In response to your comments about my new digs…

January 29, 2011

I am glad that everyone likes it! Fortunately, I do too…kind of funny that I can actually say I live in a mud house in Africa :P Although, it's not a hut...

As far as standards of living-I live as an ‘average’ Moroccan in my town does. However, Moroccans don’t tend to live alone, they live with their family until they marry. Once married, the husband brings his bride home to live with his family, which most of the time includes living with his parents and many times grandparents as well. So, relatively speaking, my house is spacious, as I live alone. But, as you can see, there is no hot water, no shower/bathtub, no washing machine or dryer, and only one room is heated by my wood stove. Also, I don’t have a fridge. The kitchen is probably colder than a fridge, so it isn’t necessary. Although, I will inherit a small fridge from Eric, once he leaves in April, which will be ideal in the summer.

There are many homes, in the deep bled (countryside), which don’t have running water or even Turkish toilets (you just use the natural landscape outside). There are also many towns, that regulate water usage and so it is turned on for only three hours a day, providing limited access. On the flipside, many homes have hot water heaters, which allows for showers and hot water in general. Also, many homes have washing machines. In larger cities and also in newer ‘cement’ homes around here, the floors and walls are tiled with decorative tiles and elaborate chandeliers hang in every room. Many of the mud homes around here even have chandeliers. Many of the homes around here also have personal Hemam’s in them. That is, there is a wood stove in the bitlima (Turkish toilet room), which allows the room to get nice and hot and steamy and then hot bucket baths can be taken in the privacy of your own home, rather than going to a public Hemam (public bath house).

It should also be noted, that as far as furnishings go, my house is extremely modest. Most Moroccans have decorative wooden bases for their poonj’s (Moroccan couch’s/what look like a single mattress) raising them six or so inches off of the ground and also wooden frames for their bed’s. Whereas, my poonj’s  are bare, most Moroccans cover theirs with decorative heavy duty fabric and have an endless supply of back pillows lining them. Most entry foyers have an extremely large wooden china cabinet and the kitchens normally have permanent shelving or some kind of hutch. So in that respect, my house is below average standards. However, many homes in the deep bled, have no poonj’s at all. People simply sit on hand-woven carpets/shag rugs. And many families choose to sleep all together in the same room, on the floor and very close together. So as you can see, there are various extremes.

Wood Stove

Surprisingly, the tiny wood stove is very efficient and warms my bedroom in no time. It's just going anywhere else in the house, that isn't pleasant. It has started snowing here and is much colder than it has been. We only got a dusting here in town, but the mountains are covered. It is very pretty. According to the forecast we are going to get more snow on Monday. Brrr...I went out yesterday and bought another mule load of firewood!

Roof Door

As all the houses are connected, the roof is shared. There is a deadbolt on the inside of the door, which is the only way to shut the door. I am putting a second lock on the door this week though, so no worries!

Well that’s all for now.

Until next time,

Maryeem xXx