Old McDonald Had a Farm…

September 29

Hello and Happy Monday from Rabat, everyone!

My glamorous excursion has concluded and I am back in language classes and lectures. Life has returned to the slow-moving, long class days and the constant reminder that no matter how good I am getting at Modern Standard Arabic, my darija dialect still sucks!

Nevertheless, I am exhausted and I need a little “boring” in my life. I am putting boring in quotes because, I am studying in Morocco, after all, so I shouldn’t be such a whiner. Nothing is really happening today, so I think it is best that I discuss the insane Sunday that I had yesterday!

First things first, I opened my bedroom door after hearing a large commotion coming from the narrow hallway and you will NEVER guess what I saw: my host father and some random young guy hauling a sheep onto the roof. A SHEEP. S-H-E-E-P, you guys, and I am not talking about a baby!

For you folks who are unfamiliar with Muslim culture, here’s your daily factoid:

A special holiday is coming up next Sunday or Monday called, Eid Al-Adha, or “Holiday of the Sacrifice”. It is also referred to as Eid Kebir, or the “Greatest Holiday”. It celebrates Abraham’s obedient willingness to sacrifice his son to God.

SO, each Muslim family celebrates this with a feast, beginning with their own sacrifice of an animal, usually a sheep, but the animal may differ by the family’s economic situation.

Long story short, Lamb Chop was brought to be killed next week. I have noticed that my host family, especially the older male cousins, are WAY TOO excited for this to take place. Me? I am just hoping I don’t pass out. I do have to watch an animal get its throat cut and then die…and then eat said animal.

Back to yesterday…

So this large farm animal was brought to my house to live thirty feet away from me, separated by a pair of doors, which was no big deal at first. I only began to mind when he proceeded to make an absurd amount of noise. This was to the point that my classmates living nearby could hear it from their houses. Absurd, I tell you!

They never tell you in pre-school what animals really sound like, and I was not prepared for this deep raspy roar that came from that sheep. He carried on from the time he got there, until the time I went to sleep. Six hours of noise and a migraine later, I was finally able to sleep peacefully. He really better watch it or he will may not make it to the Eid (I am of course mostly kidding)! I woke up thinking it was all a dream, but I heard him again when I woke up. Pray for me people!

Well, that is it for now! Hopefully my sheep friend will simmer down and I won’t have to suffer for too much longer. I know he’s literally “dead meat”, but he could at least be more respectful!

We are off this afternoon to meet our Moroccan journalism partners. They will collaborate with us on our final Independent Study Project and assist with our only barely basic understanding of the culture in this wonderful country. I feel like I am about to go to gym class and get picked (or not) for dodgeball! Insha’Allah, things will go fine and I will work well with him or her!

xoxo

Rae