A Trip to the Tannery

We spent another enjoyable morning at the school interacting with English students.  Today a girl brought tears to my eyes as she did a class presentation on why students should respect teachers.  She said that teachers are messengers who teach from their hearts and they love and support students.  She asked students to "take their hands" and accept the gifts that teachers offer.  She was very well-spoken and actually has been selected to participate in a workshop in Germany next month.  SO many amazing students here!

Lovely girl who did a presentation on respecting teachers... 

American logos are everywhere!

She made us friendship bracelets!

In our final class of the day the students were learning about stereotypes.  They were discussing stereotypes that Moroccans have about other Moroccans, then they addressed some stereotypes that Moroccans have about Americans.  The four main stereotypes they have heard are that Americans are...1) intolerant, 2) drink a lot of alcohol 3) discriminate against each other, and 4) make children leave home when they are 18.   We discussed these topics and the students were very open-minded and curious to find out if these ideas are true.  

After school, our host teacher and his wife took us on a ride to several places nearby.  First we went to buy argan oil.  You may call it Moroccan oil and you can buy it in beauty shops...it's great for your hair.  Argan is also used for many products here such as soap and cooking oil, but it is an arduous task to process it.  We bought some products at this location because the money goes to support women in need.  There are so many philanthropic people here in Morocco, especially our host Hassan Aitman.

Argan in various stages of processing

Our next stop was the local tannery.  A tannery is where hides of animals are processed.  This tannery uses very traditional methods to remove fur from skin and process it.  Some of the animals they process at this tannery are camel, goat, and cow.  It smells and looks very disturbing.  In fact, we were given a sprig of mint to sniff so the smell wouldn't make us sick.  

Our "taxi" to the tannery

They had many types of animal hides at the tannery

Removing the fur from the hide by hand (poor camel)

Kitty hanging out by a vat of pigeon poo ( the droppings are used to process the leather)

Fur was everywhere (and dogs and cats roaming on it)

Drying out the hide before dying it various colors

A teenager cutting and sewing the leather into shoes

The final products for sale at the tannery 

After our time on the town, we went to an evening class at a nearby private language academy where our host teaches at night. We did a presentation and had a discussion.  One boy there asked me to bring home a story that he wrote to read to my students and gave me his email so I can write to him and tell what they think, which I will do.  Once again I learned so much today here in Morocco.

Answers to your questions:  Beth F, things are very inexpensive here compared to America.  A taxi ride costs less than $1, a homemade donut fried right before your eyes is 10 cents, and some fruit is about 90% cheaper that back home.  Ramon, I have noticed that many boys wear a ring and watches seem popular here.  Girls wear simple jewelry and silver is more common the gold.  Elias, I was told that hydro electric and solar power are how Morocco gets most of its electricity.  They don't burn coal like we do in WV.

Question of the day:  What is the major religion in Morocco?