Differences in the Details

I always have to wear shoes in the house. Going so much as a step without my indoor sandals elicits a kind reprimand from my host mother or father. I immediately shuffle off to slip them on.

I don’t use chapstick in public. It’s considered suggestive. Chewing gum with your mouth open is also an invitation. In general, I’ve heard it’s best for women not to draw attention to their mouths.

Between lunch and the evening call to prayer (from about 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.), there’s a daily siesta. An afternoon nap was an easy adjustment. It’s also the perfect time to write and/or read—after my nap, of course.

I don’t use toilet paper anymore.

Based on my homestay experiences thus far, ponj pillows are the only pillows. My current ponj pillow is firmer than my mattress. As someone who always coveted feather pillows, this required some adjustment.

Most outdoor excursions in Foum Oudi require an escort.

Weather is not small talk in Morocco. It is a conversation unto itself, always deserving of attention and consideration. Everyday.

At the bus station in Rabat, you can buy a hardboiled egg as if it were a bag of chips. You peel it right at the counter. There is even a tiny communal bowl of cumin set aside in which to dip said egg. Delicious and nutritious. I’ve seen hardboiled eggs sold elsewhere as street food.

Books, magazines, newspapers—all are bound on the right hand side. Perhaps this seems obvious, but it was still surprising to pick up my first Arabic book. It was in Moulay Yacoub, at the elementary school library, with a copy of the Magic School Bus—the one where Ms. Frizzle takes her class on a ride through the city’s waterworks system.

Warm milk is often served alongside tea at breakfast and cassecroute (afternoon tea). Sometimes it comes sweetened, but if not, sugar is always offered. It’s unusual that I take my warm milk without sugar.