camel friends and exfoliation - morocco, part two

oookay, let’s get this second installment going!

as a precursor to this next bit, let me just say that, generally, i stay as far away from guided tours as i possibly can. in nearly every circumstance, i prefer to do the planning myself and enjoy every moment of the exploration once i get to a new place… but i had one item on my moroccan must-do list that was basically impossible for me to accomplish without paying some kind of professional, and that was to ride a camel. preferably in the saharan desert. so, early in the morning on our third day in marrakech, lauren and i crept down the dark stairs of our hotel and waited for the quiet knock of our tour company’s representative, who was sent to retrieve us. we followed him down the street to the plaza where all the tour vans were parked, waiting for the droves of tourists who were leaving that day on various excursions. after a slight hiccup with the number of passengers in our first van (no, 16 people is not the same as 15, and no, you cannot just “squeeze” in the back), we joined a different group and started to get acquainted with our new friends. there were three germen men, two chinese guys, an italian couple (shout out to fred and maria vittoria!), an indian girl, a girl from vancouver, and us. we’d chosen the two day / one night excursion, which ended up meaning a whole lot of van time and not much outside time… you live and you learn, i guess. but when you’re driving through the high atlas mountains, a view from the window is still pretty awe-inspiring! 

we stopped a few times on the way out to the desert, most notably at the fortified city of ait ben haddou – famous for being the city to film any movie with a middle eastern / african / sometimes ancient roman vibe. we’re talking lawrence of arabia, prince of persia, gladiator, even game of thrones… and despite all that, the handful of families that still live in this ancient kasbah do so without running water or electricity. after that afternoon spot, we high-tailed it out to the city of zagora, which was our last stop in “civilization” before the camel portion of our trek. when we pulled up to the dirt lot where our camels were waiting, about five miles outside of zagora, i felt this little twinge of excitement – one of those “i am about to do this, and it is something awesome” feelings. we loaded up the “saddle” bags (woven bags draped on either side of a few camels) and hopped up. and i say “hopped” because i literally had to jump a little bit, even with the camel kneeling down… those things are enormous! when mine finally stood up, my head was about 15 feet off the ground. which was slightly disconcerting at first, but the awesome vantage point it gave me to look out over the expansive landscape quickly outweighed any uneasiness i felt. and to top it off, we set out to our camp just as the sun was setting, which was a miraculously beautiful sight. the camel trek lasted about an hour and a half, which meant that by the end of it, the sky was pitch black in all directions, and filled with more stars that i have ever seen. we saw a few lights off in the distance, but eventually, we were walking towards one tiny glow on the horizon, and i felt like i was almost riding through the sky. the fact that our guide knew exactly where to walk in the dark like that was incredible. 

when we arrived at the camp, we put our bags in the tents and sat for a bit of mint tea. then, the other guides had dinner waiting (harira soup and tajines, what else) so we spent the evening socializing around the tables, first with food and then with hookahs, before eventually moving outside to listen to some berber music around the campfire. in the morning, i woke up eaaaarly to watch the sun rise over the dunes by myself… and it was arguably even more breathtaking than the sunset. the light was so soft and everything had a sort of magical glow about it; the pictures did not do it justice. once everyone else in the camp had woken up, we had a quick breakfast of leftover bread and jam, with the ever-present mint tea, and then loaded up the camels for the return journey. i enjoyed soaking up the sounds and sights of the waking desert as we made our way to the rendez-vous point. from there, it was van time basically all the way back to marrakech! after a little refresh in the hostel room, lauren and i went and got dinner and tea with the italian couple, which was so fun! they are wonderful, and we had a great time talking for several hours – a fabulous way to end our time in marrakech!

after a comical, three-stooges-esque train ride (let’s just say the concept of a train “selling out” doesn’t exist, and neither does personal space, or personal hygiene), the next stop was fez, the cultural and spiritual capital of morocco; it also has one of the oldest and largest medinas in africa, and boasts several universities, one of which is certified by UNESCO as the oldest in the world! we stayed with a friend of connor’s, in a super cool riad tucked into the medina. ethan and his housemates were, like everyone else we encountered in morocco, exceedingly hospitable and generous. we had a blast getting to know them during our short stay – cooking dinner together, trying new restaurants (i highly recommend café clock if you’re ever in fez), and exploring the medina… which is absolutely enormous, and rather confusing until you get the hang of it. while we were only there for two full days, i really got the feeling that fez was the most “authentic” place we went. of course, there are plenty of tourists, but as you walk around the souk in the evening, you can see everyone going about their daily lives – buying food for dinner, greeting their neighbors, coming in and out of the mosques. it seemed less like a tourist trap (like marrakech) and more just like a glimpse into the inner workings of a city that has stood the tests of time. 

