Talking Like an Egyptian in Morocco

So, this is the loser who left his wife date-less for the Marine Ball.

I spent the week in Morocco with Rob. He has been serving in the Peace Corps there for over a year. Rob lives in Tamesloht, a village 30 minutes outside Marrakesh. Just off the main highway, the village of Tamesloht would be easy to miss if not for the tire fire. Rob's fellow Peace Corps volunteers from across the country are unanimous in agreement: this is the ugliest town in the entire kingdom. If you Google "Tamesloht", you can view the ambitious mission statement of Tamesloht 2010, a European-funded revitalization effort launched seven years ago. Rob said they were having a hard time making a go of it. With the decade half-spent, the group renamed itself Tamesloht 2012. Not long after, they closed up shop for good. For better or worse, Rob is in Tamesloht to stay. He will be there another year.

Don't feel too bad for him. He is just a bus-ride away from Marrakesh, home to the Djemaa el Fna, the one-of-a-kind town square jammed with humanity - noticeably more Morrocans than tourists, snake charmers, sorcerers, monkeys on leash wearing fez, and my favorite: a man seated, playing guitar and singing, while a live chicken sat nonchalantly atop his head. I have no pictures from Marrakesh. None could live up to the experience. These photos are from Essaouira.

Rob with Orson Welles plaque. Welles shot "Othello" in Essaouira.

Before coming to Morocco, I was very pessimistic about the usefulness of my Arabic. Rob and I sometimes compare words, and we never agree. Morocco's location, the French influence, and the native Berber population have all combined to make Moroccan Arabic virtually unrecognizable to the rest of the Arab world. However, thanks to satellite television and Egyptian cinema, Moroccans are more and more familiar with "pure" Arabic. While browsing the souks (markets), I was always greeted in French - and I don't speak any French. But when I answered in Arabic, "pure" Arabic, they responded with wide eyes, disbelieving laughs, and in some instances, tea. "You speak Egyptian!" they exclaimed. I quickly grasped that "Egyptian" means non-Moroccan Arabic. I wanted to say "Egyptian Arabic is almost as bad as Moroccan Arabic! I mean, what if your name was Jerry, but everyone called you Gary?! I speak Lebanese Arabic, thank you!" But instead I kept my mouth shut and enjoyed the tea.