COLUMN: The streets of the Medina or the Halls of GHS

How does one describe the streets of the Medina in Rabat, Morocco? For those who aren’t familiar with the winding, whitewashed, concrete walls in one level of Quake the video game, the old Medinas of Morocco are places for which most do not have a visual.
Well, start with the halls of Guilderland High School during passing time. Everyone is walking in different directions at the same time, packed tightly in the space that is too narrow for its purposes. Each person has their own destination, route, and gait. There is noise, but no discernible words. The boys who have not yet learned the line between a pleasant, subtle scent and the reek of too much cologne try their attempts at attracting girls who pass by. Young girls use ignoring their admirers as the ultimate form of flirtation. As the bustle continues past lockers stuffed to the brim, the loudspeaker sounds.
The Medina of Rabat has all of those elements with just a few additions and slight variations. In the Medina the too-narrow streets are filled with the chaos of different trajectories that might look like the paths of pigeons from above. That constant noise is the combination of words in Arabic and French piled on top of each other until they creates the same sound as when GHS students pile their slang and English, like creating two different mixtures of vibrant colors that both end up the same shade of brown.
Take the students of GHS and add animals, stray dogs, chickens with their feet bound, and parakeets for sale to children. Add to the scent of pungent cologne the odor of fresh mint, wool, and street animals. The girls dress is different but method of flirtation identical.
Instead of lockers lining the hall there are stalls selling various wares scrunched together along both sides of the street. The interior of each stall is packed with a random array of goods like any high school locker- some snacks, some beauty products, some books, and some bags. From above you hear not the sound of a loudspeaker announcing the day’s events, but rather the call to prayer.
The same survival skills apply to both settings- walk in groups, watch where you step (while in GHS you are likely to step on some papers, the back of someone’s flip flops, or some old chewing gum in Rabat it’s more likely there is that ubiquitous brown puddle of unknown origin or an uneven cobblestone that is centuries old). We equally pity the occasional person on crutches as they try to navigate their way through the masses.

It seems that where I have grown up has followed me around the world.