i also had the distinct realization in fez that moroccan culture, like so many other cultures in the world, is decidedly not one of waste. especially in the food/animal department… when a sheep is slaughtered, for example, the wool is used to make fabric, the skin is used for the leather goods you see for sale in the medina, the meat is sent a few streets over to the butcher stalls, and even the innards are given to the cats that roam the streets. it seems gruesome at first, when you spot a pile of skins, or a row of whatever body part (heads were particularly disconcerting), or a cat nibbling on some intestines… but then, it becomes almost comforting. i found myself enjoying the peace of mind that comes from watching the butcher grind your meat in front of you – there can be no questions as to what went into that kilo of kefta. and the leather flats that you buy haven’t moved more than 50 meters in their little, inanimate lives, because the tannery is just around the corner and the man you just paid is the man who made those shoes, probably a just few days before. it’s a far cry from the distanced, thoughtless consumerism we have in america, in all the best ways.

the coolest thing we did in fez, though, was going to the hammam. a hammam is a traditional public bathhouse… and talk about a real, moroccan experience. we got up close and personal with a steaming room full of mostly (if not completely) naked women, and had the top layer of skin basically stripped from our bodies in the process. the hammam is an interesting way to see the other side of the relatively conservative culture of the outside world. inside the safety of the hammam doors (there are no men inside during female hours, and vice versa), the women are free to show parts of themselves that never see the light of day. and i noticed that there was basically no evidence of any kind of self-conscious body language; the overall attitude was just, “yep, we’re all ladies here, we have the same parts, it doesn’t matter how they’re shaped.” if only just for that reason, it was something you’d never see in the states, and it was a really nice feeling. the other important service the hammam provides is purely social – for some of the women, it’s their only outing for the week, and they take advantage of the total freedom of expression that the privacy offers to chat freely with their friends and neighbors. plus, on top of all that, you get SO clean. despite the kind of grimy atmosphere (a very, very hot tile room constantly sloshed with water that you draw in buckets from a tub, the soap/skin/whatever else running off bodies onto the floor where you’re sitting), i have never felt so exfoliated and clean. we paid the extra few dirhams to have the resident hammam lady scrub us with the little black mitts we’d bought earlier… and she did not mess around. i was glowing like a lobster by the end of it, but it felt great! she also washed and brushed my hair for me, which is my #1 favourite thing. so, all in all, a fantastically entertaining and eye-opening experience.

i keep writing too much!! this will have to do for now – the final part will follow! pictures from this installment are here, beginning with number 67!

truffe en fête.

blogosphere! i have news to report, at long last. it’s been a quiet month here in the countryside – lots of movie watching and novel reading. but, this weekend, i had one of the coolest experiences that i’ve had to date here in france… and it was all about the truffle, the cherished black diamond of the périgord!

a few weeks ago, a couple of my pilates friends here in excideuil told me about a special all-day event held each year called “truffe en fête.” it's put on by the local chapter of the rotary club, and celebrates one of this region’s most precious commodities – the truffle. the whole shindig is split into two parts… the first segment is an afternoon “conference,” at which attendees learn about the truffle, listen to local “trufficulteurs," and even have the opportunity to do a little taste-testing as well! the second part is a full-on french feast experience, with every course featuring (you guessed it) the truffle. when christine and beatrice told me that it was a benefit dinner for a local cancer research fund, i was sold! what better way to experience the local culture and taste truffles for the first time than by giving back to that same community. as the date approached, i continued to look forward to the event with high expectations!

