School won't get underway until next week. Our apartment is a cool refuge from the midday heat, so we've been doing lots of reading, prepping for classes, lounging. Late afternoon is prime time for a stroll. We often pass this central Mosque on the way to the beach...
We also had a nice tour up the coast with a new pal and amazing and passionate high school educator, Fahmi. The road along the coast is very similar to 101 through California. Lots of winding along jagged coastal walls with sweet beach coves and some prime surf spots!
Checking the break...
We are also seizing any cultural opportunity possible. Overnight a giant banner went up advertising a jazz show at the Institute Francais with a French piano player, a Djembe drummer from Burkina Faso, and a Moroccan musician pictured below who played this instrument, and then an Oud like guitar. It was stellar!
On a strangely humid day we strolled the beach, then had a coffee right near the ocean and watched some very talented local soccer players. They all have a great touch! It's pretty incredible.
Fish market...which later we were warned by colleagues to avoid as it can be 'dangerous'. Oh.
This weekend is an Amazigh film festival. Amazigh are the indigenous North Africans. There has been a renaissance of Amazigh (also known as 'Berber') culture, language, and identity movements in Morocco with Amazigh recently made a national language in the constitution. Many people in the south speak the language, and while the written form is more rare, you can see it on many signs. Below is from an advertisement for the Beach Volleyball Championships which are being held here. The first is in Arabic, then Amazigh, then French. The Amazigh is written with such interesting symbols...it reminds me a little of Greek. We saw a documentary last night at the festival that recorded rural singers and musicians singing/chanting about topics ranging from love, art, and the Amazigh history, to the resurgence and importance of Amazigh pride. It was really powerful...even though most of what I could understand was in the French translation.
Our next big adventure is we are taking a Derija class which is the Moroccan spoken dialect of Arabic. R. is also going to be taking a beginner's French class, so we are throwing ourselves into the linguistic mix that is Morocco!