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Published: October 11th 2005
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Yesterday I went home for a break from class, since there is no lunch break during Ramadan, just a very long afternoon. I was hoping to take a nap but I hadn't been there for five minutes when a small white pick-up drove up outside and Malika's husband appeared.
So, I have finally met the whole family.
I have to admit I was a bit nervous about the possability of him showing up. Not only do I not know enough Darija to really ask much about him, but I also got the impression that Malika didn't know when he might come home. Also, I had really gotten used to the relaxed atmosphere of an all female house. Things aren't too different now, but there is a more formal feeling in the house now. I have to be more careful about what I wear too.
My first impression of him is that he is nice, and a good listener, but also a bit intense. Last night when I really wanted to go to bed he decided to give me a Darija lesson over stuff I had down a week ago. Malika and the girls know exactly where I am in my language learning, but since he hasn't been here he doesn't know. At least the women are helping me to keep him from speaking French to me. It's always a challenge to not resort to French, but Malika understands I really need to hear only Darija and is helping me to enforce that.
My other topic for this blog doesn't get any photos because I would never take a camera inside a hemmam. It's the public bathhouse and Assema has taken me there every Sunday so far. The first time Aisha went also and the second tim we took Nada for her first hemmam experience.
I can't begin to describe how clean you get in a hemmam.
On the women's side (sorry, I can't describe the men's side for you) we strip down to our underwear and go into the bathing room with stools to sit on, buckets to carry and pour water, soap, shampoo, brushes, et cetera. There is also a rough scrub cloth/ mitten thing that everbody brings and usually a softer puffy sponge.
There seems to be an order for the cleaning and I just do whatever the girls do. We start by washing out hair, then soap up everything and rinse off. Periodically we take turns going to fill up the buckets from the pools in another room. The hemmam by my house has three rooms, and the further back you go the hotter they are. The final room has the water, and a spigot for cold water if you want to mix it with the scalding water in the pools.
After what I would call getting clean we spend about an hour scrubbing with the rough mittens to take off the majority of our skin. They say we're taking off the dead skin. I think we take off quite a bit of live skin also. This can go on for a long time, but the nice part is that they take turns scrubbing and massaging each other's backs.
When I think I'm going to pass out from the heat and that I couldn't possible have any skin left to scrub, it's time to wash our hair again and soap up once more. Then there's more scrubbing. I'm not kidding, this can go on for over two hours.
I've heard that the hemmam is very popular in the winter since it can be the only place to get really warm in some villages. for now once a week is plenty for me. I can get my with sponge baths in between.
That's probably enough personal information for one blog.
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Betsy
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What a life!
I feel like I must be washing up in a dump compared to you. You have a 2 hour washing every Sunday and I take ten minute showers in a bathroom with a large hole in the ceiling that I share with two strange men! Ah, the dichotomy between what Americans consider 1st World and 3rd!!!