Leecies Point of View

[ Tuesday, September 04, 2007 ]

the family

[ Thursday, August 30, 2007 ]

A picture of elice and chakib under the moon

[ Sunday, May 06, 2007 ]

I MISS YOU TOO WEEZE

She.s right we.re different...But she taught me alot.

Elouise was very much like Aidan, hiding in some corner with her nose in a book.  Me I was rounding up the younger sibs and rousing them up to play softball or tag or go bike riding.  I think I.m more like Connor and Gabriel.  Or they.re like me.  Connor.s sensitivity and charm and Gabriel.s aggressive emotiveness.  It.s strong.  He feels what he feels and you know it.  He.s a presence.  I think I have or had Ethan.s crazy energy and like to think I have Elias.s intelligence and yes his sensitivity too.  Haven.t spent anytime with Evan.  I heard he.s a combination of Ethan and Eli.  Who will Ibrahim be most like?  Now of course there.s all of Chakib.s family members and characters to draw from too, Personalities, tendenciesm tempermentsm looks.  I know he.ll be good looking.  Mom.s been praying for baby Ishmael.  I.m sure all the baby Ishmael.s out there will appreciate that.  Call HIM Ibrahim mom!!

Back to Weeze.  I really didn.t like her or get to know her or think she was cool until she moved away to College.  I have to thank her for her generosity when I quit Albany State.  Do people remeber I lived in Rochester for 6 months in the crazy 2nd story loft with not right anges.  we shared it with a guy named Chuck Siegel.  She gave me an out, a chance to figure out what I wanted to do.  Her advice-- don.t go back home.  Don.t revert back to the daughter role, big sister role, stay awhile… I taught her how to cut coupons and try and buy food and products that we didn.t really need.  She taught me fresh is best.  Go ahead and use the good China and have myself some candlelight dinners.  I rember when the rest of the sibs came (and she was struggling to feed all of us) she gave Beau her last five dollars because he wanted to by himself a yoyo

I MISS YOU TOO WEEZE

She.s right we.re different...But she taught me alot.

Elouise was very much like Aidan, hiding in some corner with her nose in a book.  Me I was rounding up the younger sibs and rousing them up to play softball or tag or go bike riding.  I think I.m more like Connor and Gabriel.  Or they.re like me.  Connor.s sensitivity and charm and Gabriel.s aggressive emotiveness.  It.s strong.  He feels what he feels and you know it.  He.s a presence.  I think I have or had Ethan.s crazy energy and like to think I have Elias.s intelligence and yes his sensitivity too.  Haven.t spent anytime with Evan.  I heard he.s a combination of Ethan and Eli.  Who will Ibrahim be most like?  Now of course there.s all of Chakib.s family members and characters to draw from too, Personalities, tendencies, temperment, looks.  I know he.ll be good looking.  Mom.s been praying for baby Ishmael.  I.m sure all the baby Ishmael.s out there will appreciate that.  Call HIM Ibrahim mom!!

Back to Weeze.  I really didn.t like her or get to know her or think she was cool until she moved away to College.  I have to thank her for her generosity when I quit Albany State.  Do people remember I lived in Rochester for 6 months in the crazy 2nd story loft with no right angles.  we shared it with a guy named Chuck Siegel.  She gave me an out, a chance to figure out what I wanted to do.  Her advice-- don.t go back home.  Don.t revert back to the daughter role, big sister role, stay awhile… While there I taught her how to cut coupons and try and buy food and products that we didn.t really need.  She taught me fresh is best...To go ahead and use the good China and have myself some candlelight dinners.  I rember when the rest of the sibs came (and she was struggling to feed all of us) she gave Beau her last five dollars because he wanted to by himself a yoyo.

