2025 McCall MacBain International Fellow, Luca, writes from Morocco
Right before landing in Casablanca, a Moroccan woman sitting next to me, after hearing my ambitions, told me:
‘’Large hassles are waiting for you. Sheer misery!
But great hassles are always accompanied by great discoveries.’’
This inspiring quote, although not reassuring in the moment, ended up being perfectly accurate in describing what I would experience next.
I have spent the past two months living in a smaller city called Tétouan, located in the north of Morocco, where learning Arabic has been my primary occupation. The city is built in a valley, surrounded by intimidating peaks of the Rif Mountain Range, with white sand beaches and clear water of the Mediterranean Sea, making it truly one of the most beautiful places I have lived in. Tétouan’s tightly packed medina (old city) and downtown light up after 8 pm, a time when most people would go to sleep in Canada. Walking around at night is truly an exhilarating experience, from listening to dozens of conversations overlap each other as live “Gnawa” music is being performed, to the smells of delicious Moroccan tajine and pastries filling the narrow streets.
I am writing this from the coffee shop right below my language school, where locals slowly sip their coffee while smoking, and where I have become a regular, always drinking green tea with fresh mint (and a lot of sugar). The waiters have become my good friends and my best Arabic and Darija (Moroccan dialect) teachers. With them, I have found my favourite saying in Arabic; as a response to “Good morning!” (SabaH al-kheir, صبح الخير), one answers “Morning of the light!” (SabaH al-nour, صبح النور), which highlights the importance in Islam to always respond in a better or equal way than we were greeted.
This only scratches the surface of the fascinating linguistic richness Arabic offers, which I have had the chance to unravel these past two months. At first, I was completely disoriented in my language classes. Arabic has very different roots from English or French; word composition and grammar follow other rules, and omnipresent religious intricacies made it hard for me to grasp at first. My time in Tétouan, however, helped me unravel Morocco’s mysteries and deepen my understanding of Arabic and Darija, as everyone here only speaks these languages.
Morocco’s dialect of Arabic is called “Darija,” and it can almost be considered a different language. “Darija is like freestyle,” a fellow surfer once told me. “We mix the Arabic we were taught in school with Amazigh (Indigenous Berber), French and Spanish”, which results in numerous familiar words. I came here thinking I would learn one language, but I will leave knowing two!
My first two months in Morocco have brought some amazing experiences my way. I have gotten the chance to catch some of the best waves of my life with the owner of a surf shop in Asilah, now become a good friend. We woke up before sunset and set out in his old Mercedes, driving along the coast and on the lookout for the best waves. Let me tell you, not only the waves, but the views as well, were breathtaking! I also went on a hiking excursion to a nearby peak with locals. What I thought was going to be a 2-person journey ended up being a full incursion into a Moroccan friend group who has been navigating these mountains for decades. We spent the whole day walking and talking under the 38-degree Sun, although I was mostly listening to their rapid Darija and trying to gather as many words as I could.
Living in a small city has had its fair share of challenges. From navigating more traditional values to experiencing the lack of amenities found in smaller Moroccan cities, these two months have given me a deeper look into the country’s reality and have brought with them an intense culture shock. Patience has been my best friend through this adaptation as I’ve built up the pillars that will support me throughout the rest of the year.
With all that, I reflect on all the hassles the woman on the plane was referring to, but especially on the growth this great adventure has given me. From the highs to the lows, I look forward to what the next months have in store for me. Soon enough, I’ll be back here, writing about my experience of being in an even smaller town… Because, you know, why not!