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Published: March 27th 2006
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I’m not sure when I last when on a picnic, but it was long overdue.
After a busy morning at the Dar Chebab with the new Palm Tree Environmental Club, I went with my landlady and her family to a place on the northern edge of town called “Mrbuh” - pronounced with the hard aspirated H at the end. Sorry, I forgot to ask what the word means.
We didn’t end up bringing the kitchen sink with us, but we managed to haul with us so much that seemed to me like we were setting out to go camping. Tromping around in search of the best shade tree though, I saw families that had brought everything, including little stoves and complete tea sets with beautiful silver teapots. I’m going to stick to the stereotypes on this one: Moroccans don’t generally go anywhere without tea.
I will be leaving in a week to do some traveling and work at a camp during the school spring break, so I have been trying to spend as much time as I can with my neighbors and friends. This is also why I happily went to the DC this morning, though Sunday is supposed to be a day off.
Mrbuh turns out to be a large park of sorts, completely fenced, with a nice soccer field, some paved walkways, lots of trees and a large bordje. It cost a dirham to get in (about ten cents) but it is well worth the price as the place is big enough to need some upkeep. The litter was minimal compared to most parks I have seen and work was evident by the scattered newly planted trees and still damp little irrigation ditches hidden in the undergrowth. Besides the trees, the vegetation is let run wild and some people would call it weeds. I say the place is full of beautiful native flowers. Afif said this is the greenest he has ever seen it. I guess we have our unusually wet spring to thank for that.
I was surprised I hadn’t found the place before and asked Fouzia if people come here a lot. It turns out that after being born in Kelaa and living there 33 years today was the first time she has been to Mrbuh. It is about a fifteen to twenty minute walk from out house and not far from the area that has the weekly market.
Just out of sight through the trees we could hear a group playing drums and women singing all afternoon. I doubt they stopped the whole 5 or so hours we were there. We brought a soccer ball and played a bit, but mostly sat under our tree talking and watching the bees on the flowers around us. It was beautiful and exactly what I needed. Though I love Kelaa and know it is a good home for me, it has been hard to live in such a flat, dusty place that is almost completely devoid of vegetation. I understand that the desert isn’t meant to have vegetation, but a city needs trees. The government has planted some palms in the medians of the large roads, but they are still short and scrubby. Kelaa is a new and growing city, so money goes more to creating the badly needed infrastructure than beautifying what already exists.
Finding such a green place so close to my house is immensely reassuring. Though I probably won’t go there as often as I visited parks in Boise, knowing it is there makes me feel better. If I ever feel desperate to sit under a tree and watch ants, I know it’s not far off. Now I just need to figure out what day they irrigate so I can go listen to the water flowing too. Lacking a river, I have come to enjoy washing dishes because the sound of running water is so soothing.
Of course, after all that communing with nature we had to go home to make tea. I got to know Afif and Fouzia much better today and was happy to be able to understand even their jokes. Not all of them, of course, but they are patient enough to take the time to make me understand pretty much everything. Another family has taken me in - and like the others, they are wonderful.
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