Hamamm, Habousse and Rabat

After the first long week of school, I felt I deserved a little pampering :)

 

A new pampering experience that I tried is the Hammam. This is a Moroccan-style spa that has a menu of a different pamperings to get, but I stuck with the basic for my first time. First, I into a large steam room and was instructed to lather my body with Argan oil (black, silky soap) while sweating profusely through your pores. There were buckets available so that you pour cool water yourself and wash off the oil while you wait. When it came time, a Moroccan lady led me into this large tiled room that had multiple marble-slabbed, body-length tables. The Moroccan woman used an exfoliation glove (hard as sandpaper!) and started sloughing off the oil and dead skin off my body. She scrubbed from shoulders to feet, front, back and side. Once she was finished sandpapering my entire body, she doused me with cool water. I paid extra for a "soap massage" which literally that was exactly what it was. I was rinsed again and pointed to a shower in which I could wash my hair. After it all, we were led into a lounging area to relax and dry off. Overall, it was a little awkward, but everyone else in the Hammam was having the same experience! I was sparking clean and soft for the rest of the week!

 

 

So I'm still very much enjoying going to the Market every Saturday morning. Buying fresh and dried fruit, nuts, leafy greens, delicious French-style cheese and seeing sights like these:

I wouldn't know a single thing about buying & cooking meat prepared like this, so I stick to just ordering it...

 Yummy pesto hamburger at a favorite local restaurant of the CAS teachers!

 

 

At least each town in Morocco has a Medina which is a huge marketplace that sells all sorts of vintage and new clothes, pottery, home furnishings, food and many, many other knickknacks. Casablanca has an "Old" and a "New" Medina. The newer medina is called the Habousse. It's a walled marketplace that has many "stores" throughout the area.

        

 

 

                                                                                          Parking is a bit intense!

 

 

Olives galore!!!

 

One store owner really wanted me to buy a rug from him so much that he offered to take a picture of another teacher and I. Needless to say I now have a picture to remind me where his store was so that I can go back and buy a rug from him.

 

 Walking back from the Habousse (a 40 minute walk through Casa) we found a beautiful, large park. Walking to and from friend's apartments, grocery, gym, restaurants, etc. has become a normal routine for me. Everyone walks everywhere. There are plenty of "petite taxis" to take you, but I hate the hassle and would rather walk. During a 7-mile walk/run with another teacher we encountered some friends along the way...

 

             

 

 

On Friday, September 13, our PTA hosted a party at one of the CAS faculty member's house. The owner lived outside the hustle and bustle of the city and out in the "country"...very quiet and empty of honking cars.

 We were greeted with entertainment from some locals, red-carpet style (literally)! If you were tapping your toes or making any inclination of keeping a beat to their music, then they'd grab you and make you dance in the middle of everyone. Luckily I wasn't caught!

 

 

The capital of Morocco is Rabat. It's only 45 minutes away by train. King Mohammed VI and his family resides here. Interesting fact: Morocco gained independence from France in 1956, and since then Morocco has had only three kings to date (Mohammed V, Hassan II and the current king, Mohammed VI).

 

 

 

Rabat has been inhabited by many countries, including Rome. There are many Roman ruins in the city and has since been remodeled by Sultans.

Roman built walls

 

 Roman entrance to Chellah (the roman ruins)

 

 

 The arched-doorways were gorgeous! Roman bath

 

               

 

 

 Banana Tree! That dark chain-looking thing is the flower of a banana tree.

 

The US Embassy is in Rabat. Some teachers and I went to the American Club to eat  some American-made grub.

Rabat's Medina (marketplace) is huge and was a bustling place on Saturday afternoon.

 

Everyone drinks bottled water and here's a "pump yourself" station, haha!

Escargot is being sold off carts on the streets. They give you a heaping bowl for 5 DH ($0.60)  and a cup of their soup (shown to the left of the bowl of snails). They give you toothpicks to dig out the snail of his shell. This was a new experience!! 

   

                                                           Evidence that I ate it!

The Medina was full of street vendors selling all different types of food. The pictures below show a man putting sugar cane, with a lime snagged to the end of it, into this machine to grind it into a drink. It tastes like a limeade, very sweet and with a twang!

