"Shnu?"
"Shnu?"
This has been the most common phrase I have heard from my host family here in Morocco, as well as people on the street. Simply put, it means what. This is not to say that communication is absent, but rather there is an apparent language barrier between primarily English speakers and people in the Arab world. I have been fortunate enough to have been placed with a host family of whom two speak English very well. However Arabic is still the main mode of communication, especially during meal times. My familiarity with French has helped me communicate with my host mother, as well as express my never ending questions about Arabic words. So far my homestay has been a great experience. Moroccan families are traditionally very hospitable and accompanying of guests which makes for a very comfortable experience.
We first came to Morocco via Casablanca, Morocco’s most populous and industrial city. We enjoyed a comfortable stay, visiting both the medina and Hassan II mosque, the third largest in the world. After two nights we travelled to Fes by train where we are staying for three weeks with homestay families in the medina. Casablanca is not as "alluring" compared to Fes’s large, ancient medina. However it is certainly vital for Morocco’s economic growth.
Like most of Morocco’s main cities Fes is separated into a ville nouvelle, or new city, and the medina, referring to consortium of centuries old stone houses and buildings. Fes’s medina is a city within a city comprised of many neighborhoods with equally random, confusing streets. In is in this medieval labyrinth that we reside. We are staying with middle class Moroccan families whose houses compliment the bizarre layout of their medina. Each house has a foyer onto which all floors go around. Almost wall in the house in lined with couches which is great for napping however rare the chance to do so is.
Our ISPs are beginning to take shape. Each one of us had a meeting with a mentor today in order to get our feet wet and begin honing our specific interests. Our ISPs varied from discussions of the intricacies of Islam, conversational French, belly dancing and political Islam in Morocco. I began my ISP by meeting with Niaz, an extremely knowledgeable scholar on Islamic history and studies. We discussed a wide range of topics from the origins of terrorism, nationalist Arab movements and the advent of Islamic fundamentalism. One of the area’s that we touched on in our discussion was that of "traditional Islam." Traditional Islam, not in the sense of literal adherence to the Qu’ran, but rather what Islam is meant to be, a religion based upon achieving spiritual peace and wholeness, a core idea that Niaz contends has been lost in the Muslim world during the past few centuries amongst a blur of nationalistic and malevolent forces. Niaz cites the presence of numerous volumes of Qur’anic commentaries and supplements that contextualize the verses of the Qur’an which radical movements have misconstrued for political and social purposes.
Morocco is truly a unique place in the Arab world. It is unique enough for being a crossroads between Arab and African culture, mysticism and Islam, and its proximity to the West. However Morocco is also an advantageous place to study Arabic language and culture both for its relative safety, owed in part to Morocco’s economic dependency of tourism, and for its francophonic quality. While it is rooted in colonialism, it does allow for those with knowledge of French to more readily navigate their way through the country and their studies. I can only hope Morocco does not become lost whether in booming tourism or other forces. As of right now it still holds the timeless charm it is famous for.
-Charlie