Well folks in this case no news is definately not good news.
Its Wed. afternoon here and I am still not married!
We have had our honeymoon - curtesy of Roxanne - we have had our Wedding Party (as it was Kiersten and Roxannes last day) - we still can not get all the paperwork done.
While we try and do this in the next 2 days we have to see Kiersten off at the train station in 3 hours, see Roxanne off tomorrow morning and move apartments (we had only booked until Thursday as we planned to spend our last 3 days in Rabat)
I might actually be looking forward to getting back to Canada.
The wedding party was lovely - it was just 15 of our close friends and some family and we held it at our apartment. Abderrahims sister cooked us amarzing food and our friends Sherek and Hicham brough to beautiful bundles of wedding flowers and some traditional wedding candies.
Our friends sang a beautiful moroccan bride song when i came out to join the party and Abderrahim saw me for the first time. Other than that moment it was very casual and I phoned my mom and dad and Abderrahim spoke to them for the first time. He was nervous but really happy to talk to them.
Well off now to get Kierstens train ticket!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Man continues to be elusive
Well folks i dont know what to say. It was all set to go for us to be married tomorrow - Kierstens last full day in Marrakech. Wedding party plans were set, my wedding dress bought and altered, cook on standby, and we were thrown another curve ball today. The man who eluded us so sucessufully a couple weeks back is now in the picture again (or not) and we need him to provide yet another stamp !!! Anyone thinking about moving to marrakech? go into the "stamping" business!!
I am getting very anxious about even being married on my return. Almost certainly there will be no wedding party - so my beautiful wedding dress will have to wait for its grand unveiling at a canadian wedding party, I am certain now nothing canada immigration will throw at us will be as stressful as trying to follow a piece of paper through marrakech - nor will it cost me nearly as much bakshsih.
I am exhausted and stressed and thank goodness for Abderrahims patience with me and the system - what should have taken 3 weeks has taken now almost 6 and we will have no time together once we are married. It will also cause a delay in our spousal sponsorship application, (want to give me some more vacation Janice?????no??? - then I guess I will see you in 1 week)
Check back tomorrow for another update.
I am getting very anxious about even being married on my return. Almost certainly there will be no wedding party - so my beautiful wedding dress will have to wait for its grand unveiling at a canadian wedding party, I am certain now nothing canada immigration will throw at us will be as stressful as trying to follow a piece of paper through marrakech - nor will it cost me nearly as much bakshsih.
I am exhausted and stressed and thank goodness for Abderrahims patience with me and the system - what should have taken 3 weeks has taken now almost 6 and we will have no time together once we are married. It will also cause a delay in our spousal sponsorship application, (want to give me some more vacation Janice?????no??? - then I guess I will see you in 1 week)
Check back tomorrow for another update.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Fun Stuff
Inbetween the paperwork and the hoopjumping there has been some really fun times. Kiersten and Roxanne and I like to wow the locals with our great Arabic!!!
I have adopted one of our friends (schleck) and he calls me walida (mom) and I call him Wildey (spelled phoenetically - means son) we get quite a few looks from the locals when they hear us.
A never ending source of amusement for the locals is when Abderrahim asks me to sing in Arabic (yes I really can) but it always cracks them up. Stay tuned you may get to see that on CBC as the film people were here for a dinner party we had and taped us singing Arabic.
Roxanne and I have been enjoying showing Kiersten around as all of this Marrakechi stuff is new to her like the fact that a 2 lane road becomes a 3 lane road or 3 1/2 depending on the size of the cars, learning how to cross the street and dodge between cars, scooters and donkey carts!
We have had the pleasure of eating my future sister-in-laws amazing cooking!!!!!
Finally - yesterday I bought my wedding dress!!! Most of you will have to wait to see it - but mom if you are reading this I will send you an email. It is very beautiful and not what i had planned on and took some hard bargaining by me but mostly by my wildey (read above) and roxanne. Here's hoping i have a wedding to wear it to!!!
Now you are all caught up and there will be plenty of funny stories and pictures to share when I get home!
I have adopted one of our friends (schleck) and he calls me walida (mom) and I call him Wildey (spelled phoenetically - means son) we get quite a few looks from the locals when they hear us.
