This past Sunday saw the completion of yet another successful Project Soar. French artist & Marrakech resident Laurence Landon was the mastermind behind this week’s activity– using glass mosaics to construct mirror frames. Each girl got a small mirror mounted on a wooden picture frame and a very generous assortment of colored glass squares. Adhesive was partitioned out into syringes for easy and minimal-mess usage. Obviously, Laurence has done this a few times before.
12 girls came in the first round, and another 12 joined us for the second. Michelle, the coordinator for Peacock Pavilions and all around wonderful person, pointed out that this week’s project was a nice moment of rest. It required little assistance from us– no shuffling of girls from station to station or explaining the steps of a complicated activity. Instead, each girl had her materials and went for it. We sat back and watched. And you know what was incredible? Each girl created a unique, individual design! Americans reading this will have their eyes glaze over and ask for a more interesting fact that they can share at dinner parties, but those of us who have taught in any capacity in Morocco will gaze in awe at that statement. I have my own theories concerning the why, but the fact is that the majority of students in Morocco do not produce their own, original works where creativity is concerned. Every time I have used an example of a drawing to illustrate what I want them to do, rest assured I will receive 20 identical copies of that example as their final works. It was absolutely incredible to watch these girls confidently dive into the work, not looking to Laurence for an example or waiting for us to help them arrange their glass mosaics on their boards. Each mirror was beautiful in its own way– lots of creative patterns and several abstract templates were made. It’s hard to quantify the benefits of creativity and teaching art, but if you need an illustration, these mirrors were it, as they were each designed by girls lucky enough to get weekly exposure to and encouragement in the arts.
Every time I leave a Project Soar activity, I feel incredibly rejuvenated and wholly content. Perhaps it’s the satisfaction of working on a successful project, or one that I didn’t have to organize, or one that I didn’t have to struggle with. Perhaps it’s being able to assist with something I believe in and actually have skills that are applicable to. Maybe it’s being able to spend time in the Peacock Pavilions sanctuary, full of warm and delightful people, good food, and genuine serenity. I’m guessing it’s a combination of all of these factors– regardless, I absolutely love it. Running around with Mustapha and taking pictures in all of the exquisitely-curated corners of Peacock Pavlions is fun, too.
After enjoying ourselves at Project Soar, Mustapha and I headed to Amizmiz to visit Britt & Pete. These two amazing human beings recently became dumping grounds for a variety of seasonal goodies, and they so Catholic-ly decided to share these Christmas-y treasures with those in need (aka me and Stoph). A Christmas tree (with ornaments!), an Advent wreath, holiday-scented candles, an amazing assortment of chocolates (all red and green, of course), and Christmas music abound was to be had in the dar of Luby. They’re leaving for Germany this weekend and well, let’s be honest, the expiration dates on chocolates need to be honored. We lit the candles and sang “Oh come oh come Emmanuel”, made rum balls (thanks parents for the corn syrup!), and ate potato latkes with applesauce. The evening was divine.
The next morning was a holiday hangover. We heated up the leftover latkes, strapped on our hiking boots, and went for a short walk around town. Amizmiz is the green haven of nature ying to Tameslouht’s brown, dusty yang. We walked through little paths surrounded by overhanging vines and yellow-ing trees (my first and only taste of fall here in Morocco), and eventually meandered up to a plateau on one of the nearby mountains. The scenery unfolding around us was Tuscan, in every sense of the word– a variety of geometric green patches dotted with olive trees and carefully curated ravines. As much as it was Tuscan, it was not Christmas-y at all. Mustapha tended to that gap and started playing a very eclectic variety of Christmas music located on youtube. In between club remixes of Christmas favorites, we landed on Mariah Carey’s Christmas classic (can I say that?)– “All I want for Christmas is You”. We all started singing…even Mustapha…in the middle of rural Morocco, on a mountain. What an odd collision of the different corners and components of our lives. Britt and Pete suggested that, wherever we end up in the future, we should always reconvene, find a mountain, and join our voices together in Mariah Carey. Beautiful.
‘Twas a lovely pre-Christmas weekend. If you ever find yourself in Morocco and needing to make rum balls (a common situation), here is the recipe that I used with slight variations/ substitutions. It’s adapted from Emeril Lagasse, so it has to be good.
Ingredients:
- 1 & 1/2 cups of Confectioner’s Sugar (sukkar senida)
- 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder (Coubel brand)
- 1/2 tsp Ground Allspice (we mixed this together using 9arfa, 9oronfil, and guza)
- 1/2 cup dark rum (Rhum Negrita was the cheapest option)
- 2 tbsp light Corn Syrup (sorry kids, no substitution for this)
- 2 & 1/2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers (6 packs of Goldens)
- 1 cup finely chopped, roasted walnuts (gerga3)
Directions:
Mix 1 cup of the sugar, allspice, and cocoa powder into a bowl. Stir in rum and corn syrup. Stir in vanilla wafers and walnuts, mixing well. Place bowl in fridge to firm up slightly for 30 minutes. Place remaining 1/2 cup of sugar into a small bowl.
After 30 minutes, take out the chilled mixture and scoop it out using a tablespoon, making balls about 1 in in diameter. Roll in the sugar until it is coated. The recipe then says to let them chill overnight before eating, but we totally didn’t– and they were delicious!
Happiest of holidays to you and yours! With love from Morocco.
