Yesterday, I stepped back into Rabat’s bright lights and
blaring sounds after a week living off the grid in a rural Moroccan village
called Ait Ouahi. Although it is
only located about three hours southeast of Rabat, the village seems worlds
away. To provide some context, the
nearest town to Ait Ouahi, a little outpost called Oulmes, has a population of
under 10,000 people, many of whom work either in agriculture or at the local
water-bottling factory. About 15
minutes away from this tiny town’s center begins a windy dirt road and the
entrance to village life. For six
nights, our group lived with families in Ait Ouahi, joining in their daily
exercises and learning about rural issues.
Unlike our homestay arrangements in Rabat, where each
Moroccan family hosts only one student, we were placed in groups of two or
three for our week in the countryside.
Since many of the families spoke only Darija or Tamazight (a Berber
dialect), having more students per household was helpful for communication and
general support. Throughout the
week, I shared a family and many unforgettable experiences with my friends,
Alex B. and Alex V.
Chickens in our yard
Our father, Ahmed, had worked briefly at the bottling plant
but preferred the freedom of farming to the factory’s strict rules. Although he had only attended school
through the 6th grade, he spoke four languages, including French,
fluently. His wife, Zahara, was
more difficult to communicate with using words; still, I felt a certain
connection with her. Growing up,
she had two mothers and one father.
She didn’t know her birthday because at the time, no one in the village
kept such detailed track of time.
She had a fantastic sense of humor and made some of the best bread I’ve
ever tasted. We had two host
brothers, Durees and Murad. Both
of them were in their late 20’s and worked long days as taxi drivers in
Oulmes. One of our host sisters,
Mena, was 21 and engaged, waiting to move to Tangiers with her husband-to-be. The other, Maryam, was 18 and finishing
her schooling near home. She said
that the most frustrating thing about living in the village is the lack of
access to university education, and she hoped to live with her aunt in Italy in
the future. I feel very fortunate
to have again been placed with such a fun, easy-going, caring family, and I
know that my interactions with them shaped my village experience in a positive
way.
Casual goat herding
Mostly, we spent our time in the village not doing, but being. With the
exception of some organized conversations with the local people, our time was
our own to spend observing and interacting with our families. When it was sunny, which was
unfortunately not the norm, Maryam took us to explore the countryside. Situated near the Middle Atlas
Mountains, Ait Ouahi is a sight to behold, filled with sloped pastures, secret
waterfalls, and far-off peaks. Our
family’s garden was reminiscent of Eden, possessing dozens of forms of life,
including apricots, almonds, cherries, apples, oranges, eucalyptus, figs,
olives, beans, and a variety of herbs.
Outside of the gate roamed their chickens, sheep, goats, cows, donkeys,
and turkeys. Further in the
distance, crumbling ruins of abandoned homes made perfect places for
exploration. These old homes were
signs of the past decades’ exodus of people to the cities. Ahmed and Zahara’s daughters are among
many youth seeking a different life, a trend that makes me wonder what the
future of such villages will be.
A little patch of our family's garden
On the rainy days, we had plenty of time to relax. Huddled by the fireplace, I completed
more pleasure reading than I have in many semesters. We made Moroccan-style pancakes, called bahrain, and then
ate them with butter directly from the family’s cows. When we felt stir-crazy, we walked with Mena and Maryam
through the misty, muddy land and down to a river that had formed following
over 24 hours of steady dampness.
Rainy day snacks
I don’t want to make village life sound too ideal. The week that I spent in Ait Ouahi was
one of my favorites so far this semester, and I could have easily lingered for
the simplicity of it all. However,
people’s lives there are challenging in many ways, and it is not a place in
which I would like to permanently live.
As with any other agricultural society, the economy depends on the
weather, which makes each person’s livelihood unpredictable. As Maryam mentioned to me, access to
education is limited. When we
asked a group of local women what they thought about the new Moroccan
constitution, which went into effect in 2011, none of them had even heard of
it. Traditional mindsets change at
a slower pace. Most households
consider it shameful for women to engage in physical exercise or be outside
after dark. It’s a very different
world, yet it exists only hours from where I sit now, typing this post with
access to CNN, Facebook, and the rest of the outside world.
Learning Amazighi dances
With the village stay now finished, our group does not have
any organized travel planned for the rest of the semester. However, I expect to go with friends to
Fes within the next couple of weeks, and I would also like to do some hiking
outside of Marrakech. Since I am
officially at the halfway point of my semester in Morocco, I am also planning
more seriously for my final month-long independent research project. Once that time begins, the rest of the
term will really fly, so I’m trying to take advantage of every minute!