finally, the weekend arrived. i had offered to go with christine and beatrice on friday, to help set up for the event on the following day… and i’m so glad i did! i met several members of the rotary club, who were all wonderfully charming and friendly. we spent the afternoon/early evening rearranging tables, perfecting the place settings, and generally making sure that everything was ready for the 200 person dinner the next day. the venue itself was absolutely gorgeous. situated just a few kilometers away from excideuil, the “domained’essendiéras” is a beautiful complex of two chateaux (one from the 16^th century and one from the 19^th century), a banquet hall and clubhouse, golf course, vacation homes… you name it. the chateaux were beautifully renovated by the family that owns the property, and i was continually impressed with the attention to detail they so obviously devoted to the process.

on saturday, i got myself all dolled up and went down to the venue early with the ladies (begging rides has become the norm, since i have no car) to help with last-minute preparations before the afternoon session started. there wasn’t much to do for the first hour or so, but around 2pm, the highly-anticipated (and slightly late) keynote speaker showed up! her name is danièle mazet-delpeuch, and she is an absolute gem. as a native of the périgord region and a world-renowned specialist in the regional cuisine, danièle was a total match for this event. she had even agreed to prepare a little “amuse-bouche” as a treat for the audience, so when she arrived, beatrice and i kicked into sous-chef mode. we spent about an hour and a half in the kitchen in total, preparing the cutest little hors d’oeuvre you ever did see. step one was cutting a big loaf of freshly baked, freshly delivered bread into strips and arranging them onto plates for eventual toasting. for step two, danièle showed me how to carefully cut little quail eggs open with nail scissors and pop them into pre-heated frying pans for some sunny-side-up goodness. once they cooked, i was given a little scalloped biscuit cutter and told to place the beautiful little eggy flowers into the shallow plastic bowls that beatrice had set out onto the trays. once the eggs were placed, the freshly toasted bread strips (called tartines) were lovingly spread with the foie gras that delphine had made especially for the event. DI-VINE. the final, and most important, touch was to lightly touch the foie-gras end of the tartine into some crumbled raw truffle, sprinkle just a teensy bit of the truffle onto the egg yolk, and place the tartine across the bowl. throughout the process, danièle was so wonderful and encouraging – she even complimented my egg-cutting techniques and told me i had a future as a chef. once the assembly was complete, danièle went out and spoke for about 30 minutes before doing a foie gras demonstration! her life has been incredibly interesting; she started out as a sort of local culinary hero in the perigord region, welcoming chefs and cooking enthusiasts from all over the world to her country home/farm for foie gras and truffle camps. then, in the late 80’s, she was summoned (almost literally) to paris, upon recommendation, to be the personal chef for the then-president-de-la-republique françois mitterand! she worked in the palais de l’élysée (equivalent of the white house) for two years. then, she went to work in antarctica as the chef for a french research team for 14 months! she’s literally been on every continent! a movie was made about those two experiences (working in paris and antarctica) – it is called "haute cuisine" (or les saveurs du palais) and came out last fall. i just watched it today – it’s very entertaining, and the woman who plays “hortense” (danièle) did a great job of capturing her spirit. all in all, i consider myself very, very lucky to have had such a unique opportunity!

