This blog is a space where a Moroccan classroom meets an American one! Here students from the Atlas mountains can share with students from the American south, and where we can debate what is more delicious: Couscous or Cheeseburgers?
In Azilal and all over the Muslim world people are celebrating the holy month of Ramadan. It is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. The month is observed by fasting from food and water throughout from sunrise to sunset and then celebrating with family and friends in the nighttime.
The teachers fast even while giving lessons, and the students fast too!
We talked with the students about the challenges Muslim Americans face while fasting in the USA. Can you imagine not eating or drinking when most of your friends and coworkers are snacking away?
Ramadan, though, is more than just fasting. The Azilal students each got a chance to share what Ramadan means to them.
These are some of the things that they said:
Ramadan is about connecting with the poor, and feeling their hunger and thirst.
It is also about tolerance for others, praying and reading the Koran.
Ramadan is about cooperation and generosity, and sharing what you have with people who need it.
Ramadan is abot charity to others and helping your community. It is a time to do good deeds.
Well, I know that American people don't have a King but instead have a President. Actually our King is Mohammed the VI. He is Arabic and Amazigh, born on August 21, 1963. He is the current King of Morocco and he ascended to the throne on July 23, 1999 upon the death o his father, King Hassan II. His wife is Lalla Salma Bennane. They married in 2001 and he has two children: Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and the Princess Lalla Khadija. His mother is Lalla Latifa Hamme.
the royal family
Shortly after he took the throne, Mohammed VI addressed his nation via television, promising to take on poverty and corruption, while creating jobs and improving Morocco's human right's record. In February 2004, he enacted a new family code, or "Moudawana," which granted women more power. He considers the Berber language as an offical state language along with Arabic or darija. And the state preserves and protects the Hassaniya language of the Moroccan Sahara and all the linguistic components o the Moroccan culture as a heritage of the nation.
Further than that, the King will give all citizens the freedom of thoughts, ideas, artistic expression and creation, and all the people are treated equally in Morocco.. We respect all the religions and all the nationalities.
Finally, I hope that you got some information about the King in Morocco.
In small towns like Azilal, there is no such thing as a big supermarket. Instead, people buy their groceries and other necessities at little shops called hanuts.
Most hanuts are so small that in order to buy things you ask the shopkeeper, called the mul hanut, for what you want and they will take it from the shelf, bag it up and give you your total.
One of our favorite mul hanut's in Azilal is named Mustapha. He has a hanut with many various snack foods.
Here he is with his favorite snack, paprika pringles.
Today with the Access students we went on a trip to the hanut and each student picked out their favorite snack to buy.
They all asked Mustapha to help them get their favorite things. Lets see what they picked!
Bouchra Taghjanout, 16, decided on a bar of Nestle chocolate. We asked her why and she said that chocolate is more healthy. This big chocolate bar costs 10 dirham, which is just a little over $1.
El Habib Bibih, 16, chose a small bag of M&Ms because he says they are "very tasty!" This treat costs 8 dirhams, which is about $0.80.
Hmad Bahhou, 16, said that he likes spicy food. His favorite treat is a bag of Red Chili Crunch brand chips. At 15 dirham they are the most expensive thing anyone picked, about $1.50.
Finally, Khadija Assou, 16, likes original Pringles the best. "Because I like chips!" she said. $1 is the price, 10 dirham.
Did you notice everyone picked something you might like to eat in America?
For the American Peace Corps volunteers working in Azilal, the favorite things at the snack hanut are the fresh roasted nuts you can buy. The mul hanut has a big roaster outside and sells almonds, peanuts, cashews, pistachios-- anything you can imagine! You simply tell him how many dirham you would like and he weighs them out for you. Then he wraps them in used schoolbook pages and sends you on your way!
Brandy likes the salty roasted pumpkin seeds the best and picked a 3 dirham package, $0.30 of snack. Emma likes most the local almonds wrapped in a crunchy, cheesy coating. They taste like almond cheetos! She picked a $0.50, 5 dirham, paper cone of them.
Thanks for going on a trip to the hanut with us! What is your favorite snack and what kind of store do you buy it from?
Hi! My name is Leila ElQably. I am 16 years old. I speak Arabic, French, English and Tamazight.
I live in Azilal with my family. My family is big and generous! I am the baby of the family, I have 1 brother and 4 sisters. My mom stays at home and my father is home too because he is retired.
