Assumptions Part 1

Assumption #1: I know my way around Rabat

Maybe others have had similar experiences or maybe its just because I'm a guy and a) don't like to ask for directions b) like taking shortcuts c) and c) like to pretend like I know my way around somewhere even if I really don't have a clue where I'm going, but in my life I have found that the second that I think I've figured out how to get around a city, I get horribly lost. This happened to me going home from work the other day - I just simply wasn't paying attention and found myself walking up the wrong street. Any normal person would have turned around, walked back to the junction I knew and find the right street. I, on the other hand, thought I could cut my losses by taking a short-cut. I would soon discover that this would only add to them.

Luckily for me, I was able to use my French to communicate with some nice folks and got myself in the right direction, eventually, a stable, forest and a few tennis courts later. Then, I was lucky enough to have my family friend see my walking the street and be nice enough to turn the car around and pick me up. In sum, I'm a lucky guy. What this experience did make me thankful for was having my French. Being in Morocco - even more so than France - has made me sympathetic to those travelling to lands where they don't speak the language. I'm thinking about those Asian tourists I see clicking photos around DC. Just like me trying to read an Arabic sign - I can't even begin to pronounce it! - the letters that your reading right now look like Greek to someone from Japan, or from Morocco for that matter, who hasn't had any schooling with them.

While French is around most of Rabat and I can get along just fine with it, especially in upscale or touristy places that cater to foreigners or local frogs or events targeted at a wider audience such as the recent Jazz festival, Arabic is the language of the street. When i take the bus to work every morning, I notice very little French and a whole lot of Arabic. Being in that environment and speaking ore or less no Arabic has reinforced the idea that not speaking the language that's around you is an isolating, difficult and frustrating experience. It's something you don't even notice in others around you when you speak the language of the place you're in, but when you have something you're dying to say and you just have no idea how to express it using gestures (and contrary to popular belief speaking the language you know REALLY LOUD won't communicate the message either), it is irrepressibly frustrating.

One of the places I've had more trouble than I expected is in whats known as Petit Taxis here - small, cheap taxis that cost about 2 bucks to go anywhere in town. Having a few drivers who barely speak any French has left me feeling distant and in a different world that the driver. For a moment, I almost started to get irritated that the driver didn't really speak French, a language I had hoped would allow me to communicate with everyone. However, I was able to take a step back and realized that Arabic really is the language of this country, not French.

What I also realized was that I was not really as irritated by the fact that he didn't speak French than by the fact that I don't speak Arabic. I always enjoy knowing enough of a language for simple pleasantries, to be able to ask questions about a person in their own language and, of course, to be able to say "I speak a little of X language" or preferably "I'm trying to learn X language, but its not going so well!". Yes, for the selfish reason of wanting to communicate to people but also to convey that I have at least made some effort to meet the other halfway - well not quite halfway, maybe 1/100th of the way.

This brings me to the next assumption...

Assumption #2: Arabic is Arabic

"Mbtekti arabi shwia" or so I thought. This, of course, means I speak a little Arabic in Arabic. But, as I pulled this expression out as I talked to a storekeeper, all I received was a blank stare. At first I thought it was just horrible pronunciation. It turns out this was PART of it, but I also learned that while this might be "I speak a little Arabic" in Classical Arabic, it doesn't really mean all that much in Moroccan Arabic.

To back up, I thought a good way to learn Arabic was to get an Arabic audio lesson so I could have the basics of Arabic . I remember vividly one of the examples used "I am not Syrian, are you?" I probably should have taken that as a hint that it might not fly. It turns out that most Moroccans can understand classical Arabic, but its not a good way to communicate.

What's interesting though, is that Derija, the Moroccan slang dialect, is a blend of Moroccan Arabic, Berber (Moroccan rural language) French and apparently some Spanish too. As I hear my colleagues and friends talk it, I can understand just about every 9th or 10th word, usually filler words like "tu vois" and "en fait" (you see and in fact). They don't help all that much with comprehension, but they are an interesting indicator of the history of this country and the diverse influences that shape what it is today.

Next step, learn a enough Moroccan Arabic to get by. Wish me luck, j'en aurai besoin! (I'll need it!)

P.S. All these signs are helpful to know, the first is "Truck Exit" and the second is "It's strictly forbidden to cross the tracks" - good thing I speak French! The third obviously means "Protect the Grass" (I had to have it translated)