by 6:30 or so, everyone had left to go get ready for the dinner. we made sure everything was picked up  and tidy before heading down to the banquet hall. i sat and watched the england/france rugby match (the 6 nations tournament opener!) with a bunch of the men. france ended up winning right at the very end, which put everyone firmly in a great mood for the rest of the night. i was also interviewed by the local blogger for a little article on his site, periblog (link forthcoming). around 7:45, we lit the candles and the “servers” (rotary club members) started popping bottles of bubbly! now, i’ve had my fair share of authentic french dinners… but i’ve never been to a banquet-type dinner. and let me tell you, this one was special. we started with the pre-dinner drinks around 8pm, and everyone kind of just mingled until about 8:30. after a few opening remarks from the rotary club president and christine, the first course was served. naturally, it was a soup – a velouté of white beans and potatoes, with the ever-present truffle, of course. it was delicious. i could have had 4 bowls of it. and of course, with a new course we must have new wine! throughout the night, our table ended up having something like 8 bottles of wine… there were only 10 of us at the table, and two didn’t really drink. so, you can do the math there. the second course was a truffle foie gras (heaven help me) with carmelized onion jelly and fresh, crusty bread. i cannot even begin to describe the delicacy that was this dish. it was simply divine. i was starting to feel full by the end of it, though, because that slice of foie gras was substantial to say the least. thankfully, the third dish took a while coming, because the purée had to be prepared exactly before serving… and it takes a lot of purée to feed over 200 people. finally, the main course came out, and boy, was it worth the wait. a beautiful cut of beef cheek, roasted for several hours and served alongside a potato purée made with truffled crème fraiche and this fantastic gravy. it was absolutely decadent – the meat was so, so tender and the purée was this velvety concoction of perfect seasoning, buttery, truffley, potatoey goodness… mmm. i will never think of mashed potatoes the same way again. after that, we had the cheese course, which was a truffle-infused, soft goat cheese with a slice of toasted bread which had been glazed with truffle oil… i love goat cheese, but the texture was different than any kind i’ve tried thus far. finally, dessert was fresh crêpes with truffle caramel – exactly as delicious as it sounds. as is only fitting, there was a round of coffee to finish everything off, despite the fact that it was pushing one in the morning at that point. the meal honestly took like 5 hours. #france. i have never, ever had a meal so decadent and detailed and perfectly french in my entire life. each course was introduced by a meticulous explanation that perfectly explained the treat we were about to receive. we took our time, enjoying each dish as it was brought to us and praising the elements that were particularly phenomenal. the evening was made even more special by the fact that i got to sit with several friends from excideuil and the surrounding area, some that i have known for a while now and others that i met that evening. i also got to meet christine’s daughter and beatrice’s two children, which was a treat! it was funny to meet the kids, now that i’ve gotten to be friends with the parents.

i stayed and helped clean up a little bit – mostly bussing the tables and getting all the glassware sorted into the trays. finally, just after 2, i left with christine’s husband gilles (my name counterpart), who kindly offered to bring me and beatrice’s son adrien back to excideuil. i was talked into staying for a drink at their house, since i’m friends with the kids and there’s nothing like a beer at 2:30 in the morning. i finally, finally got home just after 3am, and promptly fell into bed soon thereafter.

it seems only fitting that this post is one of my longest ones yet, and it’s about food. that’s a very appropriate metaphor for france, if i’m being honest. if there’s one thing the french know, it’s how to eat, and eat well. bon appétit, indeed!

thanksgiving, à la française

before i left the states back in early september, my mom went above-and-beyond the call of duty and made me a full thanksgiving dinner.  she was worried that i would be sad about missing out on the best meal of the year, so she pulled out all the stops. and i was truly grateful, because there is nothing like sitting in my dining room with my whole family and eating some seriously fantastic grub. and she was right, in a certain sense – today was a sad day, in a way. but the pang i felt in my heart when i thought about everyone gathering together back home without me was soothed in no small measure by the joy that i’ve gotten to experience during this season in france. not only did i get a bonus thanksgiving-in-august, but i got to celebrate it in three different ways over here in europe! so really, moving abroad just multiplies the festivity, if you can find the right people. and it certainly magnifies the sense of gratitude!

thanksgiving #1 - friendsgiving

this past week, i had the absolute privilege of sharing a thanksgiving meal with about 30 people, hosted by the home-church group that my friend devon and her husband attend in paris. the dinner was at the home of michael and sara, who live in a beautiful apartment in the marais district of paris and evidently have no qualms with welcoming all the waifs and strays! there were plenty of expats there, from all over the world, and a few native frenchies as well.. my friend jessie and i enjoyed getting to know several of the guests as we all chowed down on the standards – turkey, stuffing, potatoes, corn casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce (!!!) – as well as some traditional dishes from other countries! and let’s not forget the desserts, which took up the entire table after the first round was cleared away. the atmosphere was lovely, the food was delicious, and the people were warm and welcoming – it truly felt like a family gathering, despite the fact that the majority of the group had never met. at the end of the evening, several of the church members made sandwiches with the leftovers and encouraged all of the guests to grab a few on the way out, so that we could share the bounty we had enjoyed with someone less-fortunate who looked like they could use something to eat. it was a really sweet gesture, totally in keeping with the attitude and generosity of everyone i met that evening. i ended up leaving one sandwich next to a woman sleeping bundle of ragged blankets in a little alcove down the street, and giving another to a man near notre dame, who sat under an umbrella with two little dogs tucked inside his over-sized coat. it wasn’t much, but i was happy to give someone a break from hunger, if only for one night.