Three words to describe me would be friendly, stubborn, and competive.
In my free time I like to listen to music, especially classical music. I like to dance with my friends. I cook with my mom, watch TV, play sports (especially handball) and read a lot of books. I love Moroccan food like meat and vegetable tajine.
One very sad thing happened this year. My friend was ill. I spent a lot of time with her and visited her a lot. In Morocco we spend a lot of time together as friends, especially when someone is sick.
I am happy American people want to learn about Moroccan language, food and culture!
Morocco, unlike the US, is a monarchy. It is ruled by a king. His name is King Mohammed VI.
Lately there have been rumors he had planned a visit to Azilal, so all around town things were being improved and beautified.
At Lycee Ouzoud, the students painted colorful blocks on some school buildings:
What kinds of things do you think you would do at your school is the President was coming to visit?
They did a great job. You can tell they are proud of their school.
It appears the American contingent will no longer be contributing to this exchange project, but please keep following for more information about Moroccan culture and daily life in Azilal. If you know a committed teacher who would like to take part in an active exchange next year, please use the email in the sidebar to let us know!
A lot of you may not know very much about Morocco, a country in North Africa that has a very interesting mix of cultures. You can find it right across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain, so you can imagine the influence Spain has on Morocco and vice versa.
If you did not visit Morocco or search for it, you’re missing out on a lot of interesting things. For starters, there is a variety of languages spoken in Morocco, not just Arabic and French. Here I have eight different things you should know about the languages of Morocco.
1. Morocco has two official languages
Some people will say that there is only one official or national language of Morocco, and it is Modern Standard Arabic, but others will tell you that Berber is also an official Moroccan language. In formal situations you will find people using Modern Standard Arabic, as well as any written documents. Most schools are taught in this dialect of Arabic as well.
Berber, on the other hand, is not exactly a language spoken in Morocco as it is a type of language spoken. The original inhabitants of what is now Morocco spoke different Berber languages, so you can imagine how important it is to Moroccan culture. Most people in Morocco are at least bilingual, which means they speak Modern Standard Arabic and usually either a Berber language or Moroccan Arabic.
Salah and Khawla have a conversation in Modern Standard Arabic
2. Most people speak Darija, or Moroccan Arabic
Though the language used for official business and the government is Modern Standard Arabic, the most commonly spoken language among the people of Morocco is Moroccan Arabic, also known as Darija. It is a dialect of Arabic that is unique to Morocco, with some things borrowed from the Berber languages spoken there as well as French and Spanish.
Moroccan Arabic is the dialect you will hear the most in daily life, though it can also be heard on Moroccan tv stations, in movies, and even in some advertisements. That doesn’t make it as official as Modern Standard Arabic, however. You won’t find anyone writing in Darija, as it is essentially a spoken dialect of Arabic without a writing system even. Some have gotten around that to write poetry and other literature in Darija, but literature is generally reserved for Modern Standard Arabic.
Asmae and Kawtar having a conversation in Darija
3. Morocco is a country where diglossia occurs
The fact that there are two different dialects of Arabic used in Morocco, one for formal situations and another for everyday conversation, shows the diglossia that you can find in Morocco. Diglossia refers to what occurs when a community uses two different languages (or two dialects of the same language). One language or dialect is always used for formal purposes, while the other is reserved for informal uses. The language used for formal and official purposes is called the “high” language or dialect, while the informal one is referred to as “low”.
In the case of Morocco, the high dialect is Modern Standard Arabic, and the low dialect is Moroccan Arabic. School is taught in Modern Standard Arabic, but most of the time anything that needs to be better explained is done so in Moroccan Arabic, as students sometimes can’t quite grasp something in the high dialect.
4. French serves as one of two “prestige” languages
Modern Standard Arabic may be the go-to language for formal situations in Morocco, but years under French rule left a lasting impression that cannot be denied. In 1912, French was introduced as the language of the government, educational institutions, and more. Modern Standard Arabic was even eclipsed a bit by this change, and went to being used only in traditional and religious settings.
Today, French is still used for many official and government purposes. It sort of acts as the common language for those in the business and government sectors. It is seen as the language of science, technology, and more, while Modern Standard Arabic is regarded as the more traditional official language. Most Moroccans feel that it is necessary to speak a European language in order to maintain contact with the rest of the world and keep up in terms of technology and science.
