The Long Road Back to School
Storks and a View
I have now completed Salem 1, the first half of my language study!!! Derija (Moroccan Arabic dialect) continues to challenge me but in theory (Ha!) I can now introduce my family, buy fruit/veg at the market, talk about my job… and most importantly remember a few of the MANY greetings. It goes a long way here if you can greet people well!
There are 28 letters in the alphabet – the written form has a lot of squiggles and dots which look beautiful and I really enjoy writing it. Trying to verbalise what I’ve written is a greater challenge. There’s a lot of gargling and throat vibrating and I think my mouth looks similar to a frog’s as I try to produce the new (and unnatural) sounds.
Dodging cars
I continue to make serious faux-pas on a regular basis, but occasionally people understand me which is refreshing. We had a good giggle the other day when we were sat at a family meal and I proudly tried to practice my Derija. I asked the daughter if she had grandparents and she just kept looking puzzled and tried to clarify my question numerous times. After a long few seconds (it felt like minutes), it turned out I was asking her if she was gay. I don’t even know the vocab to ask that question so my grammar and pronounciation must have been way off! The whole family were in stitches 
The Chellah
I have a 45 minute walk to school every morning which takes me down the long Mohammed VI (the current king) road and past an old fort which I’ll tell you about another time. I then have a great view of the valley leading up to the sea. Couldn’t be better.
I’m not putting up many ‘people’ photos as generally people aren’t keen on being snapped at. And even less keen on being shown on t’internet!
