Harlem

I met three different people in Morocco who mentioned wanting to see Harlem.  Usually this was in the context of the basic convo, "you're american, here are a lot of random facts I know about your country".  But it struck me as so odd that Harlem seems to have this international appeal.

I live about 10 blocks from east Harlem and am wondering what exactly people want to see?  Blighted neighborhoods?  Boarded up buildings?  Gross income disparities between heavily guarded apartment buildings and city projects? Drug deals in broad daylight?

Maybe there is the idea that Langston Hughes is on every corner writing poetry or that there are jazz musicians in the street, I just don't know.  If anyone has insight, comment it up.

You're American...

So in every cab ride there comes a point when I can no longer adequately express myself in Moroccan Arabic and have to switch to French, at which point it becomes clear that I'm not Moroccan.  So the driver always asks where I'm from and when I tell them here's a few of the reactions:

"You're American!  OBAMA!"

"You're American! Washington, New York, Texas!"

"You're American, Billy the Kid!  Bam Bam!"

"You're American, American, Moroccan, Same same!"

Casa cab drivers are still terrible, Rabat cab drivers are still delightful.

Casa Cabbies:
1) It's pretty amazing how picky they are about who they will pick up.  Maybe this is a super lucrative business and they can just be super selective and only take people they want who are going in the direction they like best. I went through 5 cabs until I found one that would take me to the train station the first day.  They don't even say no, they just ask you where you're going and if you say someplace they don't like, they drive away immediately.
2) Oh the meter.  Getting them to turn on the meter is just such a battle.  I have never successfully gotten someone to do it.  I either got lucky and they had it running when I got in, or they would just drive away when I suggested the idea of using it to determine the fare.  One guy left the meter on but after we got to my hotel and it read 6DH, he asked me for 40.  When I pointed out the meter he quickly shut it off and said "oh that doesn't work".
3) On my taxi back to the airport we had to leave at 6am.  The driver was doing 60 km/h straight through these giant intersections even when there were big glaring red lights.  His response "oh don't worry, nobody stops at red lights in the morning... the police men are all sleeping!".  Totally made me feel better.

Rabat Cabbies
1) Always metered, no questions
2) Made friends with Mustapha who had once upon a time studied English at the British Council and delighted in trying out some phrases on me
3) Had an intense discussion about Clint Eastwood movies with a driver once he learned I was American

Street Harassment Remarkably Lower

I only got noticeably 'commented to' twice.  Once by some stupid business man in a hotel and once by a group of dudes in the Old City.  The latter group (one of whom was pushing a stroller BTWs) yelled "I like your ass!" even though they were in front of me and couldn't see said body part.  He probably had no idea what an ass was and was essentially just yelling "WORDS I KNOW IN ENGLISH!".  Anyway, a measly two harassments (down from minimum 2 a day back in 2005) is a pretty big improvement.  I'm going to choose my own reasoning for this which is that with all the modernization of the infrastructure of Rabat there has been some changes in attitudes too.  My husband's response "maybe you're just older now".  

Rabat Got So Nice!

And it was already a super easy city to live in.  The train station is new with a food court, there is a tram that runs through the city, the buses are new and don't spew black smoke everywhere, there's a new bridge to Sale, and a whole new area of development by the shore.  It still retains all it's charm- super walkable streets, clean public spaces, quick and cheap transpo, and the occasional protest in front of parliament.

We stayed in a Riad in the old city (which to the best of my knowledge is a pretty new thing as well).  It was perfectly lovely--  zelige walls, a grand courtyard with a fountain, big drapes and carved wooden doors, a classic Moroccan home except with the fantastic additions of WiFi and heating :)

I'd honestly say after New York, Rabat would be my #2.

In brief

Lost a lot of momentum on the blogging front once I arrived in Rabat since I was working 12 hour days with no let up, but a look back on the few things I had a chance to notice:

*Rabat got so nice!

*Street harassment was remarkably lower.

*Casa cab drivers are still terrible, Rabat cab drivers are still delightful.

More to come soon.

Like herding cats

There was this poor man at the train station whose only job was to try to enforce some sort of line at the ticket counter-- a cultural warrior of sorts.

He mostly was a physical barrier, constantly running from one post to another to defend against a breech of the borders.

I did my best to respect his authority, to follow what I learned in Kindergarten about lining up.  But so many people budged me from behind or infiltrated by ducking under the barriers that eventually it became clear that I was going to miss my train so I boarded without a ticket and paid the extra fee.

Take that Kenny G

Any place you are accustomed to hearing Kenny G in the US: grocery stores, elevators, airports etc. in Morocco you hear the theme song from Godfather or the themesong from Lovestory.  It's pretty incredible.

I'm back

I'm back in the land of 90 second commercials and 20 minute songs...

Where the customs agents are more interested in your marital status than your terrorist tendencies...

Where meals are 3 hours and 3000 calories (and impossibly delicious)...

I'm back in Morocco for the first time in 6 years!

[lived there for a year, blogged about it here] [[rhyme!]]