Imik s imik, bdigh ar tmyurgh ghid gh lmaghrib, khsusan lqwalb n lmaghrib. Krayatt ass iga mughamara, d ghilad ufigh ad ḍṣṣagh f mayad, l3aks n agigi aghama l7al. Mathalan, rzmgh compte bancaire gh lmaghrib gh isizwur n ayyur wis tam, walakin orta yyi fkan carte bancaire d ur ufigh ad amzgh iqqaridn inu, walakin or yyi fkin kran sabab f mayad. Sbbr iga dururee gh lmaghrib!
Amouch gh tgimmi – the cat we seem to have adopted
Ayur ad, kkighd dar tawja n tamdkwalt inu gh Talat n’Yakoub. Tga yat lblast t3zl gh idrarn.
Talat n Yakoub
Khattad tga yat lfursa ad sawlgh Tachelhit ashku midn n lblast ad ar swaln ghir Tachelhit walaynni ura swaln ta3rbt nghd tafaransit. Innas n tmdwalt inu tmla yyi manik atga tudart ta9dimt n idwwarn. Ta3lmgh manik asa t3jjant timgharin aghrum ismns tannurt gh ugunus n uffran, d ftigh ula s hammam, d iga yat lblast llisa fttun midn bach ad ssirdn ashku bzaf n tgmma ur gisnt illa dwuch.
Making tannurt
Ar tkhdmgh 3an bo3d gh yat tamsmunt (ljm3iya) ismns The British Moroccan Society, d tga yat ljm3iya lli ismonan iqqaridn d ar tn takka i ljm3iyat mzzinin n lmaghrib. Ashku ar sawalgh Tachelhit, tsaqsa yyi ljm3iya ad kkgh dar ljm3iyat lli itamzzn iqqaridn d ad aragh f lkhdmt nsnt d manik a sa st3malnt iqqaridn ad. Bzaf n ljm3iyat llant gh idwwarn mzzinin lligh midn ar swaln aghar Tachelhit, d mayad izrin, The British Moroccan Society or tufa ad ttwasal disnt. Fjijgh bzaf ad bdugh lkhdmtad ad twasalgh d ljam3iyat ad, d ula ad dari lfursa ad ftogh s lblays yadnin gh lmaghrib. Imalass lli dyuchkan, rad ftugh s udwar iqqrbn i Ouarzazate bach ad kkgh ljm3iya lli isa9ran tifraxin.
Tgimmi gh tamazirt – a traditional village house
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I am getting used to living here in Morocco, in particular the craziness of here life. Every day is an adventure, and now I can laugh about it instead of becoming frustrated. For example, I opened a bank account here at the beginning of August but I still don’t have a bank card so I can’t access any of the money that I transferred into the account, and the bank won’t give me any explanation for this. However this is Morocco and patience is necessary!
This month, I visited my friend’s family home in Talat n’Yakoub, an isolated region in the mountains. This was a great opportunity to test my Tachelhit as it’s the only language that people speak here. Her mother showed me the traditional way of life in the village. I learnt how the women make bread called ‘tannurt’ inside of an oven, and I went to the hamman, which is the place where people go to wash since many homes don’t have showers.
I work remotely for the British Moroccan Society, an organization which raises money and distributes it to small associations in Morocco. As I speak Tachelhit, they have asked me to visit the associations that receive money to write about the work that they do and how they use the funds from the Society. Many of the associations are in small villages where people speak Tachelhit and in the past it was almost impossible for the organization to communicate with them. I am looking forward to starting this mini project and having the opportunity to visit more areas of Morocco. Next week I am going to a village close to Ouarzazate to visit a women’s education project.
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