Nasson College - Nugget Yearbook (Springvale, ME)

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experiment in international living a maroccan experience chosen as nasson college's fifth representative in the experiment in international living, i spent eight weeks in north africa observing the dissimilarities between our culture and that of morocco. living with the abdelaouhed alaoui family in rabat, morocco, i not only observed, but actually participated in this culture. as a member of this family, i enjoyed the festivities of a marriage and the birth of a first-born son. many times one of my brothers and i would walk to the medina to barter for different small leather or woolen goods. the medina is the old and more traditional sector of a moroccan city. it is a maze of narrow alleys, lined on both sides with many small shops of all kinds, sizes, and descriptions. heavy dirty-white walls hang over the streets, obscuring the home life of the medina, while the donkeys and men crowd the streets, bumping into and shouting at anyone in their path. but for the hundreds of sites i saw, i think the personal contact-the disagreements as well as the understandings and companionships-was the most important part of my experiment. to discover the generosity and hospitality of a people portrayed somewhat differently in our press was to view things through different eyes. Q9 lk ' 142

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to see and hear the emotionalism in one's speech concerning the arab-israeli conflict was something i'd never experienced until this summer. however, for all their similarities and common ideas with the middle east, the moroccans considered themselves north africans. morocco is a country of contrasts, it is a country in complete diffusion between the past and present, the traditional and modern, the maintenance of the status quo and progress, and the old and new. it was not uncommon to see a horse and cart standing in front of a modern apartment house or walking down the main streets of rabat. it was, likewise, quite ordinary to see a young moroccan couple dressed in western clothing followed by another couple dressed in the traditional native garb of caftan and djellebah. another contrast more apparant to me was the difference between the last two generations. where as my mother and father were ex- tremely nationalistic in a traditional sense, my brothers and sisters were nationalistic in a more progressive sense. my peers spoke a fluent french and admired europe and the french while i always got the felling that my parents distrusted the continent and refused to speak what little french they knew. the differences in cultures was something i can accept and, in fact, enjoy. at mealtime the entire family would sit on cushions around a circular table eating from one large common dish of vegetables and very little meat. shortly after eating, we would be served mint tea by our two young servant girls. many evenings someone would get the drums, and we would commence the native songs, during which time i would have to give my version of the moroccan belly dance. the moroccans were extremely fun-loving and seldom took themselves or anyone else seriously for very long. i tried several times to develop a serious political or economical conversation only to be asked if i did not want to rest or play cards. yes, this was my summer's experiment in morocco. it was one vacation of contrasts and friendships which i hope will never cease. i was once told that of all the european and north african countries one could visit, morocco is the most interesting. and after my experi- ence there, i, too, would wholeheartedly agree with this statement. barry b. lewis experimenter 1968 to morocco 143