“Tuesdays and Thursdays in Morocco” by Lauren Ross

While every day in Morocco is an adventure, Tuesdays and Thursdays are extra special. Every Tuesday I have a cultural activity. These activities range from baking the well-known delicious Moroccan dish, Msemen, to learning how to make and design beautiful pottery. As if that’s not cool enough, Thursdays after class are dedicated to random adventures around Morocco with my language partner, Lamiaâ, and my teaching assistant, Khwala! I often hang out and eat dinner with their families on other days as well, but there is nothing like knowing something crazy and adventurous is coming every Tuesday and Thursday.

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First Thursday adventure! A walking tour of Rabat where my friends pointed out the must-eat restaurants and street food, the must-see cities, and some beautiful views. Here we are exploring the university that Lamiaâ attends. Photo credit: Ross, 2021

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Next up, we explored some street food! We tried fried potatoes (مَعقودة) and fried eggplant (باذنجان). Both delicious and inexpensive street food options that are especially popular amongst students. Photo credit: Ross, 2021

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As if that was not enough fried food, next up we sprang for some بسطلة which is a fried stuffed treat. This one is chicken with vegetables. Photo credit: Ross, 2021

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We finished this crazy day by getting some henna. Photo credit: Ross, 2021

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Outman Maghnaoui, one of the amazing program coordinators for Amideast Morocco, has a family bakery in Sale. He and his family were kind enough to let me join in on the baking process of Msemen and Harsha on this Tuesday activity. This is the first step: mixing flour, yeast, salt, and water to make the dough. This picture features Outman’s wonderfully patient mother! Photo credit: Maghnaoui, 2021

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After we mixed the ingredients and let the dough rise, we shaped it! This is Harsha. Msemen requires stretching and folding to get its perfect square shape with various layers. Photo credit: Maghnaoui, 2021

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Next Up: cooking! This is the Harsha. You place the dough on the stove in the metal ring, push it down to even out the shape, lift the ring, and press down on the dough with a flour-covered mallet. Photo credit: Maghnaoui, 2021

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We had big plans for our next Thursday adventure. We took the trek up to Oudaya to have tea with a view. We planned to take a boat on the river to Sale and sightsee there, but you know the saying, “when man plans God laughs”. Instead, we soaked in this wonderful view and planned the transportation, hotel, and excursions for a desert trip to Merzouga the following weekend. (Stay tuned for that boat ride though). Photo credit: Ross, 2021

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This Tuesday's activity was pottery! The beautiful shop was called “Potterie Al Amal” which translates to “Pottery of Hope”. Well, I was hoping pottery would be easy and boy was I wrong! This is clear from this photo of my first attempt. Photo credit: Moudden, 2021

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At first my instructor, the owner, was spinning the potter wheel manually with his foot while I shaped the clay. But soon thereafter, he felt I was ready to do it all by myself! This is my second try! Photo credit: Moudden, 2021

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The completed product! The mug is not perfect, but I can truly say I did it all by myself. I was able to complete various other pieces with success as well, including a soup bowl and a vase. Photo credit: Moudden, 2021

Lauren Ross is a junior at Temple University and is studying in Rabat, Morocco this summer.