To Market, To Market

Tuesday is a big day, market day. Actually, we have 3 market days, but Tuesday's is the largest. Every Tuesday, people from all over the region pile into vans, buses and taxis and head to the Ait Ourir souk (translation: market). On any other given day, cars will take you into the city center of Ait Ourir, where there's a bank, a post office, a few shops, cafes, and a grand taxi stand for getting to other places like Marrakech. But not on Tuesdays. On Tuesdays, all transportation takes you to the outer edge of Ait Ourir, a place deserted every other day of the week. On Tuesdays, this side of town is where it's all at. 
 
Two weeks ago, Jon and I decided it was time to learn how to navigate our own way to and through the market. It might not sound like such a big task, but learning how to get what you need and where to get it is one of the greatest initial challenges of any Peace Corps volunteer. We planned to keep our purchases to a minimum, just to avoid any major frustrations should we not be able to locate something. But to add to our relatively short list, we arranged to have lunch at souk with our host father, Xali Hassan (translation: Uncle Hassan), who cooks tagine at souk every week. During our site visit in May, we had been given a brief tour of the market layout, and even eaten at the cafe where Xali Hassan cooks. We thought, "We can surely find him, inchallah," (translation: God willing). 
 
Inchallah, indeed! We left our host family's house around 9:30 in the morning, and began our 3 km walk into Timzalit, the closest town to get transportation. At any given time of day, the walk to Timzalit is beautiful. We walk through Timzguida to the start of the cliff, just at the river's edge. Even in the heat of the day (which nowadays is around 105 °F), the view of the valley from the bridge is worth stopping for. Once across the river, the shade of olive and fig trees lining the fields is a welcomed changed of temperature. Popping up on the other side of the fields, Timzalit straddles the only road we use for transportation outside of the commune. Left to Ait Ourir, right to Tighedouine, and straight to Touama. 
 
It's quite easy to find a ride on souk day. The only complication is finding the right one. Some vans are for vendors only. I have yet to figure out how to tell the difference between the white vendors-only vans and the white all-aboard vans. We just wait to see which one the most people pile into, and then we get in line. It is not uncommon for one typically 8 passenger van to seat 12-18 people. Though perhaps not the safest way to travel, it's the surest way to get to souk. 
 
When we arrive in Ait Ourir, the first thing we do is clear away from the road as quickly as possible. For all the traffic that comes in and out of the area, there is no parking lot. The road's edge at souk is packed with vans, buses, cars, and taxis, not to mention carts and horse-pulled buggies. Once in the clear, there is but a small moment for a sigh of relief before being swept up into the foot traffic of the market. Think of the check-out lines at toy stores and bulk superstores on Black Friday, and you might come close to imagining the aisles at souk. Jon says it reminds him of the loitering crowds and barnyard animals found at a county fair. Vendors lay out their goods over sheets, in buckets, on tables, and hanging from tents. Since there are no fixed prices, people shout prices from one end of an aisle to another. Sheep and goats are shuffled along as they pass to new owners. Men and boys wheel carts full of things like nuts and bolts or cigarettes through clusters of people, all trying to collect or sell their weekly groceries. 
 
So, how do we find that one cafe where we ate with Xali Hassan last time? "Let's just see how it goes," my suggestion to Jon as we peered into the mass of tents. We made our way through the first few turns on memory, but once we got to a main aisle, we knew we needed some help. After asking a few people, "Manza tifiyyi?" (translation: Where is the meat?), we found the butchers' section (side note: directions come in the form of "go straight to the rugs, go past the spices, and turn left at the plastics"). The sight of all the meat and butchering tables is not exactly pleasant, so we decided to wait next to the fish vendors on the outer edge of the "tifiyyi" to have Xali Hassan meet us there. It turned out we were almost correct in navigating our way to the cafe; one small turn will not be missed next time!
 
After eating tagine made especially by our host father, Xali Hassan led us to the fruit section of the market to begin our grocery shopping. We figured we'd be fine choosing the fruit for ourselves, but Xali Hassan knew better. Here we are, two very obvious foreigners, standing in the middle of a giant market? Easy target for making a few dirhams. I can't really blame people for wanting to charge us more than the typical price per kilo of apples, but we have to remember that we are paid a fixed low income equal to the average standard of living in our village, and we can't really afford to be scammed every time we buy something. Thankfully, Xali Hassan showed us to a vendor with good-looking fruit and decent prices, and helped us purchase the few bags of fruit we came for. Thank you, Xali Hassan! And even though a grocery cart might be nice sometimes, there's a sort of satisfaction in buying only what you can carry.
 
We shopped around on our own for a few treats (dried figs, plums, and apricots), but the rest of our time at souk was spent just taking it all in. It's easy to get swept up in the fast pace of walking and bargaining, but it really is quite the place to learn the local culture and customs if you only relax and look around. The term "grocery shopping" does not mean a quick trip to the nearest store with the best deals of the week. It's a time to talk with new people and learn new things, a time to drink tea with friends, and a time to hand-pick your groceries from the source. 
 
It's difficult to really capture everything we're experiencing, the sites, the smells, the people. Hopefully this gives just a bit of insight into our daily lives. More to come soon!

Love,
alexandra

** Since we are still getting comfortable with our new shopping environment, we haven't taken any pictures of the market just yet. But we'll try and take some to post after next week's market!