Hobnobbing in Morocco

It's not quite what you might be thinking. Marcia's lying in bed and hobnobbing in Morocco? Yes, it's true. I am munching on my most favorite cracker, from England, while trying to recover from a parasite or the flu. At this point, I don't know what it is since it continues to linger. I think my body is just saying, "Stay at home and make your own art while sipping tea and munching on hobnobs."

What a lovely thought and life that would be. Maybe this afternoon. Now, I am resting, listening to the lively sounds of many stirring for the day's activities in the patisserie square below my apartment. Muslim men are belly laughing, delivery trucks are picking up pastries for shops throughout the city, men on mo-peds are speeding by, some with their families barely staying on their bikes, no helmets, and other men are setting up for the day in the cafe connected with the patisserie. The local venders of cactus fruit and bananas are passing through with their donkey carts.

Right below my apartment.

Here, men, typically, work outside, women work inside. If a man does not have an office, which most don't, they set up shop with their cell phones at the men-only cafes, order endless cups of tea, light up their cigarettes and wait for calls for employment. These are the electricians, carpenters, plumbers and such. Some never get a call during the day, but they have been outside, so no shame has come on them. 


One might see women on the porches of apartments, but that's really venturing out for them. If a woman goes out, she is covered, often in a black jellaba and head covering. A man she is walking with may be in shorts and a T-shirt, but never the woman. He may actually be walking with two women and some children. Then we know he has two wives. A man can have up to four wives.

Men making mosaic tiles.

In contrast to this scene, I remember seeing men working inside the pottery/tile studio in Fes, so some do work inside. The men making the tiles actually sat on the dusty gray ground to hammer out those tiles. It was amazing to see them chisel by banging, in just the right places, all those tiny tiles that would some day be beautiful mosaics in grand buildings. 


This reminds me of how God uses the pieces or "tiles" of our lives to design a beautiful mosaic that is for his glory and our good. Let me tell you, when the banging part is going on, I'm not really happy. I have to trust he is banging in just the right places to produce the beautiful mosaic that is each of our lives. I can't second guess what He is doing in your life or mine. Trusting Him is my hard work...I want to be the clay telling Him, the potter, what to do, and certainly NOT to bang. 

Covering an object with tiles.

However, I have trusted Jesus as my good, perfect, loving savior, so I trust I am in His good, loving, trustworthy hands. And, while we are at it, let's encourage each other as His creating goes on in each of us, knowing He is creating beauty, truth and goodness. That part is probably hard sometimes, because we may not trust what God may be doing in someone else. Especially if it is slow going.

During my days of lying in bed, I have time to reflect and enjoy the goodness of God in my life. He and I have been working on the soil of my heart. I've looked over many photos just to remind myself of all God is creating right here in Morocco. So, you might say, I have just been hobnobbing with Him! No one better to be with.


My verse for today: Ephesians 2:10 says,"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." 

Ciprofloxacn

Advil from Morocco and Cipro from Jill.

Oh, the fresh green beans, tomatoes and basil were so delicious from "The King's Market" on Monday night. The King's Market is a store near my school, and it is supposedly where the servants shop for the king when he is in town. Then, Monday night, I became very ill, pounding headache, chills, sweats and other conditions I will leave unmentioned, from all those yummy veggies. 


I took Tuesday off from work, and I was making no progress in healing. Then, my roommate came home and gave me Cipro and tonic water. I highly recommend it. It is 2:30 AM, and I feel like living again. I am taking today off from school, and I may take tomorrow off because I am still incredibly weak with fever. How do people even make it without Cipro? Thank you, Lord, for modern medicines.


It is a wonder that something so good as fresh green beans, basil and tomatoes could cause such havoc. However, the soil  they are grown in and the parasites associated with them are not in my body's repertoire in my defense system. It reminds me that everything that may be good, may not be good for me. 


I just read on the Cipro bottle that it may cause dizziness. No wonder I've felt like falling down when alighting the bed. 


Favorite quote for today that I received via email - "Good morning, Marcia!

