The first thing you notice is the donkey. She is tied up about five meters opposite the gate to the courtyard and surrounded in feces, presumably her own. She brays as you walk by and you speak words to her that she has never heard before. There are two trees outside the courtyard wall, one on each side of the gate, both of which have limbs low enough to hit you if you don’t duck. There is a third tree, bearing an as of yet unnamed fruit, sitting in the middle of the courtyard looking a bit sad, but managing to stay alive. To the right is a large stable with a straw floor housing the animals: cows, sheep, and chickens; the family’s only source of income. Next to this room are three more closet sized rooms, the last of which is the bathroom which is rather large considering the only thing inside it is a hole in the ground and two pieces of porcelain indicating where your feet go. The extra space provided will be necessary when it comes time to bathe. Across the courtyard is the neighbor’s living quarters. There are two doors, though you aren’t sure which one leads where. Above these neighbors live another set whose kids are peeking down at you over the poorly constructed railing. On the side opposite the gate is the house in which you will live for the next nine weeks. A thin iron door is open wide, allowing all manner of bugs to enter as freely as you do. Inside you meet Laayachi for the first time. He is extremely friendly towards you and talks rapidly in Darija to the mudir who brought you. Laayachi wears a yellow fez that you are sure was once bright white and a long one-piece robe thing that covers his ankles and elbows. The faded blue sandals on his feet look like they are about two miles from falling apart. He is an old man, though you aren’t sure how old. A few weeks on you will find out that he is seventy-five. The first time you see Fatima she is exiting the kitchen with a tray of sweet mint tea, bread, and olive oil. She greets you, pours tea for everyone present, and sits down on the other side of Laayachi where she remains almost invisible for the next twenty minutes.
As Laayachi and the mudir talk, you get a chance to survey your new digs. It is an old, small house with stone walls, ceiling, and floor. The bottom half of the walls are painted a dirty sky blue and the top half and ceiling are a dirty eggshell white. You realize quickly as you look around that you may as well drop the word ‘dirty’ from your vocabulary as dirty in this place is normal. The living room in which you sit consists of two backless couches pressed up against a corner and a short, round coffee table in front of them. From your seat on the couch you can see the sink in the kitchen and out into the courtyard. On the wall separating the kitchen there is a small dresser with a ten inch color television and a silver radio with two tape decks. After the mudir leaves your new hosts give you the grand tour. On the west side of the house is a room almost the size of the living room; your new bedroom. With a broad sweeping arm, Laayachi shows you just how much space there is and tells you that you will sleep well. This room has two small, wooden tables pressed up against one wall and two closets worth of stuff pressed against another. Multiple blankets and pillows have already been laid out on the floor under the window for you. As you leave the room to continue the tour, Fatima indicates that a sheet will be hung in the seven by ten foot hole in the wall separating your room from the living room. This sheet will arrive in nine days. Back in the living room you are shown that to the right, the south, is Laayachi and Fatima ’s bedroom and that between it and the kitchen is another room used by your four new brothers. After a few more hand gestures and sips of tea, you are left to your own devices and you begin to settle in.