My Homeboys at 114
Anyone that's been to Marrakech knows abuot the great plaza and spectacle that is Djeema el-Fna.
The plaza at night
At dusk about 100 food stalls are set up, each serving the same food, each having the same exact menu and each having about 4 or 5 touts trying to get you to eat at their establishment. Last year I ate at abuot 4 different food truoghs, but stand #114 stood out the most beacause the touts there had the most charm, charisma, and dished out as much verbals shit as I dished out to them.
So now I've returned to Marrakech after one year has passed and looked for my favorite stall. When I walked by, my favorite 114 homeboy was doing a hard sell on a French tourist when I saw him. When his eyes saw mine, his eyes lit up (I guess it's true, you can always read a person by their eyes), and he yelled out a big 'HEEYYYYYYY!!'. He then grabbed me by the arm and gave me a gigantic bear hug. I couldn't believe after one year of serving a hundred or so customers a night, hundreds of thousands of people a year, that he remembered little old me. He replied 'I never forget nobody!'. I wanted to tell him that while a double negative is acceptable in Spanish, it is considered a grammatical faux pax in English. But I was too caught up in amazement and emotion to get into a discussion about semantics. A couple of the other guys came over and yelled out 'California!!' and gave me hugs. One of them showed me the west coast gang sign, but I had to correct his thumb placement since it looked more like a 4 fingered Simpsons character than Tupac's 'W'.
More 'Backstreet' looking than 'street'.
A couple of English tourists asked if I came here often. I told them I was here one year ago. I should have thought of something more profound to say like 'it's not the places you see, but the people you meet'...or maybe, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'...but instead I just ordered some couscous, some grilled eggplant and peppers, and a bowl of harira (Moroccan soup). I then watched my homeboys pounce on tourists like vultures, flipping between 4 different languages with ease. As I ate, In noticed their sales pitch was stronger when attractive women walked by. It's good to see that my homeboys on this side of the world are the same as my homeboys back home.....stay tuned for more pics with these guys next week....
He's everyones homeboy, Dónde está Che Pelotas?
The plaza at night
At dusk about 100 food stalls are set up, each serving the same food, each having the same exact menu and each having about 4 or 5 touts trying to get you to eat at their establishment. Last year I ate at abuot 4 different food truoghs, but stand #114 stood out the most beacause the touts there had the most charm, charisma, and dished out as much verbals shit as I dished out to them.So now I've returned to Marrakech after one year has passed and looked for my favorite stall. When I walked by, my favorite 114 homeboy was doing a hard sell on a French tourist when I saw him. When his eyes saw mine, his eyes lit up (I guess it's true, you can always read a person by their eyes), and he yelled out a big 'HEEYYYYYYY!!'. He then grabbed me by the arm and gave me a gigantic bear hug. I couldn't believe after one year of serving a hundred or so customers a night, hundreds of thousands of people a year, that he remembered little old me. He replied 'I never forget nobody!'. I wanted to tell him that while a double negative is acceptable in Spanish, it is considered a grammatical faux pax in English. But I was too caught up in amazement and emotion to get into a discussion about semantics. A couple of the other guys came over and yelled out 'California!!' and gave me hugs. One of them showed me the west coast gang sign, but I had to correct his thumb placement since it looked more like a 4 fingered Simpsons character than Tupac's 'W'.
More 'Backstreet' looking than 'street'.
A couple of English tourists asked if I came here often. I told them I was here one year ago. I should have thought of something more profound to say like 'it's not the places you see, but the people you meet'...or maybe, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'...but instead I just ordered some couscous, some grilled eggplant and peppers, and a bowl of harira (Moroccan soup). I then watched my homeboys pounce on tourists like vultures, flipping between 4 different languages with ease. As I ate, In noticed their sales pitch was stronger when attractive women walked by. It's good to see that my homeboys on this side of the world are the same as my homeboys back home.....stay tuned for more pics with these guys next week....He's everyones homeboy, Dónde está Che Pelotas?
Labels: around the world, global transmission, marrakech, morocco, travel
posted by ::rentastic:: at 7:21 AM
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