thanksgiving #2 – chez moi

the sensation of immense gratitude carried over to monday, when i finally got home to my little village to find a thanksgiving package from home waiting for me on my doorstep! i knew it had been sent, but it was still such a nice surprise to see my mom’s handwriting smiling at me from my threshold the moment i got home. and the contents of that box were faaaantastic! here’s an inventory: poultry seasoning (for the stuffing!), jif peanut butter (per my request), cupcake baking cups, taco bell sauce packets, red sprinkles, a nature valley protein bar, turkey gravy mix and alfredo sauce mix from kroger, some christmas decorations, a sponge, betty crocker peanut butter cookie mix, some tea, airborne tablets, a turkey dishtowel, and a card. now, i know that some of those things might seem random or kind of meaningless… but it was so great. sometimes, it’s just nice to see things from home for novelty’s sake; i don’t even like taco bell, really, but those sauce packets made me smile! and i may live in one of the culinary capitals of the world, but there are times when absolutely nothing beats an apple and peanut butter. and the simple act of hanging that turkey-appliquéd dishtowel on my toaster oven’s handle made me feel like i was back in the kitchen at home. but i digress...

cooking for one is hard; i’ve said it before, but it’s never been more true when you’re cooking a meal that usually needs to serve a dozen people or more. i decided that i wanted to do a little thanksgiving meal for myself, just to get a taste of home, so i asked my mom to send my grandmother’s stuffing recipe (hence the poultry seasoning in my box). well! this morning, i made that stuffing, and let me tell you… it was great. i toasted, cubed, and staged the bread last night, so it was all nice and dried-out by the morning! the process itself was simple – sautée onions and celery, add chicken stock and seasoning, mix in bread cubes, put in oven – but the act of making it gave me such a feeling of nostalgia! granted, i’ve never been the one to make the stuffing before, but just having the smell in my apartment was enough to make me feel like i was back in franklin. i also made a teensy serving of mashed potatoes and got two turkey breast fillets from the supermarket – three cheers for a thanksgiving dinner for one! and as a bonus, i skyped my parents while they were at our big extended family dinner, so i even had the chance to say hi to everyone!

thanksgiving #3 – sharing the message at school:

as an english assistant, i’m somewhat of an ambassador between my american culture and that of my students. last week and this week, a few of my teachers took advantage of the holiday season to talk about america – in some of the younger classes, that meant discussing thanksgiving! i can’t explain how strange it was to hear a holiday that i’m so familiar with boiled down to the bare bones – “it’s a day where families gather to eat a turkey and pray to God.” i mean… that’s true for some people, i guess, so i couldn’t correct them. but i enjoyed the lessons, because it was a great opportunity for me to share what thanksgiving really means. the kids had basically no idea (short of the turkey/God thing), so i had a blank slate! after a little reflection, i told them that thanksgiving was a day where families gather together and shared a meal (had to keep the english level pretty simple..) in order to express their gratitude for everything they have. despite being a historically catholic country, france is exceptionally unreligious, so i tried to stay away from talking about thankfulness in purely a religious sense. also, explaining the concept of blessings was difficult. the story of the first thanksgiving was also challenging. historically, the whole “pilgrims and indians eating together” might not be entirely accurate… but at least it gives a better origin story than “we kinda just came and displaced and/or killed pretty much everyone, and then centuries later, the government arbitrarily decided to create a holiday about it for commercial purposes.” sooooo… pilgrims and indians it is. i focused more on the fellowship and quality time aspects of the holiday. :)

so, in summary, i am thankful for…

…a God who loves me unconditionally and never fails to provide for me, 

who lets me make mistakes so i can learn the way i learn best,
 and who blesses me endlessly every day.

…a family who supports me and encourages my insatiable desire for adventure.

…a job that allows me to pursue those adventures, 

while simultaneously providing new experiences in and of itself.

...coworkers and students who are supportive, engaging, and patient.

…a body that puts up with all the shenanigans i put it through 

and remains in moderately good health – traveling is hard, y’all!

…a wonderful apartment in a great community.

…the people i love who are spread out all over the world (literally).

…the miracle of technology, which lets me stay connected with aforementioned 
loved ones via various social media.

…peanut butter.

happy thanksgiving, everyone! :)

ps - i documented my little thanksgiving cooking experience here if you’d like to see it!