Salah and Nourdine have a conversation in French
5. Berber is the indigenous language of Morocco
Berber refers to a group of languages as well as dialects that is native to North Africa. Most speakers can be found in either Algeria or Morocco, though there are pockets of speakers in other North African countries. Berber dialects were the original languages spoken in Morocco before even Arabic was introduced, and its influence can be seen even in the Moroccan Arabic commonly spoken at home and in the streets.
Berber can also be heard spoken among families and on the street, depending on where you are in Morocco. The dialect will vary as well from region to region, and there are at least three dialects that are widely spoken in the country. Most Moroccans consider any Berber dialect to be inferior to Arabic and French, and so it rarely gets used outside of Berber-speaking communities and is never used for documenting anything in writing.
Tamazight is one kind of berber language
6. You can find many Spanish speakers in the north
Given that Morocco is only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the southern tip of Spain, it makes sense that, at least in the north, you would be able to find people who spoke the language. Add to that the fact that Spain controlled a bit of Moroccan territory from 1912 to 1958, and it’s a bit of a no-brainer that some Moroccans picked up some Spanish along the way. On top of that, there is a lot of tourism between the two countries, mostly Spanish tourists visiting Morocco because of the exchange rate and the fact that Spain has a stronger economy.
If you go to parts of Morocco that used to be controlled by Spain, you will find that people will even watch television in Spanish and interact with their communities in the language. It has become the vernacular language of those areas, with a dialect of Arabic or possibly French spoken as well for business and official purposes.
7. English is becoming more and more popular
Just like most other countries in the world, Morocco sees English as an important language in terms of international relations and keeping up with the rest of the modern world. Though French and Spanish are much more popular still as second languages, English is becoming the new hot language for young Moroccans to learn. In fact, the state recognized this and in 2002 pushed through a reform stating that English will be taught in public schools starting in the fourth year.
This probably isn’t that surprising to you, considering English has a tendency to be the lingua franca in a lot of other countries. However, the interesting thing is that Morocco is much closer to Spain and France and the rest of the Arabic speaking world than to any country with English as the national language. Tourism could be a factor for English becoming more popular, but the main reason is probably just to keep up with the rest of the world.
8. Practically everyone in Morocco is at least bilingual
As you probably gathered from the rest of this list, Morocco is home to speakers of a variety of languages. There are at least a few dialects of Arabic that are widely spoken, plus French. Then you have the Berber languages, of which there are at least three that are commonly spoken in Morocco. On top of that, you have some Spanish and English, which is gaining popularity among younger Moroccans.
Since the official language is Modern Standard Arabic, and most government and official business is carried out in French, all Moroccans have to know either one or the other. In their own homes, however, they may speak Moroccan Arabic, a Berber dialect, or perhaps Spanish. Soon, even more people will also speak English, making them trilingual. The variety of languages spoken in Morocco has a lot to do with its location, but it is still quite impressive.
As this list has hopefully demonstrated to you, Morocco is not just another Arabic-speaking country. Yes, it is part of that group of nations, but thanks to its history with France and Spain, many people also speak either French or Spanish. Of course, you also have to remember the languages in the Berber family that were spoken long before any Arabic speaking settler arrived in the area. When you add in the fact that English is growing ever more popular there, you have at least five different languages spoken in the country, in the same country where everyone is at least bilingual. That is quite impressive from a linguistic standpoint, if I do say so myself.
Living Languages in Morocco
Moroccan Arabic - This is the official language of Morocco. Though it is somewhat different from most other types of Arabic, most Moroccans can understand conventional Arabic.
Hassaniyya Arabic - Also known as Moor. Over 40 000 in Southern Morocco people speak this form of Arabic.
Judeo-Moroccan Arabic - Only about 8 925 people speak this form of Arabic. It is generally confined to certain small areas in Morocco.
Standard Arabic - Most Moroccans can understand this form of Arabic which is spoken and written much throughout the rest of the Middle East and North Africa. Most Arabic television programs are in this form of Arabic.
Moroccan Sign Language - There is a large number of deaf men who speak sign language in the city of Oujda. It is hard to determine how many women are capable of sign language as they do not speak it in the streets. There are a few small deaf schools which teach the language though it is not generally used in Rabat, Tangier and Casablanca. Most people who use MSL cannot read or write Arabic. MSL is very different from American Sign Language and people conversant in the two sign languages would struggle to understand each other.
