Throughout my life, how I look has been a main concern for those around me. What I wear, what I don’t wear, how I do my hair, whether I choose glasses or contacts… it’s all up for grabs, or so people think.
Morocco, wouldn’t you know, is no different.
I went back to my old site today, and the following quotes were all fired at me within three hours:
“You look nicer now than you used to. You never looked nice here, but now you look really nice. I don’t know why you didn’t look like this from the beginning.” -Host Mom 1.0
[in English] “You have new look. It likes you.” -Wife of Creepy Neighbor
and from the child that brought us, “spend the night here until you go back to God”:
“You look like a cartoon without your glasses!” -Host Brother 2.0
I had taken my glasses off to wipe them on my shirt (assuredly not my classiest moment) when Yassine, age 5, made this declaration. The funny thing is that the word ‘cartoon’ in Tashlheit is actually the Arabic word for ‘drawing’ - rsom - and I’m not sure which meaning he intended.
I also don’t know whether that was a compliment or a criticism.