When I strayed from the Oyzon fold for awhile (I did) when I became a diehard BASCO. Weeze and I met up for mini sisters reunion at Chuck Siegel.s wedding in Beverly Hills.  I was so into the Basco Boyz and Arianna.s growing up in Paramount and Downey.  I spent many a weekend travelling with Dayo from the Bay Area to LA to spend time with that family.  Elouise just commented that she could see why and how much Derek, Darion, Dante, Dion, and Ari loved me.  But just had to try not to hold on so tightly or love so much it was as if I could.t or wouldn.t find love outside the family.  It was solid sound loving advice.  I was afraid and clingy.  When the boys started growing up I had separation anxiety and they weren.t even mine.  I went from favoritest and coolest aunt to just me.  It used to be auntie can you take us to the movies. bowling. out to eat, driving to ---Auntie can we borrow your car see ya bye bye...Weeze helped me understand and transition out of that by her words and her confidence in me.  I never forgot what she said and how she advised me not with criticism but with genuine love. 

I once asked her if I was loud or not a good listener or a bunch of other negative adjectives...she just answered truthfully SOMETIMES.  I can live with that.
We have these messages or scripts in our head about who we are or who we are supposed to be especailly in the family dynamic.  The loud one the fat one the insecure one....Now i.m the exotic one-- the adventuresome one ----the Moroccan one - the pregnant one.  The very happy one.  I know I am the loved and appreciated one .

Me and my sibs WE ALL ARE.  Thanks mom and dad.  THANKS WEEZE

Now I have found love. I.ve found my own way.  I am making my own family in my little corner of the world. 
I.m so happy to be able to share this with my parentS in July and now also with my older sister, August will be a time to renew rediscover and reconnect.

Family is best.

[ Tuesday, March 27, 2007 ]

Touching Base

I,m encouraged I,ve found an audience

Especially based on the many well wishes and on-going comments I,ve recieved. 

Ibrahim.s growing.  I.m finally showing.  The baby talks to Chakib mostly in English and Arabic, sometimes in tagalog if Chakib doesn.t understand what he,s saying.  Smart kid.  With me he just communicates physically by continually shoving and pushing against my kidneys,bladder, and bowels...Make room I need more room...I think it.s because I can.t put my ear against my tummy and talk with him the way Chakib does.

[ Friday, February 23, 2007 ]

AND BABY MAKES THREE EN CHALLAH

I always knew that starting my own family would change things..but still life takes you by surprise

I wasn.t planning this pregnancy.  I wasn.t NOT planning this pregnancy either.  Here in Morocco there is a recurring statement that I have definitley taken to heart--it is the term **En Challah** which translates as both God Willing and/or As God Wills.  Fate, Destiny, Chance, Faith, Acceptance- all wrapped up in this tiny phrase, Anything can happen.  Is this good or bad or blind or plain sensible??  I.ve found it comforting.  There.s a bigger, larger greater picture out there.

It used loosely and widely and seriously and sometimes just as an out. a lack of committment, a MAYBE (baby) which is not to say that I.m not fully and totally committed to the baby now that he actually exists.  But really I actually did leave the family planning up to God, No birth control even though I knew it could (and is ) a high risk pregnancy due to my age. 

Other day to day examples==The American tourist wants to know the schedule for the days sightseeing--Are we leaving at 10 am The response is not a direct yes or no but rather En Challah.

You.re invited over for tea, for dinner, to go out...Filipinos are famous for saying yes to something but who knows maybe a better offer is down the road..just say En Challah.  It.s a cultural perspective that allows for variables (divine or otherwise-intended or otherwise).

Bottom line is that i am happier and healthier than I.ve ever been.  Life is a series of choices. good ones and bad ones.  But overall it is an acceptance of what is.

I.ll write more En Challa...This wasn.t exactly what I planned on blogging.  So many choices now dictated by the baby --- what to eat, where to live.
when to come back to the states....

I.ll really try to post more.

[ Sunday, October 29, 2006 ]

POP QUIZ

ED/ING ENDINGS…

Which adjective ending do you use to say how people feel?
Which adjective ending do you use to describe the people or thing that causes that feeling?