Yesterday my 5th graders were using colored pencils, and one of them said, "I'm going to use all cool colors."  Another one said, "I'm going to use warm colors."  I asked what they were learning about in art class, and they had fun telling me about the different colors :-).  Just thought I'd pass it on - it's nice to know when our students are actually retaining what we're teaching!

Anne Marie Peterson
Elementary ESL Specialist"


Favorite quote I read on an artist friend's blog: As the disciples responded to Jesus when so many deserted him, and He asked if they were going to quit too, so we respond: “Where else can we go, Lord? You have the words of eternal life.” Thank you, Jesus, for life and eternal life today.

Growing in Art

I gave my students assessments in art today, I asked them to draw a picture of themselves, their family, their favorite animal, their house, a beautiful tree and to trace around their hand on the back of the assessment paper. I told them we'd try the assessment each quarter and watch to see how their art skills grow. I told them I had come to help them grow in their ability to express themselves using art.


They worked very diligently, well most of them, and it was fun to see how they are currently drawing. Some thought it was a test, so they stressed about it. Oh, to be 10 and know to enjoy art!


Seventh grade continues to be difficult. I seem to have to re-establish my authority every time I have them. It is sad that they are most happy with worksheets. I spent hours designing a worksheet on Islamic art for them. What was actually really cool was they did know the Arabic to use in their drawings. In the end, I asked them to design a simple mosaic with some Arabic to decorate their own homes. Some did their name in Arabic, some did a saying.


I ended the day in 7th grade with some contour line drawing. Several children sat 5 minutes while the other students tried it. They struggled a bit, but they are  trying! I give them much credit for that.

I wanted to end tonight by sharing just a couple of other pictures from Fes. The Riad we stayed in was so lovely; I wanted you to see their welcoming door. The small door inside the larger door is for family, and the bigger door is for company and celebrations.


Note the bar across the bottom that one has to step over in order to enter. Maybe that keeps some pests and animals out? Maybe it keeps the cold air out as well. Don't you just love the door within the door? I also like the mosaic floor at the entry and the nice roof to stand under. You can also see in ceramic the sign, "Dar Fes Medina" set in the wall.

 I'm heading to bed with hopes of an excellent day tomorrow. I truly want to count my blessings, and there are many. It's still sunny and beautiful beach weather here. Some of my friends in Cambodia are very deep in water from flooding. Theirs is a hard life. I have so much to be thankful for! Night to all from North Africa!

Back Home in Morocco

Pottery and embroidery from Fez.

I have returned to my life in the big city at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, and I have lovely, held close to my heart memories of Fes and Riad Fes Medina. I have my ruby slippers in case I need to go home:-), I have wonderful memories of colors, hand-painted pottery by people I have actually met, Andalusian music, Pastillia, and new friends that treat me like a sister. I hope to return for a weekend in December. "En Sha Allah" (if God wills) as they say in this neck of the woods! It was a great weekend of prayer, praise and encouragement with each other in our traveling group. I drifted off to sleep thankful to the Lord for many, many blessings. Now, I return to my teaching in the corner of the world where God has placed me. May He be honored in my classroom this week.
(My teaching thought for today: "Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another." -- Marva Collins)

Dyed ruby red leather slippers from Fes.

PS Today, I am highlighting a need of an organization that helps women and girls leave the sex-trafficking industry, from another part of the world, which I am a part of. CHO - Cambodia Hope Organization needs our help. Please read here http://affhope.org/current-projects/cambodia-water/ and help a fantastic project in one of the poorest areas of the world. Thank you for reading. Let's all be God's hands and bring beauty and goodness to these sisters.

Final Day in Fes

Inlaid wooden chairs in our raid.

I just don't know what today will bring, but we are arising slowly, even though we had the 5 AM service blasted outside our window. Things have quieted down a bit; the birds are singing, and I hear the sounds of breakfast making from the courtyard down below. Someone is playing Arabic music softly. I have decied to post a few more pictures from the medina in Fes. Can't be bacon I smell, pork isn't a part of the cuisine in Morocco; Judy says it is the fried bread I'm smelling.


