The first couple of weeks of study were jam-packed, but it was certainly good to hit the ground running. Academically, my class was split into two covering roughly the same material, but one (mine) moving at a bit of a faster pace with more emphasis on conversation and activating patterns rather than going through the basics of grammar. Truth be told, I was happy for the change and equally happy that the two groups remained together for Derija class. I've had some great luck with the teachers I'm working with and hope that the pace keeps up.
Out-of-class activities were equally rewarding. My roommate and I took to exploring the medina and lots of the bookstores nearby to the house after class. I think I mentioned this before, but the medina in Rabat is just about the most laid-back medina I've ever visited. That's not to say it lacks hustle and bustle -- it has those in spades -- but the masses tend to be fairly respectful and not terribly pushy. Invitations to look into stores are more suggestions than demands, and shouted prices seem to be more advertisements than challenges.
In fact, I spent some good time wandering around the old city with a friend over the first weekend. My roommate headed to Fez for a sacred music festival, but I decided to stay in Rabat to get to know the area better. I was a little bit worried because of how much I had been relying on her for help with communication, but I was quite pleased with how I was able to express myself with as little French as possible. In fact, I spent enough time talking with my host mom in Arabic that when my host sister came home and started talking in French, Umi ("my mom" in Arabic) scolded her, saying "No, no, no! She's speaking in Arabic now!"
I headed out without much of a plan or direction, but had a lovely time wandering through the garden more or less across from my house and around the newer parts of the city. Then, because Rabat is a city but also a bit of a small town, I ran into some friends from the program and we ate lunch together and wandered some more. The group broke up, but I went with one of my friends back into the medina to try to find her a bag. There was more language success to be had talking with the various shop owners. I definitely felt more comfortable being able to fall back on French, and I think the shop-owners were happy to do the same, but all were incredibly supportive of our forays into Arabic and pleased that we were studying it. In the evening I felt a little bad about skipping out on a bigger gathering of people from the program, but instead I went with another friend of mine to see a movie. She's a very advanced Arabic speaker who's lived in Cairo and was excited that she found a movie in Derija. I went along, preferring a smaller, less conspicuous group for the evening, praying that there would be French subtitles. My prayers were answered, and much to my surprise I think I wound up understanding more of the movie than she did (the first and last time that happens, as I told her). It was a bit of a hollow victory, I suppose, since my comprehension came from reading French subtitles and hers came from trying to immerse herself in an entirely new dialect she's never studied, but I still found the film to be very interesting and enjoyable. I definitely recommend La Source Des Femmes (with whatever necessary subtitles!) to anybody interested in forms women's advocacy and activism in more traditional communities. Sunday was a more relaxed day filled with studying and catching up, but it also included successfully accomplishing one of my initial Rabat-related goals: trying avocado juice. Juice stands and shops are all around, and avocado juice, while it sounded a little strange to me, is so popular I figured I needed to try it. The verdict: it is wonderful! I don't know why I haven't seen it more in the US, but I'm definitely bringing the idea back with me.
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