Camel- The other red meat

Last Monday our little group of exchange students had planned to spend the weekend in Tangier laying on the beach and exploring the city. We thought we had arranged everything, but as often happens in this country, “Insha’Allah”  just didn’t happened. 

As an alternative plan, Saturday morning we left for Fes, only an hour away by grand taxi. We spent the day in the souk, which was a large, happy contrast from the souk in Merrakesh. The shopkeepers were much less pushy, the streets were cleaner, and it had a unique mix of the usual tourist shops and modern stores. After several hours exploring the maze of the marketplace, we were convinced by a young boy to visit the tanneries “for free” where his “father worked”. (Note: nearly every Moroccan will claim that they are not trying to cheat you, and that they need the money for their brother/uncle/kids. Beware of liars- they are everywhere).

The market

Fes is famous for it’s leather, and we walked to a rooftop to see the process of scraping, tanning, and dying the leather. The mint they gave us to hold to our noses still did not cover up the stench of dead animal skins. To leave the rooftop view, we had to wander through a warehouse full of leather goods of every size, shape and color imaginable. The shopkeeper there were quite insistent he had something made of the “Best leather in Morocco” for each and every one of us. After FINALLY locating the exit, we were informed the view was only free with a purchase from the store. Tommy, an Arabic major, gave them a few choice words and we left in a hurry.

Birdseye view of the tannery

Exhausted from the experience, we decided to meet the rest of the group at a restaurant. The special of the day? Camel burger! Of course we couldn’t pass that up. It was surprisingly tasty, with a unique, very juicy flavor. I was informed afterwards, however, that that was an “Americanized” camel burger, and that next time I go to Fes I need to eat a camel sandwich. Challenge: accepted. I am realizing that many of my experiences here are going to involve food, and that if I don’t exercise I’m going to be paying for two seats on the plane home. I am having quite a love affair with Moroccan food. 

Camel Burger! 

On another note, this weekend gave me an interesting view of strangers in Morocco. Sometimes I feel like every single person out there is trying to either a) cheat me out of money or b) buy me for camels. I know that by using basic common sense I can avoid both of these things, and that the likelihood of dying in a car accident back home is FAR greater then any of sort of “stranger danger”. Nonetheless, it is frustrating after awhile to always feel defensive and distrustful. However, there have been a couple of experiences that have shown me not all strangers are this way. In the afternoon, we spent all day looking for a pair of soccer cleats for one of the guys in our group. After searching three stores with no luck, we were directed by the shopkeeper to a store about ten blocks away. One of the customers in the shop not only gave us directions, but walked ten blocks out of his way to make sure we didn’t get lost.  He had no hidden agenda other then to help a few non-natives find what they were looking for. When the cleats were still not found, he was genuinely apologetic, and the exchange ended with him asking to be facebook friends.

Going abroad gives you a very unique perspective on how people treat one another. It teaches you the difference between being open to new people and being taken for a fool.

As far as my school life, I’m not going to say that it is impossible to make friends here, but it is defiantly harder then I anticipated. I have never been shy, but when it seems everyone who is not an exchange student has already made friends, and is always speaking a language I don’t understand, it becomes overwhelming. My usual get-to-know-everyone policy has taken sabbatical. If I were only here for a semester, this wouldn’t bother me as much, but since I’m here for a year I’m really trying to make friends with people who aren’t exchange students. As part of that effort, tonight I am headed to the club meetings for the Horseback Riding club and the Extreme Sports Club. I hope this will give me a chance to meet other students, find hobbies I love, and continue to adjust to life here. 

On the road back to Ifrane