Think about it.

Bore, interest, irritate, disappoint, reassure, depress, offend, invite, exhaust......

Effect and cause --- cause and effect.

I think about engaging in blogging.  Is it is because I’m bored or inspired?  This time I was inspired.  I hope to be inspiring and not boring.  Convinced people are reading and convincing in my arguments.  Writing helps me become unconfused.  Reading helps mom feel connected.

I love languages and am happy to be teaching.  It’s interesting to try to teach and explain how and why we use different words.  Native speakers don’t think about tense or agreement or the subjunctive.  I don’t.  The students always stump me when they ask technical questions like what’s the difference between past perfect and present continuous.  Do you know?  I have to look it up.  Luckily the school has wonderful resources and support for everything.

The curriculum is well laid out with objectives, games, and many ideas and worksheets.  It’s been a breeze just to have all the prep work done so I can focus on classroom management.  Just stepped right in.  I’m teaching 6 courses.  Two beginning 3 classes and Four beginning 5 classes.  These levels are primarily high schoolers.  The age range is 15-24.  So I only have to prepare for two classes and try it out with the different groups.  People dynamics always make the materials different and interesting...I think.  We shall see.  I had back to back 3 and 1/h hour Beginning 5 classes yesterday.  Had to make adjustments, change the pace.  The first class had 20 students, the second 14.  This is only the first week.  I have Sundays and Mondays off.  Next week I have Tuesday and Thursday night classes. A wednesday and Friday class and Arabic lessons for me on Friday.

School is the new thing.  The nucleus that sets the rhythym and tone of my life for the next 3 months.  I’m loving it.

[ Wednesday, October 25, 2006 ]

Traditional Moroccan Garb

Also known as the DJELLABA…

First off let me take you back to a gallaxy far far away.....remember what the evil emperor and Obi wan Kenobi wore in the original Star Wars?  They wore djellabas.  Those hoooded brown robes.  Think Ewoks and monks sans the rope-like belts.  The men wear traditional brown ones, mostly autumn colors of browns, greens, rusts, and yellows and of course yellow leather ponity slippers on their feet.

Now imagine a women’s need for texture, color, pattern, and verve in her wardrobe....A women’s djellaba can be striped, leopard print, fuschia, or chartreuse.  It’s still basically a hooded robe.  Some come with pants others no.  A kaftan on the other hand is a long robe-like dress without the hood and only worn at special events and ceremonies.  The djellaba is the everyday traditional dress.  very comfortable.  I own 5. 

Men wear these balloon type break dance short pants underneath.  Women wear sweats or pajama bottoms or biker shorts with big t-shirts underneath theirs.  Shoes and sandals are stylish.  Me , as always i go for comfort.

I’m also appreciating the covered head look the women wear.  It accentuates the beauty of their faces and are also wonderful for bad hair days.  I haven’t gotten down the look yet.  There are so many beautiful scarves and the overall effect is one of conservative elegance and yet very put together.

I can easily pass as a Moroccan.  In fact, when we vistied the American embassy they turned to Chakib and asked him how they could be of help.  I was wearing my djellaba and Salam aleykuming them--Chakib in his jeans and speaking english....

Ramadan is over.  The Ramadan intensive englsih session is over .  Eight out of nine of my students passed. and the new regular fall trimester starts on Friday.  I’ll be teaching full-time starting next week.

That’s the news from this corner of the world....

