The 2020 Update

I never intended to let my blog go, but with most of life transitioning to the digital world and online interactions, the last thing I wanted to do was be in front of my computer more. I know that I already was not very regular in writing updates, but I had the best of intentions. All that aside, I will make no promises moving forward but I will give my first and last 2020 blog post. This is inspired by a dear friend from Taiwan who just sent me her yearly update. Thanks for the reminder that I should do the same!

Life in Marrakech:

Marrakech is an interesting place. The cultural collision of Arab, French, and Berber makes for a colorful, flavorful, and fairly eccentric place. Wandering into the Medina (old part of the city) is still exciting and interesting. It feels like a mini vacation when we venture through one of the old gates. It can be a little overwhelming, but the wares of the medina still have an alluring draw. We bought a few pieces of furniture from one of the many shops. In some ways scouring the souks (marketplace… almost every type of good has it’s own souk) for good finds is like thrift store shopping in the States. You just have to have the time and patience and you will find exactly what you are looking for. For me, the spice souks cannot be beat! Granted, there are some spices and types of food here that you cannot find, but most spices are available and if you are an adventurous chef it makes cooking that much more enjoyable.

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The cost of living is cheap here. It never ceases to amaze me how cheap certain things are. In our new neighborhood we have the fruit and vegetable carts that come through the neighborhood regularly and park for parts of the day in certain spots. Many of these sellers do not speak French, so it is apparent I need to be better about knowing my numbers in Darija! But, that is besides the point. We can buy a kilo each of potatoes, carrots, onions, and bunches of fresh herbs like mint, parsley, and marjoram for under 20Dhs (this is roughly $2.00 USD). I am already preparing for the culture shock of going to the grocery store in America when we can travel again. I am also cooking more with ingredients that I was familiar with, but just didn’t use. One of my new favorite vegetables is fennel. It is cheap and widely available. I made the tastiest simple salad the other day with fennel, mint, parsley, and a simple mustard dressing. I also now own a tagine. To be honest I do not cook in it as much as I could, but I do have my new normal favorites. Chicken and preserved lemons, kefta, or beef with prunes are new to me but Moroccan mainstays. Another underappreciated item on the food scene is couscous! I can say with certainty prior to living in Morocco I had no strong opinions about couscous, but after living here I can say that it is one of my favorite meals. Now don’t go run and make just any couscous. If you do you will be disappointed. Here they steam it in broth for hours, massage it, and serve it with seasonal vegetables and truly caramelized onions. I could go on and on about this, so I will stop now and maybe write more later.

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I love the geometric patterns and colors that seem so integral into daily life. We moved at the end of October, which is a story in itself, but one thing I noticed right away is that in our new neighborhood each residence has its own pattern that you see reflected on the doors, gates, sidewalks, and windows. I took the pattern from our building and put it into the blue accent wall I painted in our entryway. Maybe, just maybe I will write a blog post about moving during a pandemic, in a foreign country, and all the craziness that ensued. But to summarize, we now live in a villa. We rent from a nice family that lives on site in the two lower floors while we and another couple live on the two upper floors. The quiet neighborhood and little grassy yard have been a nice change from the apartment complex that we lived in previously.

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The influence of the French is clear too. Aside from Darija (Moroccan Arabic), French is the main language spoken. I am slowly getting more conversational in French, but it is still very basic. The nice thing is that French is the second language spoken by nearly everyone, so the fact that my verb conjugation is garbage is not that big of a deal. I have had great conversations with taxi drivers and a few shop owners. There is also a little bit of English knowledge from the younger generation, so we manage to get by.

We have been here in the city since March due to travel restrictions, but I still am not tired of it. With the rollout of the vaccine on the horizon we hope that we will be able to travel and that some of you will be able to come and visit us.

FAQs:

Some of you have asked what it is like to live in a place where alcohol is restricted. Let me clarify, the city is not dry and there is alcohol for sale. Most smaller mom and pop restaurants do not serve alcohol, but any larger restaurant or the restaurants that target tourists do have alcohol. We lived three blocks from a liquor store. In our new neighborhood, the alcohol store is a little further away, but it is still not that far away.

Another question is about other food restrictions like pork. You can find some pork products, but mainly the cured European meat variety. You have to go to the larger supermarket for these items and they are clearly labeled with a big red “warning not a Hallal product” sticker on the shelves. I was never a huge pork fan, but when we went to Spain last year I found that I ordered it more mainly just because I could.

Lockdown and the pandemic:

The 13th of March 2020 was when we went to distance learning and within two weeks of the government announcing the closure of schools they instituted a strict lockdown with the closure of all non-essential businesses, masking, a curfew, and required travel documents to leave the confines of your living quarters for trips to the grocery store or medical offices. It was very strict and I can’t help but laugh when I see people online criticizing the restrictions placed on them because they really don’t understand the freedom that they have. 

We, like everyone else it seems, picked up new hobbies too. D got into sourdough, ginger beer, and bodyweight resistance workouts, while I cooked and cooked and cooked, meal planned, and then joined D in his workouts because I couldn’t just cook all day. Online teaching was/is exhausting. I did however enjoy the hot breakfast… I mean brunches, that came from working at home. We did a photo challenge and home Olympics challenge with the neighbors to keep sane, but mostly just fell into a routine of work, workout, cook, and study. I tried to do more art which I did kind-of with my accent wall painting, but I have not created any new pieces of artwork.

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When they began to relax lockdown measures it was slow. I mean seriously there are still travel restrictions on the major cities… meaning if we want to leave Marrakech we need to go to the local government office and request travel papers that allow us the ability to travel. We have eaten out (outside only- which is easy here with many outdoor dining options) a few times, and stayed one night in a hotel for our anniversary (as their only guests), but we really haven’t done too much.

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Many of our expat friends had to go back to Europe when the borders opened due to expired travel visas, so life here is a lot of the same and yet somehow not that monotonous. Currently they have implemented a curfew over the holidays from 9PM to 6AM to prevent people from gathering, so we have had a quiet winter vacation. It has been nice having the time to finish unpacking and decorating, so I don’t really mind.

The pandemic has amplified the poverty here. It was something that you would see pre-Covid, but now especially with the lack of tourism that brings so much money to this city it is something that is widespread. I have a half finished blog post started about it from the pre-Covid days. Morocco has many Sub-Saharan African immigrants. The close proximity of Europe draws many for hopes of a better life. They often get stuck in Morocco and many of those we see who are asking for money are from other African countries. There are also Syrian refugees and other North Africans including Moroccans. It is interesting to see how the community supports and gives money to those people in need. 

School for the 2020-2021 school year is in person… well kind-of. I have in person students and online students. I thought online teaching was exhausting, but doing both is even worse. I have found a rhythm that is working for me, so it is the new normal. The school has closed once due to Covid-19 cases and sent some isolated grade bubbles home for two week quarantines. It is not ideal, but that is a lot of what we have come to expect during the 2020 pandemic. It will get better eventually, so I just keep going… with the tune of Dory from Finding Nemo in your head.

In general, we are well. We miss you all and look forward to seeing you as soon as safely possible. This turned out a lot longer than I thought! Maybe I should try to blog more… We will see. I guess only time will tell.