This week marked my first week with my new (and I think last) host family of my stay in Morocco. They are a great family to end on! The family is based in Meknes, but we spent the first couple days of my stay in a village outside of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun where they have a lot of family.
Staying here for a couple of days was a calming reset for my last couple of weeks in Morocco. We spent most of our days outside, cooking together, and hanging out with all of the family members. The days were hot and the nights cold and it was nice to be so in tune with the outside world. While there I helped shell almonds, walk to get drinking water, sort wheat, and cook some Moroccan dishes. We would take nightly walks along the winding roads and through the mountains with beautiful views of valleys filled with olive trees. We spent about three days there before we headed back to their home in Meknes.
Along with this host family update I wanted to make note of some cultural differences I have observed during my time here in Morocco:
Leftovers are not commonly consumed. Often any leftover food from meals is given to outdoor dogs or cats.
They have big Moroccan couches that go all around the edge of a room and when eating meals, they pull up a round table to a corner of the couch to eat.
When eating you eat with the right hand.
Often food is eaten with your hands and with bread.
Meals always start with vegetables and salad type things then the main meal and finally dessert is served which is fruit.
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day.
When Moroccans are driving it is common to see them driving down the middle of the road and moving over when someone wants to pass.
The families are often very social, people would come over at 10:30 p.m. without a direct invitation and that is totally normal and expected.
Family is very important, and it is not uncommon for adult children to keep living with their parents even after they are married.
When greeting people, you usually do a handshake and sometimes the French bisous, or kisses on the cheek. Sometimes it is one side and the other, sometimes it is one side. It can be difficult to know what is expected, so I usually just try to follow their lead.
It is common to see men working and the women staying home to take care of the children and do the cooking and cleaning. It is also not super common for women of the family to know how to drive.
When in the house you wear slides or shoes of some kind and take them off when going on carpet.
Time is not strict/punctuality is not as important. Someone could say they are picking you up at 10 and not show up for over an hour later.
Often there is only one trashcan in the house, I have never had a trashcan in my room or the bathroom while here.
They drink Moroccan mint tea at least 2-3 times a day.
It is common to sleep on the floor.