 

 

 Quite delicious & filling!

 To walk off all of our delicious eats, we walked to the Kasbah of the Udayas. This is a vintage Moroccan-style neighborhood surrounded by white walls. Many homes and apartments are inside this little village along with a Mosque, market, hammam and the famous terrace that overlooks Rabat, it's sister city Sale and the Atlantic Ocean.

Apparently the terrace outlook for closed for renovation and we were devastated. However, a local Moroccan woman allowed us to observe the ocean and city through her private terrace. She then invited all of us into her home and served us mint tea. Her daughter was in high school and spoke English and we had a great time talking with the family. The pictures below are of the family's view of the ocean and city as well as their humble

 

 

What a great 4 weeks it's been so far. Many more weekends and trips to plan...upcoming weekend trip to Fez then Prague for Fall break in October. Let the countdown begin!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First few days of school end with a Moroccan feast!

Wow, it's only been two weeks since I've arrived in Casablanca!! It feels as though I've been here for at least a month! It's been a whirlwind of planning, getting situated and of course staff outings!

So I keep talking about this infamous yellow school bus that drives the teachers to and from school, and here it proudly awaits its passengers:

 

 

 

Well, the first week (actually only 3 days since we began on a Wednesday) went smoothly. I teach Middle School Science to 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. The class sizes are small and I only have a total of 70 students. This is great as I'll be able to develop a deeper teacher-student relationship with each young person. Immediately upon first introducing myself I had a few students tell me that they LOVED my accent and they even tried imitating it. Ha, wait till I start calling the hogs, then they'll really be in for a treat! Speaking of the Razorbacks...I'm able to get updates and I'm so proud of how well they played against LA-Lafayette at their first game :) WPS!!

 

 

So I'm finding a few American-inspired restaurants and goods. This place will be a must after a long day at school:

 

 

Of course I'll have to keep coming back to try them all!

 

 



After the short first week of school, a parent of one of my students graciously offered all of his teacher's to their house for a Moroccan Barbeque. I looked forward to it all week/weekend because I truly didn't know what I was in store for me! Some fellow teachers and I took a taxi to the family's house near the beach. The house was grandeur, modern and immaculate! I would compare it to a very modern house that you would find in Miami. From what I've heard about other houses and seeing this one, the houses are very open and have many lounging areas. The backyard was full of exotic trees and was just beautiful. We had light appetizers (olives, variety of nuts, dried fruit, candied ginger, fresh fruit drinks) and chatted for awhile. I was blown away when I saw the cooks and maids bringing out our feast. There were steamed prawns (large shrimp), patellae with mussels, beans, Moroccan salad (cooked eggplant), salad with fresh veggies and of course the staple of all Moroccan meals bread.

Patellae

Prawns

My plate full!

 

 

Right when I was finishing my plate and getting full, they announced that the meat will be served. Oh my was it delicious and new to me! They served BBQ chicken, steak, lamb, and a variety of sausages as you see below.   

 

 

Now by this time, we're all stuffed and either wanting to go on a walk or be lethargic and lay down. However, any meal couldn't be complete without a sweet ending. This course blew my mind the most and it hurt my stomach just taking a picture of it all.

 



 

Frozen fruit ice, flan, chocolate cherry cake, Jell-O, chocolate mousse, rice pudding, Whipped cream/strawberry (shortcake?) trifle, banana/whipped cream/toffee trifle, cupcakes and fresh fruit galore. My friends and I took one of each and tried a bite of each. It all was truly delicious. And then only to find out that the cook hand made each and every dish and dessert was truly astounding! After this, there was no walking...we all layed down on outdoor blankets and carpets. As customary at the end of a meal (or just whenever), hot mint green tea is served. I love the tea and it's very refreshing, even on a hot day. But of course tea couldn't be served alone....

Moroccan & Lebanese Chocolates!

 

 

Needless to say I didn't eat dinner nor breakfast the next morning. We teachers had a great time with the family and we were grateful for their hospitality. Next time I'll be sure to sign up instantly when another invitation for a Moroccan BBQ is offered to me :)