A never ending source of amusement for the locals is when Abderrahim asks me to sing in Arabic (yes I really can) but it always cracks them up. Stay tuned you may get to see that on CBC as the film people were here for a dinner party we had and taped us singing Arabic.
Roxanne and I have been enjoying showing Kiersten around as all of this Marrakechi stuff is new to her like the fact that a 2 lane road becomes a 3 lane road or 3 1/2 depending on the size of the cars, learning how to cross the street and dodge between cars, scooters and donkey carts!
We have had the pleasure of eating my future sister-in-laws amazing cooking!!!!!
Finally - yesterday I bought my wedding dress!!! Most of you will have to wait to see it - but mom if you are reading this I will send you an email. It is very beautiful and not what i had planned on and took some hard bargaining by me but mostly by my wildey (read above) and roxanne. Here's hoping i have a wedding to wear it to!!!
Now you are all caught up and there will be plenty of funny stories and pictures to share when I get home!
The Angry Little Man The Angry Big Man and all the men in between
So much to update for all of those who have been following along. Sorry for the lack of updating once Roxanne and Kiersten arrived I lost all interest in the computer!!!!
So backing up a little - Kiersten's arrival in itself was a bit of an adventure. We hired this random man in the airport to drive us from Casablanca to Marrakech. He took us into this quiet little neighbourhood and we were all getting nervous and finally Abderrahim opened his door to get the man to stop. Despite the driver drinking and aiming the car for the ditch, the police hanging onto our passports looking for a little bakshish we made it to Marrakech at 6am.
Roxanne arrived the next day bringing her film crew with her and the next 4 days were spent with all of us being followed by a camerman everywhere we went and being interviewed. The locals looking on with much curiosity as to who we all were you will all be able to see the results in May 2010!!
I know - I know you are all waiting to here about the angry little man. Believe it or not I have not met the angry little man I am always left sitting outside his office. Lots of great things happen in family court in Marrakech!! While Abderrahim was in talking to the angry little man a fight broke out on a stair well 4 moroccan women pushing each other and throwing things and the men yelling and throwing things it was very exciting. The documentary director came up to me and said it must be wife number 2 & 3!!
One of the delays for those of you who are wondering why I am not yet married is that Abderrahim has lost his Carte Identite National. It is hard to do anything in morocco without it and it did delay things a bit and probably will cost us a little extra bakshish.
Next we met with the police. That went relatively smoothly except they needed a copy of our court file so Abderrahim headed back to see the angry little man and for an extra 30 dirhams bakshish he was given our file to copy. There is a woman at the courthouse who will make copies for you. She remembered me from our time at the courthouse and asked where I was from - Abderrahim looked her straight in the eye and said Somalia.
After the police we were off to the "big building" im not sure why but everyone was concerned that he would not let us move forward without A's original CIN so after a quick house meeting we decided that I should go with him and if necessary start to cry. Moroccan men dont like tears. Im not sure what that man does but he had an envelope for us which was sealed and stamped - ooohhhh the moroccans like their stamps!!
Abderrahim took that sealed envelope to the Big Angry Man! Every neighbourhood apparently has a big angry man. Sighhhhhhh he was not there. The people that were there told A. to bring me when he returned though.
This morning we set off to meet the Angry Big Man. When we arrived in Sidi Youssef (Abderrahims neighbourhood) I got a lot of stares - no tourists go to his neighbourhood. So nervous and trying to remember my instructions (dont look directly at the Angry Big Man, keep your eyes lowered when answering) I didnt notice a little step in the concrete and fell flat on my face - not quite the dignified, respectful entrance I was hoping for.
The big angry man is very angry. He has a buzzer on his desk and he hits it and one of three men come running. He didnt acknowledge us sitting there but keep stamping and reading papers and then he started to yell at one of his assistants " what is this?? This is not what I asked for! Do it again !!! and tore up someones papers, crumpled them in a ball and threw them across the room.
Our saving grace was Abderrahims dad being an Imam - which got us some peace.
Monday Abderrahim goes back to the big courthouse and Tues we should get to meet with the Judge and should be married by Tues - which is good because Kiersten leaves Wed., Rox. leaves Thurs and I leave Sunday.
