Rain, Rain, Stop Being So Loud

So, J and I have had the last two days off because of a big Muslim holiday here. J will (maybe) write about that soon. Anyway, I’ve promised myself I’m actually going to get a post off with this time, so here goes nothin’.

I don’t remember if it was my last post or not (gosh, I really do need to write more), but one of my recent posts talked about how fun it was to run through the rain. I stand by that. However, the weather on Thursday and Friday took something of a nasty turn, so I guess not all rain is so much fun.

When J and I were leaving our school Thursday afternoon, we decided to take a cab because the weather looked bad. When we got out of the cab, J was almost blown down the hill from the wind that had started up during the ride. I don’t know if it’s just our proximity to the coast that made the wind so bad, or if it was bad all over Rabat, but that was some of the strongest wind that either of us has ever been exposed to.

That was mostly just fine. While the storm started and stopped intermittently between Thursday morning and Sunday afternoon, J and I were snug at home for all of the nasty parts. We live in a house at least as old as our parents’ parents (and probably a good deal older) made out of hard clay or cement, for all I can tell. The walls seem to be half a foot thick, so there’s not really much chance that we were going to be blown away anytime soon. (Which, as you can see in the picture below, isn’t necessarily universally true)

However, there is one quirk of Moroccan architecture which was an inconvenience, if a minor one. In order to keep cool in the long Moroccan summers, our house was built with a large central courtyard open to the sky. This courtyard is somewhat protected from the elements by a raised tin roof that covers the opening while still letting air flow through. That roof keeps out any rain that isn’t blowing sideways.

Problem is, the rain was blowing sideways. A sheet of plastic had been put up just before the storm (because, like I’ve said, we’ve entered the rainy part of the year here), to keep out the rain, but I was concerned the tin roof would blow off. The plastic never had a chance.

So our hallway got wet. No big deal, by itself. We weren’t in the habit of storing anything out there, so other than getting your feet wet to move from room to room, it wasn’t really a problem.

The cold that came with the storm was less fun. I’ve been congested and coughing all weekend, and I have a suspicion that cold and wet feet are why.

Probably the worst aspect was the noise. Like I said, we have a slab of tin between us and the elements. More than enough to protect us from any weather except some leaks from bothering us during the worst of storms, but not much in the way of sound proofing. Really, the noise of the plastic flapping and the tin buckling was probably the most unsettling of all the things we dealt with. It’s a bit difficult to sleep when it sounds like the world is ending in the next room. I’m pretty sure I heard some noises the likes of which I haven’t found since I watched Jurassic Park.

But then the sun came out. It’s still a bit chilly, but all the puddles have dried and my cough is clearing up. A meal of veggie tagine (kind of like a stew with more veggies and less broth) put J back into form. It’s funny how this trip has caused me to miss so many things I’ve never thought about before at the same time it caused me to realize how little I need them. Heating is nice, but a good blanket works too. Sound proofing is helpful, but life goes on without it. I’ll be glad to get back these conveniences when I return, but I’m just fine without them.

That’s my bit of reflecting for this post. In other news, J and I have completed the second of our four week sessions with our school here. We both learned a lot, and look forward to learning more in the coming month.

Our health is has continued to fluctuate. We’re not really sure why exactly we did so much better in Meknes, though the no heating thing certainly isn’t helping. It’s strange, J seems to feel the cold more than I do, but I’m the one who’s had a runny nose and cough for the last four days. I won’t mind when we can go more than a week without one of us getting sick.

 

J and I had lunch yesterday with our Moroccan family. It was Eid Al Kabir, a Muslim Holiday. I could go into that more, but I think J is planning on doing a post about it. For now, I’ll just say it was the tastiest lamb kabobs I’ve ever had. Also, we got to dress up for the occasion. Hence, our shoes.

One last note. Reading back through my post, I feel that I might have given a false impression about Morocco. The house we’re in does not have heating. Most places in Morocco don’t, but heating isn’t uncommon either. The apartment we stayed in for a week did have heating. What our house does have is satellite TV, as most Moroccan houses do. We constantly hear the father of the family downstairs talking on his cell phone, and the younger daughter is usually on her Nintendo DS (which I didn’t realize they come with cameras now, but they must since she’s always taking pictures with hers). Heating isn’t popular because it isn’t necessary most of the year, and people here have better things to spend their money on. And we live in an old Moroccan house, newer ones don’t have a courtyard that lets in rain. Honestly, I think J and I prefer the rain if it comes with a courtyard. We certainly like our current housing more than the more recently constructed housing we were in last.