MY VISIT TO WASHINGTON 2O-03-208

After a five week stay in Arizona, I headed towards Washington. The plane was two hours late at the airport in Arizona. I was worried because I had to change the plane in Cincinnati and feared missing the other plane. Besides I had a lot of luggage with me. I did not have to pay anything. Even if I had some overweight, the people in charge were so nice and did not ask me to pay anything. “I am a lucky girl” this is what some people would tell me; well, I am so happy I am “aini l7assoud fiha 3oud”.

As soon as I got to Cincinnati, I ran as fast as I could; I had to change the terminal. But I was again lucky, the plane was waiting for some late comers.

At the Reagan airport in Washington, I got my luggage and asked a porter to help me with it. He did not take any money from me, he was from Somalia and said he was glad to help me. He called a taxi for me and the taxi driver was also Somalian. When I arrived to Holiday Inn, he carried all the luggage inside the hotel. I tried to tip him but he said no. so I had a lot of money still with me.

Once in the hotel, one of the Fulbright staff was there waiting for me as I was the latest to arrive. I was told to ask for room service to have dinner.

I met my other colleagues and everybody was so glad. However, I had to have dinner by myself as everybody had already had their dinner. I asked for a salad, a piece of pizza and a cheese cake. I was so surprised when they brought me a very big plate of a rich salad, a whole big size pizza and a piece of cheese cake.  I invited my friends to eat with me, but we left most of the pizza in the room’s fridge.

21-03-2008

The day started with a delicious breakfast among the other Moroccan grantees. It is amazing how before this program the Moroccan teachers did not use to know each other and how we became friends thank to the Fulbright teacher exchange program.

Later we met with the American Fulbright staff to talk about our experiences. We shared a lot about our cultural, professional and personal exchanges.

We, then went to a very nice restaurant for lunch. The food was excellent. I had a calamari salad and fish again for the main course.

Just near the restaurant, there was the newseum ; it is a museum of news and press. It is not completely open, but we were ones of the first to visit it. That is a privilege I guess. It is a very interesting place. However, what I really liked there was the place where a visitor would go and play the role of a reporter. I did it, and I was given the link to see myself in front of the capitol giving some news from Washington. Well, teachers can be anything as all of us played the role very well.

The Fulbright staff in Washington were very nice to take me to the White House since I missed that at the beginning of the exchange. We walked a little there and took some pictures and went back to the hotel.

We had dinner in a Moroccan restaurant. The food was good but a belly dancer was kind of out of place there. First because belly dancing is not at all Moroccan dancing, and second because the staff did not expect to see such things. Anyway, we laughed a lot and enjoyed ourselves greatly. The restaurant was surely trying to attract more costumers. We had, Moroccan soup, couscous, salads, chicken with lemon, pastilla, mint tea with Moroccan cookies and other things. The Fulbright staff told us they wanted to reintroduce us to Moroccan dishes just before going back to our country Morocco.

22-03-2008

Our last day in Washington was a free one. We had all the morning to go sightseeing. We were four to go to the Pentagon mall. We took the metro and went there to do some final shopping. We did not find what we were looking for, so we walked and bought only some lotions and got back to the hotel just on time to check out.

We had lunch together for the last time and bid farewell to our hosts. The Dulles Airport was very busy as it was spring break. And again, I did not have to pay even if I had more bags than I should. One of my friends took one bag for me, which was very kind of her. And in Paris, my carryon was too big to go in the plane, so they just took it and put it with my other bags. Yes, lucky again.

In Casablanca, my family was waiting for me and I went directly to Tangier; I was so happy to meet my family after a month and a half.

My weekend started on Friday when the school arranged a farewell party
for me. It was very nice and the headmaster gave me a present: a piece
of Native American jewelry. Someone must have told them about my love
for Native American handicraft.
Saturday was really a great and unusual day for a Moroccan lady. The
morning was quite usual though, because I just went to the botanical
garden of Phoenix. I liked it in the sense that it was wild and had a
lot of Native Indian examples of houses and food all made from cacti.
The unusual part started at 9:00 pm when the vice principal and his
wife invited me to a festival of "Salsa Dance". I needn't tell you
that I was the only woman with a headscarf in the club. The magic of
the thing is that people did not really look twice at me. I was
expecting them to frown or to be taken aback, no, nothing. Good for
me. We went upstairs and watched the groups and couples parading in
the most magnificent salsa dancing. There was also a band from San
Francisco who sang the whole evening in the most hilarious and
mirthful way. The singer of the band was wearing a suit, a tie and
glasses. The vice principal's wife made a joke about him and told me
that he looked rather like an accountant; he was so into the singing
that his appearance and his trance were incongruous. However he had
such a beautiful voice and I enjoyed his singing and even his speaking
in Spanish.
The vice principal's wife? Mistalene, was a good salsa dancer, her husband was
not. So he was reluctant to dance with her when the dancing floor was
swarming with people from different walks of life. In fact, he
performed some steps to please his wife. I did not dance of course,
"allahomma jaal khayra aamalina khawatimaha" .
I spent the night at the vice principal's house as I was invited for
the whole weekend. They are a very sweet young couple; I got a lot
along with them because they are approximately my age so we had a lot
in common.
Sunday morning was another unusual day for a Moroccan Muslim. I
attended the church with my hosts. The church is Christian
non-denominational. People of different colors and races were there.
They sang, they prayed and they even danced. The church had no
paintings, no sculptures and no colored glass windows. And again, with
my headscarf, nobody was surprised at my presence in that specific
place of worship. I just listened and stood up when people did so.
Most of the words the Pastor said are really not at all far from our
religion. The fact that we should praise God every day for what he
endows us with, that if we give something we will be given more and
more, that God would expect people to take their destiny in their
hands all seemed customary to me. Undoubtedly, we believe in the same
God. Nobody was trying to convert me however; and people just asked
me, at the end of the service, where I came from. it is amazing how I
stayed in France for five years and never went to a church. I tried
once, but the priest was annoyed with my presence, so I left.now, for
just six weeks I could say I saw a lot.
Just when I was getting ready to depart, I start getting interested in
experiencing more in this country. But, hadn't it been for James White
and his wife, I don't think I would have experienced these things.
As my hosts had been paying for me a lot, I invited them to a Moroccan
restaurant. So, we went to a place called Fez. James's wife's sister
joined us and we drove downtown Phoenix. The restaurant was not really
Moroccan, but the names of foods were: the Tangier burger, the Fez
sandwich and the Casablanca something. However, the food was good and
everybody liked it. I can say that this is the best weekend I spent
since I have been here because I saw some of the things that I needed
to see and again was able to join "the useful to the agreeable"

