{"id":3860,"date":"2018-03-20T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-09-12T14:58:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-12T18:58:17","slug":"so-your-character-is-from-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victoriagracehowell.com\/staging\/6258\/so-your-character-is-from-morocco\/","title":{"rendered":"So Your Character is From Morocco … Featuring Imane @ Booksaccino"},"content":{"rendered":"


<\/span>
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\nIt’s time for this week’s So Your Character is … Post! This is a weekly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I’m hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven’t checked out last week’s  So Your Character is from Nigeria … be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!<\/span>
\n
<\/span> Disclaimer: The content below may be culturally shocking to some. Each of these posts is as uncensored as possible to preserve the authenticity of the cultures of each of the interviewees.<\/span>
\n
<\/span> (None of the Images are Mine)<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Hi, my name is Imane and I\u2019m from Casablanca, Morocco. I\u2019m a 20-year-old medical student (soon-to-be 21) and I basically run on (Moroccan) tea, books, and tv shows. I have never been much of a reader when I was young and I only started to read regularly at the age of 17-18 because that\u2019s when my English got better. My favorite genres would be thrillers and historical fiction. With my hectic schedule, I try to find as much time as possible to blog since I\u2019m really enjoying it but it doesn\u2019t always work out my way. Last but not least, I\u2019m obsessed with cats. A lot! <\/span><\/p>\n

\nBlog<\/span><\/a>\/\/ <\/span>Instagram<\/span><\/a> (Personal)\/\/ <\/span>Twitter<\/span><\/a>\/\/ <\/span>Goodreads<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

\nWhat do you feel is unique to your country? Landmarks? Celebrations?<\/b><\/span>
\nI think that what\u2019s unique about Morocco is its diversity. In the past, we had the Romans, the French and the Spanish in our country among others. Nowadays, we could still notice how this has shaped our dialect, our architecture, and our culture. You\u2019ll find that in some cities, there is a strong French presence with the same fa\u00e7ades that you\u2019d find while in Paris or Lyon. In others, especially in the North, you\u2019re more likely to sense Spanish vibes. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nFigure 1 Sandra Cohen-Rose et Colin Rose<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n<\/div>\n


<\/span> I know that this is not specific to Morocco since it is a religious celebration but it is <\/span>like my favorite day of the year and it is Eid Al Fitr. It is the one day that comes after the month of Ramadan. Now I love Ramadan quite frankly, but this day is quite special. The last day of Ramadan, after breaking the fast at sunset, people go out to donate a certain amount of money for charity. It is compulsory for whoever has the means to do so and can take the form of food or money. This is so that even the poorest people could get to enjoy the Eid the next morning. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Figure 3 Brahim Taougar – Le 360<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This is how it usually goes: First, most people wake up early to pray Salat al-Fajr and then go to Salat El Eid. Everyone wears their best traditional clothes for that! By the time of Salat El Eid (8am-ish), you\u2019ll find that the biggest mosques (such as The Hassan II mosque in Casablanca) tend to get SO crowded. It feels so good to see that many people are reunited for the same cause. We then go back home to get breakfast and then visit our grandparents or any relatives and basically have a feast with lots of laughter, enjoyable moments and great GREAT food!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Figure 4 P\u00e2tisserie Amandine – Marrakech<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Tell me about your country’s environment. What are some of your favorite places?<\/b>
\nI have not yet been to Chefchaouen. Shame on me! If you haven\u2019t heard of it, it\u2019s this very pretty very blue city in the North of Morocco. I am planning to go to it if all goes well.<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n


<\/span> So, aside from Chefchaouen and the North of Morocco in general, there are a few places that I can call my favorite. <\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n


<\/span> First: I am Berber. Hello! And I (well, actually my grandparents) come from a small village called Taliouine. It is situated in the Anti-Atlas Mountains and you can get tanned in 15 minutes. I know very little about this city, to be honest. All I know is that it is the capital of Saffron and that it is very calm and people there are very friendly. <\/span>
\n
<\/span> Also, weddings! They happen over a whole week! Yup, seven whole days of having fun, dan, ing and eating. I believe this was the traditional Moroccan wedding but I\u2019ve never heard of anyone doing one in the city (probably because that would cost an arm, a leg and two kidneys). In short, if you\u2019re fan of very calm places, trekking and tanning and eating very unique food, you\u2019ll love Taliouine.<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n


<\/span> Second: I have gone to Marrakech a few days ago and fell in love. I finally understood all of the tourists that came and said that they loved it! Have you seen Jardin Majorelle? Perfect. Reading. Place. Especially in the morning when it\u2019s calmer! Marrakech is a big city but it has kept lots of its historical landmarks. Best of both worlds!<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n


<\/span> Tell me about your country’s food. What are some of your favorite dishes?<\/b>
\nCouscous. Tagine. Bastilla. Rfissa. Those are the names you should remember. <\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n


<\/span> I didn\u2019t know whether I could include tea in \u201cfood\u201d or not. Either way, we consume lots of Moroccan mint tea. We call it \u201cAtay\u201d. I personally drink at least seven cups a day. I am pretty popular for being a tea lover though. Normal people (that aren\u2019t me) would be drinking one or two cups per day. For breakfast, we serve it. After a big meal, we serve it. Whenever a guest comes, we serve it. It\u2019s basically everywhere!<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n


<\/span> As for the dishes mentioned above, let me just tell you that my personal favorite is Spicy Seafood Bastilla. It is THE best! It is usually served in weddings and big occasions but still, I would love to eat it every day. There\u2019s also the Sweet Chicken Bastilla for people with a sweet tooth.<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n


<\/span> My second favorite would be Rfissa. It is chicken and broth over loads of mssemen that could be described as a square pan-fried dough (??). It is very yummy though and is typically given to new mothers. <\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n


<\/span> Couscous and Tagines are like the basics. Couscous is made weekly and Tagines even more often in a few homes. <\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n


<\/span>   <\/span>Tell me about any different speech patterns in your country. Slang? Idioms? Words for things such as \u201cbiscuits\u201d instead of \u201ccookies\u201d?<\/b>
\nIn Morocco, most people speak Arabic and French. There are some who can speak English (mostly young people) and some who can speak Spanish (in the North especially). Then, there are the Berbers who speak Berber. Now Berber is different from place to place. There\u2019s the Riffi Berber (North of Morocco in the Rif provinces), the Tamazight (Middle Atlas Mountains) and the Tashelhit (Anti-Atlas\/Sous). They are all very different. <\/span>Tamazight and Tashelhit are kind of similar but in the way French and Spanish are similar. My level in Tashelhit is okay and I can understand no word from the Tamazight and the Riffi berber. <\/span>
\n
<\/span> In our Moroccan dialect, you\u2019ll find that we have borrowed many words from other languages. Examples on the top of my head would be: <\/span>
\n
<\/span> A car = Tomobile (Moroccan D.) = Automobile (French)<\/span>
\nA fork = Fourchita (Moroccan D.) = Fourchette (French) <\/span>
\nA lighter = Brika (Moroccan D.) = Briquet (French).<\/span>
\nA kitchen = Kouzina (Moroccan D.) = Cozina (Spanish)<\/span>
\nA wheel = Rwida (Moroccan D.) = Rueda (Spanish) <\/span>
\nA week = Simana (Moroccan D.) = Semana (Spanish).<\/span><\/p>\n

\n