In a few short weeks I will mark my 2nd year anniversary here in Fes. And what a time it has been … never easy, always challenging and full of opportunities for personal growth.
As you might remember, I was just passing through when I arrived here in January 2007. But instead, I got a job, a husband, a house and a completely new lifestyle. I even got a new name.
You are aware of all the difficulties I’ve faced during my two years here, but I don’t think I’ve given a full accounting of all the positives. In keeping with the spirit of a new year bringing a fresh beginning, I am going to focus on just that … the positive.
The end of this year brought our first houseguests. I wasn’t quite prepared for this (to say the least), but Fes has been full of tourists during Christmas vacation and many people were scrambling for a place to stay during the last week of the year. So one evening a young Moroccan man brought 4 Spaniards to the house looking for accommodations. Well the few days before their arrival at my doorstep, I had purchased a new mattress and moved the existing mattress into one of the still unfinished upper salons. I then moved all my clothing and jewelry upstairs as well. Hassan, his mother and I went to a souk on one of the outer reaches of the Medina and purchased two long, foam cushions and I fashioned a Moroccan salon in the room where I had previously used as my ‘dressing room”. I had no sooner finished plumping up the cushions on the couch/beds, when the Spaniards arrived.
They stayed as our guests for three nights (during which time we had to turn away a hapless American woman whose reservation had been given away --- on New Year’s Eve no less) and then four more guests came on the following night. Minutes after the second batch left there was another knock on the door and an English couple came looking for a room as well. Fortunately for me and my sanity, they agreed to take the rooms but then left to get their luggage and never returned. The reason I was relieved they didn’t stay is because Hassan and I still don’t have a bathroom upstairs yet and we had to use public toilets and pee in a chamber pot upstairs while our guests were in the house. We’d wait until they left for the day to sightsee and sneak downstairs to shower and use the facilities. I grew tired of this setup after the fifth day so the English couple did me a huge favor by not returning.
But soon after our guests left, we put in another bathroom upstairs. I have installed a second toilet and, with any luck, a new sink will follow soon. No hot water yet but right now I am thrilled with just a toilet. I scrambled around yesterday buying a few things to accommodate more visitors(more pillows, bed linens and a big supply of toilet paper). So, we’re more ready than last week for guests and even though we don’t have the proper permit to do this yet, we are getting good experience housing guests until we can begin to accommodate tourists officially. This is great because I haven’t been able to fund much with my salary and the future looks promising in terms of financing a room here and there from the tourist trade. And, lo and behold, two Italian women came yesterday and stayed with us for three days. So, I’m back upstairs in an unfinished room, sleeping on a mattress on the floor and tiptoeing around while my guests enjoy the downstairs. And, even better luck, Hassan got a job to take seven Peruvians to the Sahara for 5 days. He left early this morning completely excited to be traveling again and earning some money.
School begins all too quickly and while I don’t prefer to work as much as I do, I do enjoy my students more than ever. I was invited to speak at a University to students in an English language Master’s program. I was a hit with the students and have been invited back to speak about cultural differences between Moroccans and Americans. That should be lively!
Like most people, I have been suffering with a cold but it is hard to avoid. The weather has been cold and rainy for months now and the houses in the Medina are rather damp after all the rain. But it’s nothing to keep me down, just saps my energy a bit. The good news is everything is incredibly green and lush in the surrounding hills and there is snow on the mountains in the distance. Flowers are in bloom too and it looks like spring (even if it doesn’t feel like spring).
Hassan likes to say I am famous here in Fes. And he calls me the “teacher of the teachers” because I have been assigned several student teachers during the last two semesters. And in some ways I do feel ‘famous’ around here. Children stop me on the street to give me a kiss (sometimes they kiss my hand), sometimes I get preferential treatment at the post office or some municipality just by nature of the fact that I am a teacher. And often I am treated to free coffee or food or tickets to an event because …. well, because of who I am I guess.
All this is to say, while life here is often difficult and my skills to handle the difficulties are often inept, I have established myself as a respected member of the community. And the house is looking better and better every month. We now have five rooms that are habitable and a terrace too. There are still many, many projects to tackle but for now, I just close the doors (when I have a door to close that is) on the rooms that are still under construction and try to stay focused on the positive.
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