Gestures

Since my Tashelhit (Berber) isn't perfect, I talk a lot with my hands. When I don't know how to say something, I try to express the idea with my hands. Its no surprise, then, that I've picked up some of the Moroccan/Berber gestures used in my community. They are now such an ingrained part of my way of speaking that I use them while speaking Tashelhit or English. Here are just a few of them....

1) To express something or someone is nice/beautiful/handsome/good, flick your fingers. If you are saying someone or their clothing is nice, you flick your fingers in their face. Think of how flick your pointer finger with your thumb...now do this with all your fingers. Its a little frightening the first time it is done in your face. I don't even notice it anymore and do it unconsciously anytime I am talking about something I like (like someone's dress) or someone who is good (like my student who is always on time for class.)

2) To express something is the same as something else, rub your two pointer fingers together with your hands horizontal to the floor. This can also mean someone is close to someone else (either by blood or by friendship.) This gesture is used A LOT in my village. Its very helpful, as I can use it to describe most anything - my sister is the same age as my cousin - rub my fingers together. Start using it! I want to see it catch on in the U.S.

3) To say you are going to get someone, flick your ear. This is mainly used in jest, but its pretty funny to see. We don't have a great gesture like this in the U.S....ours are much more extreme. You can express the same intent, although at a slightly more serious level, by hitting your closed fist with your hand (this one is a little more extreme.)

4) To express shame on you, pull down your lower eyelid with one finger. This one is pretty funny to use, especially with your friends. Moroccans use this one when we Americans use rubbing one pointer finger down the other. I don't use this one very often....its more used by mother's when telling a child to stop doing something bad (like picking on a sibling.)

5) To tell someone to come to you, put your hand facing down and pull your fingers towards you. This one took me awhile to get used to, since we sometimes use this gesture (or a version of it) in the U.S. to tell someone to go away. I have a hard time remembering to use this one instead of the American version (pulling your pointer finger towards you.)

6) After shaking hands, kiss your fingers or put your hand over your heart. I picked up this gesture the first week I was here. Now I do it unconsciously, whether meeting Americans or Moroccans. This will be a hard habit to break when I come back to the U.S. I do it probably 30 times a day....

7) To express something is full (like the market) or someone is wealthy, take your thumb and rub it upwards under your chin. This one still confuses me sometimes, as I am not totally sure of when to use it myself.

8) To express someone is worthless, make the A-OK sign and hold it downwards (with your fingers pointing towards the floor.) This one is slightly profane, but the previous volunteer said her host sister did it when boys were cat-calling towards her in our village.

Of course, I still use some American gestures that aren't understood here in Morocco. The most prevalent one is crossing my fingers. I didn't even realize I was doing it until one of my students asked me why I cross my fingers when I say "Inshallah." (Inshallah means "God willing" and is often used like we use "I hope" in English.) I'm trying to break myself of the habit now, but am not sure if I'll be successful. I've been crossing my fingers for too many years.

Pretty interesting, huh? I'm planning a lesson soon for my English class on American gestures and what they mean. Send me any ideas you have....

Spring Camp

The first week of April was Spring Camp. Youth Development Volunteers work with Moroccan government staff to coordinate week long English Immersion camps. I helped out at one in Khemisset, which is about an hour from Rabat. It was a lot of fun. The kids were great, although very different than the kids I work with in my village. Many of them came from affluent families. Most were very familiar with American pop culture and wore western style clothes. Most were very excited to study English and really enjoyed learning American songs, rhyming games, and anything else I could come up with.

Every morning, I taught an intermediate English class. I had about 14 students from the ages of 12 to 17. While they would sometimes get pretty rambunctious, they would quiet down when I told them to. They loved all the camp songs I taught them, including "Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie jar" and "I'm Being Swallowed by a Boa Constrictor." They also really enjoyed the games I came up with to reinforce my lessons. After they learned fruit, vegetables, and animals (including what they say in English), we played Pictionary. They REALLY got into it. Some even cheated so that they could win! Luckily, I had a very honest boy, Souleyman, in my class who would tell me if his team or the other team cheated. They were pretty funny kids and I'm glad I got to spend a week with them.

In the afternoon, I taught "Art Club." It was a pretty funny title, since we all know I'm not an artist. Luckily, my art club involved making friendship bracelets. All those years of making bracelets and anklets during Swim Meets really helped me out. I was able to teach all the kids how to make them and my club was very popular! Some of the girls even came up to me at 2:00 a.m. the last night to get extra string so they could make more at home!

After art club, the kids played sports and then had some sort of activity run by the Moroccan staff. We were very lucky - the staff from the Dar Chebab (youth center) was AMAZING! They took care of everything and were quick to solve any problems that came up. They were great at keeping the kids entertained and had some excellent activities planned for them each night. In addition to a talent show, they had a game night where the kids had fun games to play. I think the funniest was a game where a group of five boys pretended they were driving a bus. They had to stand up when they went up a hill, lean when going around a corner, etc. One by one, the staff put a wet rag on their chair while they were standing. Luckily, the boys all took it in good fun and the kids loved it. It was pretty funny, seeing their expressions as they sat down on the rag!

Here are some more pictures from camp.

Halloween night! Sarah really got into her costume. (Its a ninja, if you can't tell.) She was hoarse the next day from all her "battle" yells. The teenage boys didn't know how to react. I have to say, I laughed a lot.

Some of the kids waiting for their afternoon snack.

Me teaching the art club how to make friendship bracelets.

Me with Rachel and John, drawing out the schedule for the week. Luckily, one of the staff was able to add the arabic translation for us!