Orthopedist, it turns out I cracked a bone in my ankle. It's still mostly functional- I've been walking on it this whole time. But if I had gone in right when it happened, I would have needed a cast. 

At this point, it's already started healing, so no cast needed. I have to wear a funky brace for four weeks, and I need 10 sessions of physical therapy, which is why I need to stay in Rabat. 

You might now be at the point where you're wondering why Toby gets to hang out here for an extra week if my ankle is sore to usable. Don't worry; there's more. 

In the past, I've had a lot of really extensive dental work done, including a number of root canals. A little while ago, one of my root canals that has a huge filling (okay, three fillings) cracked. Now, I need to get a crown for the whole thing. Because of my terrible dental history, I have a lot of pre-dental appointment anxiety, no matter how wonderful the dentist is, thus, Toby stays to make sure I actually show up to those appointments and can function as a human after. 

All this being said, the PCMOs have been amazingly helpful every step of the way. And! The doctors in Rabat are amazing and speak excellent English (but they're still Moroccan! Hooray for supporting local business!)

And that's all. We move to site a little later than planned, but everything else is just moving forward. 

And because every blog post needs a picture, here's Toby at the Museum of Modern Art. 

Official Peace Corps Volunteers!

It has finally happened! All our weeks of training, language, and learning what is acceptable here finally paid off. 

We're lucky to be in Rabat for all the festivities (and an extra week, but that's for another post). 

We had our Language Proficiency Interviews a couple of days ago and are proud to say that we are proficient enough to stay here! We can communicate in all the essential situations and are excited to get out there and practice with members of our new community. 

Today's ceremony was short, sweet, and to the point. We heard from the Secretary General of the Moroccan Ministry of Yourh and Sports, where he commented on the strong ties between Morocco and America and welcomed us to the country on the Ministry's behalf. From there, Ambassador Bush welcomed us and administered the official oath to swear us in as Official Peace Corps Volunteers. Then two volunteers gave speeches (in Moroccan Arabic!) and we were released to a small reception. 

Now, everyone heads off to begin service in their sites (and change the world a bit).

Here are a few pictures with more to come as they get to us. 

This is our LCF, Bahija!

The 95 newest Peace Corps Volunteers in Morocco. 

A selfie with Ambassador Bush.