No Case of the Mondays Permitted in Morocco!

Monday morning it was up and at 'em with two sessions of preparation for our experiences here in the form of Meriem's Moroccan History and Culture along with  a second meeting spanning the lifetime of Education in Morocco.  This was followed by a lunch meeting with Norddine Bendouqi, the President of Moroccan Association of Teachers of English (MATE).  He is a key figure in the nation's English teacher training program.  He described the goals of MATE's organization.  The group is working to prepare teachers to implement "alternative methods" for teaching English to 21st Century non-English speakers, aka, English as a Second Language learners (ESL or ELL).

Breakfast has been tomatoes, fruits, boiled egg, potatoes, olives, juices and numerous other choices.  That brings to mind an example of the language barrier on my part.  I inadvertently had myself paged at Monday breakfast.  When the waitstaff greeted me I wanted them to know I was with IREX.  I could see a table full of others from the group and the quickest way I could think to identify myself was to show the host my name tag.  The kind gentleman read it,..."Karl Fayshar".  He repeated the name to himself, then I pointed to the table where part of my cohort was already enjoying the meal.  He walked over to the full table and started asking if anyone there was named Karl Fayshar.  Motioning to myself I said "I'm Carl Fisher".And that's how I accidentally paged myself.  It's just a clever example of the language barrier creating a humorous situation.

Speaking of humor,...the Moroccans we have met have a very quick-witted sense of humor which isn't wasted on an individual who is the product of immersion in dry Sooner wit.  It doesn't matter if we're passing on the sidewalk or purchasing goods from the establishment where they work, the Moroccans have welcomed us warmly on each occasion and are making this cultural immersion a joy to be a part of.  Their hospitality transcends the language differences and we definitely feel like honored guests in this beautiful place.

Our working lunch had pasta, slaws, hummus, different kinds of vegetables, meatballs and pepper sauces to name a few items.  The food has been very good and we've had several entertaining dining experiences here.  There will be more entries about that later.

When lunch was over, we visited a teacher college where teachers of English are being trained.  There was a round table discussion with Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS) students and professors.  The topic of the afternoon was Education Systems in Morocco and the U.S..  ENS students and our teachers spoke about current issues in our field and most of them were very similar.  It was fun to hear student perspectives and the optimism of those currently student teaching.  The professors gave us an overview of the college's goals and introduced students, and one alumnus, speaker who runs a successful private sector English program and has put several ENS graduates to work there.

In speaking with a professor afterwards, I found there were 47 ENS graduates last year.  I asked if that was enough teachers of English to meet the demand and he said they are getting as many students prepared and graduated as possible to keep up.  Interestingly, the goals are the same for the staff here as they are for the one back home.  There was a very nice tea reception for us and the ENS crowd.  The avocado juice smoothie was a big hit among American teachers.  That and the fact we saw a snake cross the sidewalk we were touring on, made a memorable afternoon, unforgettable.

Dar Naji is an authentic Moroccan restaurant and the atmosphere equals the high quality of the food.  The waiters are all dressed in traditional Moroccan uniforms and their acrobatic tea pouring ceremony is very entertaining.  When internet upload speeds permit, I'll be posting videos of this.  The food, chicken, lamb, beef, vegetables and again some incredible sauces with olives and peppers provided a delicious end to a day which had been alternating sunny, overcast, rainy, then cool and clear.  The only thing we hadn't done to this point was meet students in the grades we work with at home.  Tuesday's schedule would take care of that.

We knew this would be great!  Much more soon!

OinM