Adjusting to Men, Heat, and Bathrooms

I needed some stuff at the super marché, so Zalib drove us there and helped me pick out some cosmetics. After we were done at the super marché, we took a taxi to the entrance to the medina and then walked through the markets to get home. The markets are amazing; there are shoes and clothes and jewelry and electronics. The shop owners do not haggle you like they do in other countries, but the men have no censors. One tonight called out to Colby and me and said “Bridget, Bridget! Please stop and talk to me” as if all American girls are named Bridget? Another took my elbow and told me that I was a beautiful girl and that I deserved a flower. Thanks for the flattery, but tell me, does that ever work for you? For all you men out there that haggle women on the street: how many women have actually responded to you? (Drunk sorority girls don’t count). The men easily give up if you tell them no or just ignore them, so why even call out? It is a man’s world where the men sit at cafés scratching their balls and call out to women to prove their manliness. I realize this takes a different form in other countries. For example in the United States, guys creep on girls trying to get their numbers and stare and wink at them. They may even go so far as to give a girl a little pat on the butt while he passes her on the street. Moroccan guys would never think of doing that. They simply call out to us, which is more obvious, but just a different way of getting attention.

We came home to find Abdullah, one of the brothers watching TV. Although he said he spoke English, it was difficult trying to understand his French with a word or two of English thrown in. I think we were talking about mountains with snow because he kept pointing to the sticker from Denali that I have on my water bottle.

The house isn’t so hot once you’ve gotten used to the temperature for a good hour or two and sweated out all the water in your body. After that it’s bearable. The bathroom consists of a squat toilet, a bucket with a hose (le douche), and a sink. No toilet paper, no shower curtain, and no flushing. But don’t worry- there’s rose scented hand soap so we’re all good. The TV channels here have an interesting mix of Amanda Bynes movies and news stations that encourage citizens to question whether protesting is really a sign of support.