Spanish - Over 20 000 people in Morocco are capable of speaking Spanish. Besides being only a short distance away, Spain also acted as a protectorate of Morocco for a while after 1912. This resulted in Spanish influence in culture and language.
Tachelhit - 3 to 4 million of the people of Morocco speak this form of Berber.
Central Atlas Tamazight - This is also spoken by roughly 3 million of the inhabitants of Morocco. It is a dialect of Berber.
Tarifit - a lesser used dialect of the Berber language. It is spoken by about 1.5 million people in Morocco.
Extinct Languages
Ghomara - was a dialect of Berber which is generally considered to no longer be in use.
Senhaja de Srair - this is the fifth dialect of Berber which has also unfortunately fallen into disuse.
Other Languages
French - though not seen as an indigenous language in Morocco, at least half of the population is capable of speaking it. This is due to the strong French influence during the period of 1912 to 1956, which has also left a large amount of French architecture in parts of Morocco.
Today the Access students put on a great show! They did dialogues, sketches, creative writing, and songs all in English! Here are some photos from the show:
Good job Access students! Your commitment to English language and American culture is inspiring.
Lycee is the French word for High School, and it is used in Moroccan Arabic as well. In Moroccan Arabic it is pronounced Lee-see.
The students in the Access Program regularly attend different high schools around Azilal, but on Saturdays they come to Lycee Ouzoud for 4 hours of English instruction and culture.
This is the front of Lycee Ouzoud. On weekdays this space is packed with students meeting with their friends and enjoying the class breaks.
This is the view of main street in Azilal from the entrance of Lycee Ouzoud. You can see stores, offices, and apartments right nearby.
This is the football (soccer) field at the high school. Kids can play here after school or on the weekends. Because of the dry weather, this field can get really dusty!
This is a view of the teacher's lounge at the high school. You can see that the school is divided up into different buildings around the campus.
Here are the rooms where the Access Program is held. All the classrooms at Ouzoud open to the outside with big windows and doors. There is no heating or air conditioning in the school so the windows help regulate the temperature when it is hot, and students wear lots of layers in the wintertime to stay warm.
This is a view of the central courtyard of the school. You can see the Moroccan flag and some artwork. The campus is full of trees and places to chat with friends between classes.
How is Lycee Ouzoud different than your school? Do you like it?
This is Khawla Daki. She is a 16 year old student in Azilal. You can read her student spotlight here. This is what a typical schoolday is like for Khawla:
I wake up at 6:00 every morning. I love to listen to the radio in the morning because there is a mix of music, news, sports, and everything! I listen to the radio while I get ready for school and I take some time to revise my lessons for the day. For breakfast my mom makes delicious Moroccan msemn, which is a fried bread. I like to eat my msemn with cream cheese and olive oil, and I always have a glass of mint tea. I don't like breakfast too much, but my mom leaves out the msemn for me so I can eat before school.
Around 7:00 I go to my friend's house to pick her up so we can walk to school together. We live close to school so it is only a 10 minute walk. When we get there I talk with my friends Ikram, Khadija and Ayoub about their lives and our classes. School doesn't start until 8:00 so we have time to chat.
Everyday my school schedule is different. In Morocco we even go to school on Saturdays. But here is an example of a schoolday for me.
At 8:00 I begin my day with English class. I love English class! We have English for an hour and then we have a break. On the break we are allowed to leave school so I go with my friends to a little shop and buy candy and drinks and chat about the morning. It is only for 5 minutes. After that I go back to school for my Islamic Education class. I really like my Islamic Studies teacher. He is really good at explaining and we have lots of time for discussion. This class is given in Standard Arabic.
On some days my classes don't begin until 10:00. On those days, instead of having breakfast at home, I meet my friends at a little cafe and we have juice and raib, a Moroccan yogurt. I still wake up early so I can see my friends.
At 10:00 my Arabic class begins. It is not my favorite class because the teacher is very serious. Arabic is a different language than our everyday darija (one of our local languages) so we study it just like English and French. No one speaks Standard Arabic at home but it is important for school and jobs.
