The Devil's Holiday

Yesterday was Halloween and I spent the day with Meriem, the best language partner in the entire world. Seriously. Don’t even try to argue with me on this one @otherYESkids. First, she brought me on the Rabat bus. We are not allowed on the buses unless with a language partner or host family member so that’s the only reason why this experience was notable. But it wasn’t anything special. It was like any other bus in this world. Just a bus.

Soooo after the bus, we went to the bus station (Exciting stuff, Madeleine! I know, my life is riveting. But seriously, any time spent wandering around with Meriem is a good time.) and she put more money in her friend’s bus pass. Then we went to Orange (Moroccan cell company) and put more money in my account for November. After, we started walking to the medina, where we ran into a famous Moroccan actor who is known for, I kid you not, mispronouncing “bravo.”

In the medina, Meriem bought Eva a birthday present. It was a beautifully-carved wooden keychain that said “Rabat” on one side and “Eva” in Arabic on the other side. She got the same thing for me even though I insisted that she is too nice and it isn’t my birthday.

Then we went to the best restaurant in the medina where super cheap falafel is sold, and Meriem ate while I showed her my Darija homework (I have special homework just for her so I can improve my Arabic writing… she is very dedicated to my improvement in the language and I love her for it). We also ran into my friend Hicham (I’m in an art club at the university and he is one of the members) which was nice! I love having FRIENDS! Also what’s cool about Rabat is that it isn’t huge, so I tend to run into people I know pretty frequently.

Anyways, after all this, we went to her university again and, to my surprise, her entrepreneurship club was making Halloween decorations for a party that they were organizing! Even though Halloween is the Devil’s Holiday! I was very happy to participate in this, because although I’m not super obsessed with Halloween or anything, it certainly is a taste of home. During this decorating session, there was one guy who asked how long I’d been in Morocco and then said “respect” in English because he was impressed... That made my WEEK.

There was another guy who would speak to me in super rapid Darija because he was making jokes for the benefit of the other Moroccans in the room and not me, but I understood a majority of it, and this is the jist of what happened (I sass those who are purposely difficult with me):

He said he wanted to marry me because I have “the papers” (to become an American citizen). I said I don’t have the papers. Then I pointed to my rings and said I already have enough husbands.

He said he would be my best husband. I asked if he was rich. He handed me a single dirham.

He tried to put his ring on me. I yelled “I am not your puppet” in perfect Darija (my favorite line that I use surprisingly frequently).