So backing up a little - Kiersten's arrival in itself was a bit of an adventure. We hired this random man in the airport to drive us from Casablanca to Marrakech. He took us into this quiet little neighbourhood and we were all getting nervous and finally Abderrahim opened his door to get the man to stop. Despite the driver drinking and aiming the car for the ditch, the police hanging onto our passports looking for a little bakshish we made it to Marrakech at 6am.
Roxanne arrived the next day bringing her film crew with her and the next 4 days were spent with all of us being followed by a camerman everywhere we went and being interviewed. The locals looking on with much curiosity as to who we all were you will all be able to see the results in May 2010!!
I know - I know you are all waiting to here about the angry little man. Believe it or not I have not met the angry little man I am always left sitting outside his office. Lots of great things happen in family court in Marrakech!! While Abderrahim was in talking to the angry little man a fight broke out on a stair well 4 moroccan women pushing each other and throwing things and the men yelling and throwing things it was very exciting. The documentary director came up to me and said it must be wife number 2 & 3!!
One of the delays for those of you who are wondering why I am not yet married is that Abderrahim has lost his Carte Identite National. It is hard to do anything in morocco without it and it did delay things a bit and probably will cost us a little extra bakshish.
Next we met with the police. That went relatively smoothly except they needed a copy of our court file so Abderrahim headed back to see the angry little man and for an extra 30 dirhams bakshish he was given our file to copy. There is a woman at the courthouse who will make copies for you. She remembered me from our time at the courthouse and asked where I was from - Abderrahim looked her straight in the eye and said Somalia.
After the police we were off to the "big building" im not sure why but everyone was concerned that he would not let us move forward without A's original CIN so after a quick house meeting we decided that I should go with him and if necessary start to cry. Moroccan men dont like tears. Im not sure what that man does but he had an envelope for us which was sealed and stamped - ooohhhh the moroccans like their stamps!!
Abderrahim took that sealed envelope to the Big Angry Man! Every neighbourhood apparently has a big angry man. Sighhhhhhh he was not there. The people that were there told A. to bring me when he returned though.
This morning we set off to meet the Angry Big Man. When we arrived in Sidi Youssef (Abderrahims neighbourhood) I got a lot of stares - no tourists go to his neighbourhood. So nervous and trying to remember my instructions (dont look directly at the Angry Big Man, keep your eyes lowered when answering) I didnt notice a little step in the concrete and fell flat on my face - not quite the dignified, respectful entrance I was hoping for.
The big angry man is very angry. He has a buzzer on his desk and he hits it and one of three men come running. He didnt acknowledge us sitting there but keep stamping and reading papers and then he started to yell at one of his assistants " what is this?? This is not what I asked for! Do it again !!! and tore up someones papers, crumpled them in a ball and threw them across the room.
Our saving grace was Abderrahims dad being an Imam - which got us some peace.
Monday Abderrahim goes back to the big courthouse and Tues we should get to meet with the Judge and should be married by Tues - which is good because Kiersten leaves Wed., Rox. leaves Thurs and I leave Sunday.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
We Win- on to the Angry Little Man
After a week of going back and forth between our apartment and his neighbourhood Abderrahim has finally tracked down "the man" and all the necessary papers are signed and stamped.
Monday we can begin our dealings with the angry little man, the courts and the police and with any luck I will actually be married by the time i leave!!!!
Stay tuned for our stories of the next series of beurocracy - will also have wedding dress updates as my future sister-in-law arrives home on Sunday and Roxanne and Kiersten arrive next week.
Monday we can begin our dealings with the angry little man, the courts and the police and with any luck I will actually be married by the time i leave!!!!
Stay tuned for our stories of the next series of beurocracy - will also have wedding dress updates as my future sister-in-law arrives home on Sunday and Roxanne and Kiersten arrive next week.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Taxi's Toilettes and other things Moroccan
Well "the man" continues to ellude us.....but I am ever hopeful that today will be the day, and in the meantime i continue to learn all sorts of lessons :)
Taxi's in Morocco work completely different to taxis at home. You never call a taxi you can only flag them down and you must be standing on the side of the street in the direction you are going because i guess they can't change direction. If they dont like where you are going they wont take you. If you are a tourist or look like a tourist the meter never works and a 10 dirham taxi ride will always cost 30 dirhams. If a taxi only has one person he will stop and pick up extras but you dont split the fare you each pay your own fare.
