Today here in town where I live down here in the Sahara, I ran into one of the kids who regularly comes to the dar shebab (Darija, or Moroccan Arabic, for "youth center"), where I've done most of my volunteering as a Youth Development PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) here in Morocco. I stopped and shook his hand and spoke with him for a bit. I asked him how he's been, since I haven't seen him for a while, not for a few weeks, since I hadn't seen him since I got back from my two week long stay in Rabat. He's been well.
In addition to the custom of shaking someone's hand when you stop to speak with them, there's also the custom here in Morocco of shaking hands with the other people present. So I shook hands with the two men who had been standing there speaking with the boy. The boy told me that one of them is his father. I'd seen his father numerous times working in the post office. While he'd been working, I'd never seen him smile. Today when the boy introduced his father, his father smiled. Instantly I saw the resemblance. Not so much a physical resemblance, but a similar mirthfulness. Suddenly I saw the resemblance because they have the same smile!
In addition to the custom of shaking someone's hand when you stop to speak with them, there's also the custom here in Morocco of shaking hands with the other people present. So I shook hands with the two men who had been standing there speaking with the boy. The boy told me that one of them is his father. I'd seen his father numerous times working in the post office. While he'd been working, I'd never seen him smile. Today when the boy introduced his father, his father smiled. Instantly I saw the resemblance. Not so much a physical resemblance, but a similar mirthfulness. Suddenly I saw the resemblance because they have the same smile!
No comments:
Post a Comment