bathe once a week but soaps every day

No internet when I arrived at the CCCL today. I never realized how essential the internet is to my existence. OK, maybe not my existence, but my feelings of comfort.

This morning it rained buckets, literally. In the Raissi household, water from the roof is funneled down into the house and collected in buckets to be used later for watering the plants. Soukaina had to change the buckets several times during the morning.

And that’s another thing, as the youngest member of the house, and a girl, Soukaina does lots of chores. She cooks when Hajja is at work and sees to the requests of her father and brother. I certainly never had to do that much around the house, but then again I’ve also never had to live with a mom, a dad, and a brother.

When I get back home in a few months I will be happy to help with household chores (within reason, family!). I’m still treated as (what I think of as) a guest. It’s a strange and new dynamic for me because I’m used to going about my own business by myself. Like I said before, the family thing is brand new to me.

Here’s another cultural phenomenon that I am unfamiliar with: soap operas. I’ve seen three so far in my house:

Aina Aba?- Originally Mexican but dubbed in Darija. It has lots of mariachis and flashbacks.

Scheherezade- Originally Turkish but dubbed in Darija. Great camerawork of Istanbul. Whenever Scheherezade is onscreen the music turns into Scheherezade by Rimsky- Korsakov.

Vaidehi- Originally in…something Indian, but dubbed in Darija. Watching this one makes me dizzy because there are so many shots flashing from one character to another. Al-Hajj likes to sing along to the theme song.

And I’m sure there are more. They’re a bit overdone for my taste, but then again I’m not a connoisseur. The whole family loves them.