Today I visited a public school in the suburbs of Phoenix. At last, I could see how  an American public school looks like. A very nice lady working for “teach for America” came to the school to drive me there. The school is really very far, it took us two hours to get there. It is a very big school and has 1800 students of all races. The classes I attended are special education classes. The students have some learning disabilities and are there to be helped to be able to catch up with the rest of the students.

I observed for the first hour the teacher doing jeopardy game. It was really attention grabbing   as the students were mostly interested in the activity and participated actively in it.

Later I was introduced to the students and talked to them about my country, some of its traditions, the languages spoken there, etc. they asked me questions and there was a good interaction. I liked the school although my host was worried that I would see some of the behaviors I would not like. I usually start on field trips adopting a positive attitude. And, I still have the same feeling after going around the school: to the cafeteria, the gymnasium, the yard…

The area where the school is located is far from being Scottsdale or Paradise valley where I live and teach now, but I like it. I like to experience different things and to meet different people, and by going there I had that opportunity.

The kids there are more or less the same as the kids I teach in my classes. Life is already very hard on them; and so I think that we should value their work no matter what.

My partner was not in Arizona during this weekend, so I had to improvise things for myself. In fact it was a nice weekend. It started Friday after school. I came back home at about two and had one of the most relaxing naps I have ever had since I came to the States. I woke up at 7:00 pm and I did not even know where I was, as I was so tired. I spent the evening watching a movie that I don’t even remember now. So, that was just fabulous!

Saturday was so special. My host’s neighbor who is more than eighty years old, drove me to a shopping mall. I really appreciate people like that; she is very serene and truly very nice. We chatted on our way to the mall and she admired  the way I usually have my scarf fixed, she told me she could never do that. She was very smart in giving me some space once we got to the mall. Each of us went their ways and set a time to meet.

I bought so many things as usual. Whenever I go to a department store I buy a lot. I am one of those crazy women who are fond of shopping.

We got back home at noon, I had some lunch and I decided to go to another shopping place. So I decided to walk under the burning sun of Arizona. Dear Moroccan Fulbrighters I think I am the luckiest person as far as weather in concerned. It is very warm in here, anyway, Scottsdale, the city where I live now, is a sister city of Marrackech. The weather is just the same. I don’t want to get a tan though, “je suis assez bronzée comme ça” (ha ha ha).

I bought more stuff; I really need someone to tell me to stop buying. The reason why I am going on doing this is that, whenever I talk to my son, he asks me what I bought him and he asks for more. Now, because I am so far from him and I miss him so much, so I am getting him all those things that make me feel better (isn’t that crazy?).

And, on a whim, I decided to go to a restaurant alone, which I don’t do even in Morocco. I am in a country which is not mine, and I want to discover all the cultural aspects and the communication problems that one might have. So I just went and expected to  be served . Hoever, I asked a man working there, and he was so nice that he told me some of the anecdotes. I told him that I was vegetarian and he said how come I was in so a good health eating only vegetables. When I paid him, and I gave him 100 dollars (I had no change) after asking me about my origin (he thought that I was from India) he asked if Moroccan women usually have so much cash with them. Any way, I enjoyed the meal so much and the man would come now and then to ask if I needed something.

On Sunday, I was invited to dinner by the parents of a student. They were very nice people and we became quite close from the first minute. We ate salads and a pizza in a beautiful restaurant. During the meal, they asked me about so many things about Morocco. Later, we went to a nice place that looks unto the whole city of Phoenix. On our way home, they took me to one of the most wonderful hotels of Arizona, it is called “The Phoenician”. It is a great place, we went into the hotel, enjoyed the place and they drove me back. I gave the mother and the daughter two Moroccan jewelry pieces and they were very happy with my gift.

Maybe this weekend can be considered as a plain one, but for me I learned a lot and experienced many new things. So I am just happy with this weekend as it enabled me to meet other people and share with them views concerning the similarities and differences between out two countries.