My Trip To Morocco!
In March 2007 I got to go to Morocco and Spain for a little and much needed vacation! While in Casablanca, my brother and I wandered our way through the Medina (or "Old City"). The streets were narrow and lined with bazaars, many selling the same stuff - mostly leather goods, food, and souveniers. The maze-like streets were packed with people, and we were obviously not native! We lost ourselves in the experience - it was so surreal being there (of course I wish I took more pictures)!
We found ourselves in a large square where many peddlers were selling anything and everything. I happened upon a couple guys selling some jewelry and they spoke excellent english! They offered to take us to their bazaar to look at more and I agreed, a little apprehensively since they could have easily taken advantage of us. But in the name of adventure, I went for it! I didn't see anything I liked, and they began to lead us back to the square where we had met. That's when I asked about getting some henna. They knew of a friend that did it and immediately took us to their home - a huge honor in their culture.
They took us to their tiny, one room home, no bigger than my bathroom. Their friend Fatima came with the henna and her supplies and began to mix it up. She used the henna powder, water, and some strong smelling additive, probably something like kerosene. She used her hand to mix it up with and put it into a syringe. She then began to
apply it to my skin, freehanding the entire design. There were many similiarities between us and since I didn't know any arabic, and she didn't know english, we communicated through the guys. The whole experience was just amazing and memorable. She did my hands in about an hour while we sipped on mint tea. We talked about american movies and about their culture. I wondered why there weren't any places offering henna (I thought it would be abundant since Morocco was one of the traditional origins of it). According to our friends, Abdul and Gino, you have to be licensed to do henna, and it was a long and expensive process to do so. They also told me not to tell anyone where I had gotten mine done - I got illegal henna!
By the time Fatima was finished, the sun had gone down and the streets were dark in the Medina. Our new friends lead us out of the Old City and hailed us a cab. I knew we'd probably never see them again, but that was okay - they gave us such an exciting memory that most other tourists would never have gotten. I will be eternally grateful for the experience and I can't wait to go back to Casablanca - maybe I'll run into my friends again and if I do, you know I'll be getting some more henna!
Since April 25, 2008