Happy Halloween coming up

[ Thursday, October 12, 2006 ]

More on Food

This one is dedicated to Laine...on Breads and more breads

Okay we have french baguettes every morning.  Can.t find any bagels though.  My favorite type of bread here is rifa
It.s most like fresh made tortillas fried in butter.  They also remind me of lumpia wrappers in the way they are pasted on the grill.  They are square though instead of round.  Delicious.  They also have great semolina wheat pancakes cooked only on one side not flipped.  They.re very spongy and the tops have teeny tiny craters tha for me hold apricot jam instead of syrup.  There are these corncake type of flatbread that I really don.t care for.  There.s anotherbread that reminds me of pasta.  Its a bread but its stringy like rice noodles actually.  The rest of the breads are artisan style rounds.  Not a pre-sliced loaf to be found.  The one thing of note about bread eating is that the outsides are really crusty.  Chakib like most moroccans scoop out the white centers of the best part of the bread...It just gets tossed.  But if there are kids this gets scooped into a small tea glass o hot milk and sugar is added for an instant bread pudding.

[ Wednesday, October 11, 2006 ]

Didn’t mean to double that last entry..

How do I delete it?  All I wanted to do was change moving to movie (which I did).  Anywayze off to bed…

NIGHT INTO DAY AND DAY INTO NIGHT

It’s Ramadan and what that means…

My body clock is out of whack and mealtimes are reaaly jumbled.  Ramadam is a time of fasting for Muslims similar to Lenten Easter time for Catholics.  Fasting is supposed to occur from sunrise to sunset.  After sunset all bets are off.  So during the daytime there is no eating, drinking, (even water), smoking or sex.  Everyone is agitated and aggravated and unreasonable in the streets.  Fights and shouting matches spontaneously erupt.  Never comes to blows though.  Just alot of shouting and then calming each other down.

“Ftour” is the breaking of the fast which occurs right at sunset which has been getting earlier and earlier.  At the begining of Ramadan (16 days ago and now and counting down now that we’re past the halfway mark) ftour started @ 6:25, now it gets dark at @ 6 pm.  The breaking of the fast starts with HARIRA which is your basic grabanzo bean soup.  Basic is basic but every cook has there own version.  My mother-in-law is big on coriander and a beef or lamb stock.  My other “mother” family friend uses chicken stock.  I can’t cook Harira and...Chakib’s mom had to got to Marakesh to take care of her father.  Thus, we go to Chez Mahmina’s everynight for dinner.  Along with Harira you have breads, pastries, sweet sweets..and a small appetizer of some sort.  foloowed by cafe au laits or mint tea.

Then my work day starts bacuse I have an evening class from 8p.m. to 9:30.  Work is going really really well by the way. I love being inthe classroom.

Next comes an evening stroll and coffee or tea as I head home to Salla al Jadida from Rabat.  The bus station is a ten minute walk.  The bus ride @ 40-45 minutes.  We’re at the end of the line.

So now its @ 11ish and I cook Chakib dinner (because his mom’s in Marakesh remember).  I’ve surprised myself.  I made a great apricot chicken and rice dinner the other night and my spaghetti is quite good.  Otherwise its omelettes, and fries.  Fruits and vegetables are cheap and plentiful.  Meat can be expensive.  There are always olives and the staple here is french bread.  Tangines are quite good.  These are clay pot cooked stews baked on a ceramic plate with a conical lid ontop of it.  It’s either chicken, lamb, or beef, with vegetables and or fruit in a savory sauce.  I do miss pork.  Bread is used a a fork/spoon to sop up the sauces and meats.  Every Friday it’s traditional to have cous cous.  This can either be served savory or sweetened.  Everything is always followed by mint tea.

Mint teas is served in tradtional small teapots in small clear glasses (bigger than a shot glass - smaller than orange juice glasses) never in tea cups.  Even coffee is served in these glasses.  There are no mugs around to be seen.  The coffee cups are espresso size cups.  No jumbo extra large anything ala Starbucks drink-wise.  It just isn’t done.  The tea istself is 1/3 chinese black tea, 1/3 fresh mint leaves and 1/3 sugar in just a little teapot size amount of water.  I’m talking obscenely strong and obscenely sweet.  They are really big on sweets here.  The average Moroccan puts three teaspoons or threee lumps of sugar in those tiny glasses with there coffee or tea.  I’ve discovered fresh herbal teas.  Me mint tea is sans the tea and the sugar just the mint leaves.  Also I make tea from fresh ginger, lemon verbena, and/or licorice root.  All natural no teabags.

