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Published: September 30th 2010
Salam Alaikum
I can’t believe it is Thursday already and after placement tomorrow I am off on a journey to Chefchaouen. The end of the week has really come up fast!
I started my morning again with the babies but it was a bit crowded today. Apparently there normally not any other volunteers this time of year but several days this week the Orphanage has been full of nursing students. I did feed 2 babies and then I went over to the yellow nest (6-12 months). Many of the kids were a bit feverish and had snotty heads/noses so they weren’t feeling the best. After their bath and changing process they put them in the big playpen. I hopped in with several others…Jean, Christine, Lori and Jamie. We were soon joined by 2 nursing students as well. I started out with sweet Fayoud but then spent most of time with a little darling whose name I can’t remember. She really did not feel well. Every time you tried to put her down she would cry. Many of the kids do that but this time I think it was because she was terribly congested when she was lying down. She
seemed to like me holding her on my chest and she eventually fell asleep. When she was sound asleep I put her down in the playpen and moved outside. They didn’t let us take any of the kids out today - I don’t understand why. I went outside and was working with about a 2 year old boy who is super sweet but also doesn’t want to be put down. They have a trampoline outside where some other volunteers were sitting with a few of the special needs kids so I went in there for a bit.
One young volunteer works exclusively with the special needs and I’m quite impressed. He’s so good with them. They child (about 16) was on the trampoline with us was having a total fit and had been crying for a long time because he threw his ball on the roof. I’m not sure how well I would have handled it because you have to physically restraine him because he bites. Another volunteer had another boy about the same age who has serious disabilities as well as being blind. He keeps his fingers in his eye or where his eye should be…I had trouble
watching that.
A word about Rabat traffic…Wow!! I wish you see the way they drive here. There is A LOT of traffic and no one uses turn signals or lines in the road. If you picture a highway or road in the US and there is a uturn/break in the median to go the other direction we all line up one at a time to take your turn. Here everyone piles into the u-turn area….maybe 15-20 cars and you just jump out in traffic and use your horn!
When we got back to the house I popped in my iPod and took a brief 35 min nap and I felt a lot better. My stomach has been pretty queasy and I had skipped breakfast today. For lunch we had another Moroccan staple. I’ve read that it is called the jewel of Moroccan cuisine: a flaky pastry with a sweet and savory filling, spiced with cinnamon. It can include up to 50 layers of thin pastry that enclose a mixture of onion, pigeon (or chicken), parsley, hardboiled egg and almonds. Thank goodness ours was not pigeon…it was chicken.
After lunch our cultural programming was a cooking lesson and
an Arabic script lesson. The cooking lesson was amazing. Khadija (the House Manager) made two Tangine’s…one with chicken & one with vegetables. For those who don’t know, a tagine, a long-simmered stew containing fruit and preserved salted lemons, cooked in a glazed terra cotta vessel with a tall pointed lid like a witch’s hat. It allows the steam to rise and then descend again, creating a perfect environment for slow cooking.
We also made Righaif - flaky pancake that has been dipped in a mixture of honey and rosewater and sesame seeds. It is a super thin light hand folded pastry which they fry. After frying they dip in honey mixture. Amazing!! I can’t imagine ever being able to recreate this at home!
Finally the Moroccan tea. We have tea every day at the house at 4 PM - a Moroccan custom. The tea when it is served comes out in pots and I never really thought about how it was made. It was so very intricate! It is so amazing & has so many steps I can’t even think to put them in this blog. Khadija has it written down so I need to get that from
her before I leave. Let’s just say it is a wonderful treat.
Mint tea is offered as a sign of hospitality. It is served very hot and very sweet at all hours of the day, whether you’re at the carpet merchants, in a Berber tent or in the lobby of a big hotel. Presented in a small narrow glass, it is poured from a great height in order to remove any bitterness. If you ever have the opportunity to have some…treat yourself
After the lesson Lori, Heidi, Ina and I took two petit taxis to the CTM bus station. I had Abdullah (placement manager) jot down the name of the bus company ‘CTM’ in Arabic script so we could give it to the taxi driver. We went before tea so the traffic was light and made it there in about 15 minutes for 15 dirham. Another interesting note about Moroccan traffic…when the taxis drop you off at your designated location they don’t take you up to the door. They drop you off on the side of the road the car is on and if your location is across the street you have to cross yourself. It can be
Cooking Lesson 019
Once everything is added it will cook on the heat for 45 minutes.interesting with these wide streets and lots of traffic.
Anyway, luckily one of the gentlemen behind the counter spoke enough English to buy 4 roundtrip train tickets. They were 180 Dirham each (about $21). Not bad!
For dinner we enjoyed the fruits of our labors - or more Khadija’s labors…tangine with these wonderfully fried shredded potatoes and several other dishes I don’t know what they are…
The CCS house is pretty crowded - much different than my experience in Ayacucho. There are 27 people here of all backgrounds and ages. Luckily my roommates are both very nice and considerate. I was lucky in Ayacucho as well. There are a few folks here who aren’t as happy with their roommates, etc. Living with so many people does take increased patience and is an ‘interesting’ experience.
Looking forward to placement tomorrow and the trip. The bus ride is 5 hours from Rabat and leaves at 3 PM. After placement we will come back to the house for lunch…it will be couscous Friday. We will head to the bus station by petit taxi about 1:30 PM.
I called one of the Riyad’s in the medina for reservations earlier today
Cooking Lesson 021
Khadija starts the Vegetarian tangine. and that was a very difficult call to communicate. I said it many, many ways - two rooms for 2 nights. I’m just hoping the rooms will there!! I don't know if I will be able to blog while awayso I may catch up when I return to Rabat on Sunday.
Beslama
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mike wagener
non-member comment
mwagener@insurancemgt.com
are you really sure that was chicken?!