Toilettes - today's lesson was always bring your cell phone to the toilette. I have a fear of using bathrooms in Morocco: will it be english or arab; if its english will there be papier de toilette? (lesson learned on my first trip to Morocco always carry tissue), if both of those things are ok will there be a toilet seat? Finally - todays lesson - while in Rabat i thought i was locked in the toilette and had a moment of panic since then i always take my bag with my phone. Today as Abderrahim was getting ready to go in search of the man i had to use the toilette and asked him to wait for me. He laughed and agreed - well sure enough the door handle was broken on the inside of the stall and I got locked in and I had to phone him and say help im stuck in the toilette come get me!!!!!
Crosswalks - they exist in Marrakech but they dont necessarily mean the cars will stop for you - what they do mean apparently is that the police will be much harder on a motorist for hitting you on the crosswalk than if they hit you when they are jaywalking.
Crossing the street here is an adventure in itself - if you can get to the middle of the road you are often trapped there where you can actually feel the car brush your clothing if its still blown up from the previous car and then you anxiously wait your chance to dash the second half of the road.
Well thats it for my ramblings today!!
Taxi's in Morocco work completely different to taxis at home. You never call a taxi you can only flag them down and you must be standing on the side of the street in the direction you are going because i guess they can't change direction. If they dont like where you are going they wont take you. If you are a tourist or look like a tourist the meter never works and a 10 dirham taxi ride will always cost 30 dirhams. If a taxi only has one person he will stop and pick up extras but you dont split the fare you each pay your own fare.
Toilettes - today's lesson was always bring your cell phone to the toilette. I have a fear of using bathrooms in Morocco: will it be english or arab; if its english will there be papier de toilette? (lesson learned on my first trip to Morocco always carry tissue), if both of those things are ok will there be a toilet seat? Finally - todays lesson - while in Rabat i thought i was locked in the toilette and had a moment of panic since then i always take my bag with my phone. Today as Abderrahim was getting ready to go in search of the man i had to use the toilette and asked him to wait for me. He laughed and agreed - well sure enough the door handle was broken on the inside of the stall and I got locked in and I had to phone him and say help im stuck in the toilette come get me!!!!!
Crosswalks - they exist in Marrakech but they dont necessarily mean the cars will stop for you - what they do mean apparently is that the police will be much harder on a motorist for hitting you on the crosswalk than if they hit you when they are jaywalking.
Crossing the street here is an adventure in itself - if you can get to the middle of the road you are often trapped there where you can actually feel the car brush your clothing if its still blown up from the previous car and then you anxiously wait your chance to dash the second half of the road.
Well thats it for my ramblings today!!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Beaurocracy
Let me start by saying that working where I work I am no stranger to beurocracy. I could certainly learn some more by studying the Moroccans. Currently there is one man standing in the way of us progressing to the point where we can go see the angry little man. I call him "the man". The man is someone who works in Abderrahims neighbourhood and to whom Aberrahim must present a paper to be stamped ( the moroccans love to stamp things and require stamps for almost everything - sometimes you have to hunt down a stamp purchase it and present it to be stamped on, sometimes you just pay for them to provide the stamp). I have all my docs but we cant go see the angry little man until Abderrahim has all his stamps in order.
The beurocracy doesnt end there we still have many stamps to obtain, people to pay bakshish too and a few more hoops to jump.
The quest for the illusive stamps reminds me of the 4 days my oldest sister and I spent at Expo '86 where we ran in out of the pavillions of the world trying to obtain as many stamps in our passports as possible at the end we didnt even look at the pavillion we would run in get a stamp and on to the next.
Oh well as they say in Morrocco selleck (thats life).
More updates soon hopefully on something more fun than stamp hunting - maybe wedding dress hunting!
The beurocracy doesnt end there we still have many stamps to obtain, people to pay bakshish too and a few more hoops to jump.
The quest for the illusive stamps reminds me of the 4 days my oldest sister and I spent at Expo '86 where we ran in out of the pavillions of the world trying to obtain as many stamps in our passports as possible at the end we didnt even look at the pavillion we would run in get a stamp and on to the next.
Oh well as they say in Morrocco selleck (thats life).
More updates soon hopefully on something more fun than stamp hunting - maybe wedding dress hunting!
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