Plot Twist (Kind Of)

April 19—Some of you may be wondering what’s been happening with my colleague Marc.  If you read some of my earlier posts, you know that there was a transformation of sorts happening before our eyes.  Marc was moving from his NY state of mind to a more Moroccan one.

Well, it’s time for a plot twist.

As we headed to lunch on our first full day in Casablanca, he bounced over to some of us, looking jubilant.  He had changed back to his first-morning-in-Morocco look, dressed in a standard button down shirt and the Moroccan beaded necklace.  “I love Casablanca.” He gushed.  "It’s like Brooklyn.  I could totally live here. The vibe is awesome," he told us.  

NYC teacher Marc (center) with Michael from LA (left) and Whitney from Oregon (right)

Prior to our arrival in Casablanca, many Moroccans had mentioned they didn’t love Casablanca.  Too crowded, they told us.  Too many people.  Very busy.  Too modern.   A different culture.  Not so pretty.  Not as traditionally Moroccan.  They kept emphasizing that Rabat is the administrative capital, Fès is the cultural, artistic, and spiritual capital, and Casablanca is the economic capital.   You don't need to spend too much time in Casablanca, we gathered.   We arrived in the dark of night and indeed it felt busy and loud.  No city walls to greet us, we knew there was no countryside nearby, no mountain ranges in the distance.  Our hotel felt a bit like we were staying on 7th Avenue in New York City.   We readied ourselves for a few night's stay, not expecting too much other than the lectures and tours on the agenda.  But the next morning we woke up to learn that Marc had hit the town after our late arrival and checked things out.  He loved it.  While still in Morocco, Casablanca felt a little like New York to him, like home. 

We looked at each other and tried to process what had just happened.  Maybe Marc wasn't transforming and becoming one with the traditional Morocco, as we first thought.  Maybe he had found a part of Morocco that felt more like his home in New York.  Will he shed some of his new traditional clothes and just keep a hint of what he found in the old medina shops in Rabat?  We weren't sure what exactly would happen next.  Things were getting unpredictable.   In any case, his scaled-down Moroccan look gave us pause, and also made us look a little more carefully at what Casablanca had to offer during our strolls around town.   ​

While it might seem that this story ends with Marc disappearing into the city, shedding his Moroccan garb, maybe even losing his beads somewhere along the way, it wasn't that simple.  A few times we did catch him taking them off mid-tour or mid-meal, holding them in his hand, almost as if he were deciding whether to put them back on or into his pocket.  But the end of this story is that while he loved the Brooklyn-ish ways of Casablanca, he also kept his new old look.  It's possible, we realized, to love the old medina and the urban Casablanca.  

Marc and Whitney during a Casablanca outing

Whitney and Marc at the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca

As our time in Casablanca came to a close, we started to realize that our harmonious cohort of teachers would soon scatter. 

A few Fulbright TGC Morocco cohort teachers at a restaurant in Casablanca

Some of us would go north, as far as Tangier.  Others of us back to Fès.  Some to Marrakesh or Meknes.  Marc and Michael would head to Taroudant, a city on the road to the Sahara Desert.  We got ready to say goodbye for the week, realizing that our move to meet our host teachers would be more bittersweet than we expected.   A few of us hit an Irish Pub (yes, you read that right) on our last night in Casablanca.   It was crowded and loud, and there was live music.  Marc may or may not have been wearing traditional Moroccan attire, we didn't really notice.  But we did hear him say something like, "This is awesome.  Can you believe there is an Irish pub in Casablanca? I love this.  I miss New York.  I know the desert is going to be super cool but I just really love the vibe here."  What will happen next, when Marc and his travel partner Michael head south to Taroudant, just steps from the Sahara?  Time will tell.  Update to come.  ​