By Cameron R., Guest Blogger studying at AmeriSpan's Rabat Arabic school
Salaam 3laykom. My name is Cameron and I am taking part in the AmeriSpan language program in Rabat, Morocco for the month of July. I am staying with a host family for the benefit of immersing myself in the culture and maximum exposure to the darejah, or dialect in Rabat. In addition to Morocco's location right near where I had been traveling, Granada, Spain, I could continue my studies of Arabic while being abroad without much preparation, which is not necessarily a good things to do always, but it is certainly convenient for some of us.
The first three days have been hectic, stressful, and tiring, however, it was nothing I did not expect. I have traveled and gone abroad alone in the Levant, which made Western Africa a new experience, but at the same time, familiar. I had previously been in Tangier, a port city. I traveled south from Spain and I wondered, how is this culture going to be the same as, different from, or related to Spain's. In any case, I was going to see what the culture really was like. Getting to Rabat was fairly easy by train, and comfortable as well. A four-hour train ride from Tangier Station to Rabat Ville was 145 dirham, or about 20 dollars US, for first class. It was a French company ONCF, which was also strongly recommended by AmeriSpan, which is the reason I took it. I stuggled with getting to my homestay, however the taxi driver was extremely helpful, and we found a way to communicate despite a language barrier. I studied Jordanian Colloquial, however, it is very difficult to understand any of the accent in Al Maghreb. Nonetheless, I found my home, which was in the old city, near Bab al-Had, right smack dab in the middle of a souq.
Getting to know the lay of the land was difficult, but after three days, you get a grip quickly because you need to. A small tip: running expedites that process. In transitioning into meeting the family, it is important to remember a few things: 1, go with the flow, especially on the first day, 2, make an attempt to interact with people, even if it means making a fool of yourself or struggling, 3, help out in some way, make sure you demonstrate to your host family that your are indeed grateful for them taking you in, despite the impersonal monetary exchange, and 4, eat everything and do not be squeamish. I followed a basic set of rules that I created in the past, all of which create interaction and deference.
After living a few days with my host family, slowly the social networks were revealed to me. For example, when I was picked up from the side of the zanqa, or small sidestreet, by my host mom, following her were two women, one woman wearing hijaab, and one short, white, older woman. I assumed that the woman with hijaab was my host mom's mother, and the white woman was going to be living with me. In addition, I did not even know who my official host mother was going to be until after the first night. It turns out that the woman with hijaab with another host mother, not my host mom's mother, and the white woman is staying with her. And yes, time passes slowly at first, and facts are revealed to you slowly, but with routine, it all speeds up. Another interesting, and perhaps compelling fact that I am not even quite that sure about, is the whereabouts of the husband. My host mother is 31 and with two children, however, the father is not present. Is he working? Is he gone? Are they divorced? I hesitate to ask that question, however, it is definitely an abberation that I have found to be different from the Levant. The language is clearly a mixture of French, Moroccan Arabic, and Berber, with traces of Spanish influence here and there that become more prominent in the North for obvious reasons. This makes learning the language difficult, but understanding this does give me more confidence in learning the darejah. In any case, in learning a language you have to be aware of the attainability of goals in order to remind yourself that you can do it. Sometimes this is crucial.
Learn more about AmeriSpan's Rabat Arabic school
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