Lessons in Culture

This week I have been learning about what is normal for Moroccan women. I had not realized until now that the Moroccan girls really don't wear makeup... I guess it's just not something that I pay attention to all that much. Amandine, the French girl who is staying with the same host family as me, told me that you are not supposed to wear makeup at all when you go out, because you do not want to appear attractive to other men. In fact, unmarried Muslims do not have the right to wear makeup at all. I guess that makes sense if you think about the logic of covering your face and hair and just generally not trying to be sexy. I guess I understand in a way, but then it just seems like there is such disparity in the treatment of sexes. I mean, if the concern is that one sex should not appear tempting to the other sex because that encourages unfaithful behavior, shouldn't men have to cover up as well? Or is it just assumed that men are less physically beautiful and will not be tempting? Or just that women will be more able to resist temptation? I really, really have a hard time accepting the treatment of women as normal, because it is so counterintuitive for me to think of being attractive or sexy as a bad thing. Can you imagine living your whole life without ever getting dressed up and doing your hair or makeup to go out to dinner? It is just so hard to picture.

I also learned that Moroccan girls, and I think just Muslim girls in general, do not have the right to bring a boyfriend to their home. Rather, he comes with his family only when he is prepared to ask for her hand in marriage. One of my students explained this to me and I tried to explain that in my culture it would be considered rude not to invite a boyfriend home within a reasonable amount of time after you have been dating. He looked at me as though I had just told him that World War III had broken out. Not that I really expected dating customs to translate, but I thought I would check it out.

I found out this week that my students actually have to pay to be in my class, even though I am not getting paid. I was not really pleased about that, although I suppose someone has to pay for the electricity and the building and all those minor details. Still.... I decided that in order to give my students more of a chance to speak English with me and NOT pay, I am going to hold "office hours" two days a week in a cafe close to my house. That means that I will not have to pay another taxi trip to the school and back, but it also means that I will be able to really sit down and talk with just a few of the best students. I am trying to think about all the things that I like and dislike about learning languages and take all that into consideration when I teach. I got to talking about the Civil War, Declaration of Independence, and National Anthem the other day, and I would really like to bring those things in to talk about what they mean in American history, but I am not sure where the line is for not discussing politics in class and that is definitely NOT something I want to mess with.