At noon I get to go home to have lunch with my family. My mother makes us a yummy tajine or, if it is Friday, couscous! I do not have time to help my mother with cooking because I am studying all the time. I am very serious about my studies. I have one older sister who is an engineer in Rabat, and another older sister who works as a nurse in a nearby city called Beni Mellal. I use my lunch time to eat with my family and prepare my things for my afternoon studies.
At 2:00 I have math class. My math teacher is serious but very kind. Our math class is given in two languages, both Arabic and French. For example, on Fridays this class is in French.
After math I have science. This class is also given in Arabic and French. Lately we have been studying biology and it is so interesting!
At 5:00 the schoolday is over for me. I sometimes go to Ikram's house to hang out, sometimes I stay at school to play football or to study in the library.
6:00 is cascoute time. Cascroute is like a snack and my mother makes bread. My favorite is a special moroccan bread called harcha. I love to eat harcha with nutella! I also have a drink of chocolate milk or coffee.
We have a light dinner much later, like potatoes and salad for example. In the evening between cascroute and dinner I take time to do my homework and watch TV with my family. My favorite show is called The Rachid Show. It is a famous talk show in Morocco. I like to watch it with my family before I go to bed.
Sometimes my family isn't home, and when I have the house to myself I love to dance! I always dance when I am alone at home.
This is Salah Eddine Ait Chitache. He is a 16 year old student in Azilal. You can read his student spotlight here. This is what a typical day of school is like for him:
At 6:00 in the morning I wake up and pray. My mom fixes me a breakfast of tea, milk and bread. I get ready for school and if I have time I read a little before leaving the house.
At 7:30 I walk to school. It is about a 20 minute walk. I like to walk alone instead of with friends because it gives me time to think about my day.
At 8:00 my first class starts. My school schedule is different everyday, but sometimes I begin with math. My math class is given in Standard Arabic, which is different than the local languages I speak outside of class. For two hours we have math. It seems like a lot but I like it! I want to be an astronaut so I know math is important.
After two hours we have our first break from school. I usually stay in the school and talk with my friends about our homework and how the math class went. It is nice to have a break after two hours of math.
My next class on some days is Arabic. This class, and my French class, are very serious this year because at the end of the year I will be taking the first part of a very important test called the bac. So we practice for this big national exam during our two hours of Arabic.
At noon we are released from school to go home for lunch. I take this time to hang out with my family, do any homework and preparations for the afternoon, and I pray. My mother makes a delicious lunch and we all share it. After two hours I have to go back to school.
In the afternoon I have two hours of French. I like my French teacher a lot, he creates a really welcoming environment. As I said before, this class is important because of the upcoming national exams.
When French is over my schoolday is finished at 4:00. I usually stay at school for some time, hanging out with friends or playing football on the school fields. Then I go home.
My family eats cascroute, which is like a snack in the early evening. I don't like cascroute though, so I usually skip it and work on my homework or read. Instead I have a small dinner prepared by my mother later in the evening, like a pizza or some spaghetti. Then I pray again. Muslims pray 5 times every day. I don't usually go to the mosque to pray, I like to pray at home.
I read a lot, sometimes until 2:00 in the morning. I also have a lot of preparations to do for school, especially my homework in math and physics. The rest of my family goes to bed before I do. But I like to stay up late chatting and reading. 2:00 is a late bedtime but I drink lots of tea throughout the day to keep me awake!!
Azilal is in the Atlas Mountains, where the mid-Atlas meet the high-Atlas. The high Atlas mountains contain the highest mountain top in North Africa! So even though it gets very hot in the summertime (sometimes over 110*!) in the winter it gets very cold. Now we even have snow:
Did you know that it snows in Africa? Just like Mr. Leventhal tells you, Africa is a big continent made up of all different climates and landscapes. Morocco has the humid seaside, the soaring mountains, and the dry desert.
The students in Azilal braved the cold to come out and participate in a competition held by Peace Corps volunteers all over the world called "Write On!" They were given choices of prompts to write about and then wrote for one hour in English about their choice. Here are the students in action:
Have you ever written a story in a language other than English? It can be hard to be creative when you are writing in a second language. For some of the Lycee Ouzoud students English is a 3rd or 4th language! Maybe you can try to sit down and write a story in another language this week and see how you can express yourself differently when you are not using your mother tongue .
The competition is judged on creativity and the students have an option to win prizes for the Azilal region, all of Morocco, and internationally! Good luck Lycee Ouzoud!!
