مراكش : A Year in Morocco: Halloween in Morocco and Slip 'n' Slides

After a week back in Marrakesh after our Sahara trip, I'm glad to be back in my daily routines. Last week was a typical week of running, studying, struggling with Arabic, and general normalcy in this amazing city. However, I added something new to my schedule on Wednesday afternoons since I am now the recess teacher for the kid's classes at the CLC.

On Wednesday afternoon, I went down to the courtyard at the CLC and was greeted by an influx of small children during their recess periods. There were 10-15 students in every class, and I led games for 7 classes for 15 minutes each. The English of the students varied from absolute beginner to advanced beginner, which made explaining some of the games more difficult that I was expecting. I had to very carefully simplify my instructions so that everyone would understand what was happening. I am used to working with young American children who understand these instructions, so this new aspect to leading games is an interesting and slightly daunting challenge.

In the first few classes of beginners, I had a tough time conveying the directions to the students and I found the task slightly frustrating. However, as the afternoon passed, I hit my stride. Using analogies with cartoons like Tom and Jerry and a lot of acting, I was able to explain the rules of the parachute game Cat and Mouse. In each class, we played Cat and Mouse with the parachute and incorporated vocabulary words into the game. For example, the Level One students were learning the names of school supplies, so I assigned the person underneath the parachute the name of "Paper" and the student above trying to catch them "Pen". Then, everyone in the circle had to chant "Go pen, get paper!" while the students played tag. Afterwards, we made a tent with the parachute and the students had to say as many vocabulary words as they could remember before the tent fell down. After they understood what we were doing, the kids all seemed to really enjoy the games and I loved how enthusiastic they were. In Morocco, all students call their teachers "Oustad(a)", and the direct translation to English is "Teacher". Therefore, all the students referred to me as "Teacher". It was very odd being called by a title, because no one else has ever given me a title of respect in a position of authority like that. Being called "Teacher" and adjusting my English to the level of the students will definitely take some getting used to, but I really loved the two hours we spend at recess and I'm looking forward to planning more games each Wednesday for these children.

On Friday afternoon, a couple of my friends and I went around to the little children's classrooms here and talked to them about Halloween. We briefly explained the American traditions surrounding the holiday and taught the students how to say "trick-or-treat" when we handed out candy. I went home that night with some of the leftover candy and had a small Halloween with Yassir. He dressed up in a really cute sailor costume and then trick-or-treated at the front door of our house. This is the first holiday I've felt really homesick during since I have so many good memories with my friends and family at home during Halloween. However, I was happy that I got to celebrate at least a little bit and share Halloween with some Moroccan children.

Over the weekend, I spent a lot of time with my host family and we had a wonderful couple days. On Saturday night, I made mozzarella and tomato paninis with homemade pesto for dinner. They were a huge hit with my host family and I hope I get to cook again for them soon!

On Sunday, I went for my long run with my friend Seth. We ran all the way down the long street Mohamed VI, which has a beautiful median full of trees, benches, flowers, and fountains. Since these Sunday morning runs are becoming a routine, we have begun to see the same people on our route, and we always wave and cheer each other on. All throughout the avenue, there are Moroccans working out with their friends and family. It's great to be a part of the active, fun atmosphere in the mornings here, and I'm glad that I get to see yet another aspect of this city. On the way back, we ran by the jam-packed soccer fields to Menara Gardens, a beautiful park with a giant reflecting pool that is definitely one of my favorite places in Marrakesh. Our run was about 13 miles, and we are currently still on track with the training to run the marathon in January.

After I went home, I made sfaa, my favorite Moroccan dish, with my host mom. Sfaa is made up of tiny, almost rice-sized noodles carefully steamed and covered in olive oil that surround richly flavored chicken. On top, we spread chopped almonds, cinnamon, raisons, and powdered sugar. I loved cooking with my host mom, and we chatted as we worked in our strange mixture of Darija and Spanish. After a huge meal and a long nap, I woke up and made crocheits (tiny almost cookies) with my host siblings and host mom. Outside, the leaves rustled and the air grew colder. The hot summer season in Marrakesh has lasted longer than usual this year, and everyone has been eagerly anticipating the rains that come in the fall and winter. Just as we finished the cookies, the skies opened and rain started pouring down into the dusty garden. Yassir and I ran outside in old tee shirts and started sliding around on the slick tiles of the garden in the downpour. As the rain subsided, the garden was full of slippery pools of water. Oumaima and Zineb came outside, and they were incredibly surprised when they saw Yassir and I start to run and slide around on our stomachs on the tile. We made a makeshift slip n' slide in the garden and sprinted through the puddles, launching ourselves onto the slippery tiles and sliding all the way to the opposite walls. My host mom came outside and almost fell over laughing watching us. We played in the rain until we were soaked and cold, and then came inside and dried off to drink tea and eat freshly baked cookies. Afterwards, Zineb and I curled up in the salon with Yassir and watched Maid in Manhattan. We had a really wonderful day all together and I'm looking forwards to more of those in the future.

Some pictures from the last week are attached!