So now it’s after dinner @ 12:30 or 1:00am.  I set my alarm for 4:00.  I get up at 4. I take leftover frenchbread from dinner and pan fry it in butter.  I heat up some milk and add 2 sugars to it.  I round up some yogurt and fruit and wake-up Chakib to eat before the sun rises.  Back to bed.

Then I get up at 10,11, or 12, or 1 and prep for class.  I being the Americania can eat and do.  Actually I don’t eat all that much during the day.  I drink lots of water.
My main meal is 1/2 a bowl of harira at 6.  I seldom eat that much with Chakib at midnight too late for me…

Today I was up at 6 am.  I am doing this.  I will write one more blog then go back to sleep for the rest of the day…

How My Chakib is like My Mother

He reminds me of mom more and more…

He says to me:  Are you wearing that?  You need to wear something under that.  It needs ironing.  You’re wearing those shoe?  (he’s big on keeping my shoes polished )

He always says:  Take care..Be careful. When I was working at the post office:  Don’t drive too fast. 

The absolute latest reminder of mom is that when we’ve been leaving the house the last 3 or 4 days he turns to me 1/2 a block away from home and says:  Did I close and lock the door!!!??

We are also moving watching buddies who share commentary on the actors and actresses- hey he or she was in that other movie we saw last night and was married to so and so but are now divorced....

The biggest way in which my mom and Chakib are alike are that they both love me very veryvery very much.

Miss you mom!!

[ Saturday, September 09, 2006 ]

JUST WONDERING…

Besides my mom do I have any regular readers???

MOVIES 24/7

What I’ve watched here and what’s been filmed here.

Everyone has satellite.  More than 200 radio and t.v channels...in Arabic.  Aljazeera News, many music videos. Only 3-4 channels in english. Of note MBC2 American Movies 24/7 with Arabic subtitles.  Talk about variety:  I’ve seen 28 Days Later, The Fifth Element, The Way We Were, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, West Side Story, Dirty Harry, The Patriot, Snow Falling on Cedars, Ocean’s 11,Superman, Batman and Spiderman...Bond, Travolta, Cruise, and Steven Segal movies. 

On MBC3..Regular TV shows I can catch:  Oprah, Dr.Phil, Gilmore Girls, Frasier, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Skating with Celebrities, Missing Persons, Crossing Jordan, The View...Friends

Did you know Ourzazat is the Hollywood of Morocco? 

Movies that have been filmed here:  Black Hawk Down, Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Troy, What a Girl Wants are a few that come to mind…

Less movie watching once school starts, thank goodness.  But it’s here

CONTINUED WARM/HOT WEATHER UNDER SUNNY SKIES

More on Morocco--geography, topography, climate…

Morocco is located on the northwestern tip of the African continent.  It is about six miles below and across from Spain via the Straits of Gibraltar.  Rabat is the capital.  Other familiar city names:  Casablanca, Tangier, Marrakesh, and Fez.  I would say that the country most resembles California in climate.  We have desert, mountains (3 Atlas ranges), verdant in-land valleys, and beautiful coastlines.  Rabat is like the Bay Area minus all the fog.  No snow.  Hot/warm summers and wet, rainy yet mild winters.  When I toured the country the first time it was February and we were in the snow-covered moiuntains one day and in the Sahara sands the next. 

Morocco is borderd by Mauritania to the south, Algeria on the east and Spain on the north.  The west is all Atlantic.  The beaches mostly unspoiled.  The indigenous desert people are Berber and the Tuareg (Blue Men -because of their use of indigo dyes).  Of course this is an Arab country, but heavily influenced by the French, Spanish, Medditeranean and Black-African cultures.  I love it here.  There’s always something new to discover…