My verse for today, in honor of my new friends here as well as our hosts is:
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! —Psalm 133:1 A blessed Lord's day to all. I'm off to find some African java.

An enormous rug shop in the medina.

Fascinating Fes!

Production potters in Fes

The mosque Fatima built.

A hard sell at the embroidery shop.

I just don't know where to begin with my amazing adventure to Fes. We have seen so many sights, colors, people, foods, animals and smelled so many smells...from rose water smells in our room to donkey dung on the cobblestoned streets. I was able to see how they make the pottery, get one bag of clay, jump on the wheel, buy a bit of pottery for tea time and exchange information with the pottery place. Fes seems so very Moroccan!


We began our day by hopping into a van with our guide and going to the king's palace. He wasn't there; he has many palaces throughout Morocco. However, we were able to see moorish influences in the architecture and decorative walls. We then went on to see the old Jewish quarter begun in 500 BC during one of the persecutions of the Jews. Walkers have free reign in the areas were went , so it was a relief to not have to dodge traffic.

Panoramic view of Fes.

We then went to a military fortress, and we were able to see the panoramic view of Fes. Its winding twists of miles and miles of alleyways were below, along with thousands of little satellite dishes. Our guide gave us detailed history of Fes, a city originally started by the Berbers who may have been Norwegian! Those Norsemen went everywhere:-) The Berbers were conquered by Carthiginians, Romans, Christians and Muslims. The Arabs won in the end. They are there today alongside the berbers.


From the panoramic view, we went to the pottery place. We saw two production potters, three production glazers and two ceramic tile artisans with chisels to make small tiles by hand. One potter let me hop on his wheel, which was really nice of him. The guide also got me some clay from the huge mound of Fes clay as I slipped him some dirhams. The pottery was exquisite. I could have just settled there for the morning.

However, we had an enormous medina to see! And, boy did we see it. We saw the embroiderers, the tanners, the wool sellers, the leather goods makers, the nugget candy makers, the dyers of fabric, the weavers of rugs (female) and the weavers of fabric (men). We walked and walked for hours. Finally, our guide dropped us off at a Moroccan restaurant, and we tried Fes pastillia. It was fantastic! It is a pastry dusted with powdered sugar and filled with chicken and veggies and Fes spices.

Lunch ended before I could really nap, although we ate it on long couches and short tables. We began the circuitous walking once again, and we saw more artisans than one can possibly imagine in one place. Every once in a while, we dropped into a holy spot or a courtyard of a mosque for more history and discussion of the symbols in the art  and architecture that represent various aspects of the Islamic faith. Some are symbols of Solomon as well as the 5 pillars of Islam. We also were shown the Islamic cross which has nothing to do with Jesus. It has more to do with man and God and man and his fellow man

A woman adding glaze.

Our tour ended on a rooftop looking down over the enormous dye vats that the Fes artisans use to dye the leather to make brightly colored purses, shoes, wallets, notebooks and jackets. They are just beautiful colors of leather. I bartered for a pair of ruby colored leather shoes - I want ruby slippers in case I need to go home:-) I'll try to take a picture to show you. They just brighten my day every time I look at them, and they remind me of those enormous dye vats!


Tonight, we are headed to a Moroccan home to have a traditional dinner. I can't even imagine adding another sight or sound to an already full mind and heart of vivid memories of Fes!

One of the mosaic tile makers handing me a heart tile.

Fresh pottery at the studio.

At the palace.

Fesian Ladies making rugs.

Tajine cookers.

One of the entry ways to the medina.

Dye Vats just for Marge.

Dye Vats

Lovely colors at the pottery studio.

The Riad in Fes

I have landed in another world. Fes is unique and incredible. As I wake up this morning, I am thinking the palette here is so different than in Seattle. My color wheel here is earth tones, ochres, deep wood colors, greens and reds with some black mixed in them as well as pale white. The hand-carved doors and chairs are magnificent.

We begin our tour at 10, and we are invited to a special tour of the place where the small mosaic tiles are made later this afternoon. Pottery as well. We have an invite to dinner at a nearby home for authentic Moroccan cuisine. I am excited as the Moroccan adventure continues!