I never tire of locals’ surprise that I speak as much Arabic as I do. Albeit, that’s really not much, and the people I work with make sure I KNOW it’s still not enough, so I sometimes get caught up in what I DON’T know rather than what I DO.
That’s why I love to travel here. People who don’t know me and don’t know the Peace Corps are always quite impressed. The other day, I had to go into Marrakech and decided to try the bus instead of the train. I walked up to the bus where one of the assistants sold me a ticket, and I got on. The 15DH price seemed a bit high, but there was no posted price. I suspected I was getting the “foreigner tax” which is not, by the way, an actual tax. I asked the Moroccan guy next to me how much he had paid and he told me 10DH, so I thought “Oh HECK no.” When the ticket taker got onto the bus, I asked him how much the price REALLY was, and he told me there was not a problem and everybody on the bus had paid the same as me. I asked him if he wanted to hold up the bus while I asked them all how much they paid, or if he wanted to give me my 5DH back. He rolled his eyes and relented, and I gave him a good dose of “Shame upon you” and went back to my seat victorious. (You also know you’re being paid a Peace Corps salary when you will hold up a bus over 60 cents...).
The best part was, by the time we got to Marrakech, the ticket taker had struck up a conversation with me, found out we lived in the same town, and ended up giving me his phone number and told me to call if I ever needed transport anywhere.
Then on that same day, I was walking around Marrakech when an old-woman came up to me begging for some change. I didn’t have any, figured she’d be pissed, but just told her “May God make it easier for you” in Arabic.
And I swear, I kid you not... she gave me a huge smile and a thumbs up for my Arabic before hobbling away.
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