Wash kein shati qareeb min hina?

Small demonstrations continue in the streets as the constitutional referendum approaches. I can hear cars honking the signature honk in support of the king: LOOONG LOOONG SHORT SHORT SHORT. I hear sporadic chanting but nothing sustained.

I have to take a moment to complain about how hot it is here. I spend as much time as possible at the language center because in my host family's house all I do is sit around and sweat rivers that drip down my arms, legs, and back.

My host family is still away and traveling so I've been alone in the apartment this afternoon. I went downstairs to eat lunch with another splinter of the large extended family that lives in the building. Usually my host mom gives me a separate plate from the rest of the family, I think because she has had foreigners live with her before.
Today, however, lunch was the authentic Moroccan experience as the family set out plates with salads, various pastes made from vegetables and spices, lentils, and chicken. The lady of the house passed around loaves of baguettes that we tore pieces from and used to scoop the food. It's like eating little sandwiches that you make yourself.

I put up pictures of the demonstrations that took place on Sunday and I attempted to put up a video of a protest that took place the previous Sunday. Hopefully one of my readers will let me know if the video works or not.
The back story on the pictures is that I knew since last week that protests would take place around Morocco in anticipation of this Friday. The scary email that my program sent me about the protests said to stay far away, as clashes between protesters and counter-protesters were possible. So I knew I had to be there.

At around 7pm, as the sun was beginning to set, I heard honking and chanting outside my window, and my host dad called to me and said, "Listen! The demonstrations are starting." I asked him where they were taking place and he said there would be two and pointed me in both directions. I have no idea how he knew but I grabbed my camera and ran downstairs.
I visited the march hosted by the February 20 Movement just as it was starting. Participants in the march were calling on Moroccans to either vote NO on the constitutional amendments or to boycott the referendum. These struck me as differing opinions, so I think that there are divisions within the Movement that could hamper its success. The protesters were clearly angry, but the march was peaceful, and police officers and organizers could be seen redirecting traffic so that the march could proceed. The march eventually made its way from the new city to the main square of the old city, and its size grew to huge proportions as it approached its destination.

The other demonstration I witnessed was in support of the constitutional amendments, and this event was made up of supporters of the king, many of whom waved signs that said "God, Country, King" or wore shirts that proclaimed "Long live the King." The mood of this demonstration was more celebratory. A band played marching music, children held up portraits of the king, and there were even a couple horses in the crowd, decorated with velvet costumes and sequins. Young men piled up in the backs of enormous trucks and cheered and jumped as the trucks honked LOOONG LOOONG SHORT SHORT SHORT. The demonstrators threw up clouds of fliers that all had نعم للدستور (YES ON THE CONSTITUTION) printed on them and they littered the streets behind the marchers. This demonstration was just as large as the other, though fortunately the two demonstrations did not meet at any point, which was a laudable strategy for the organizers.

I did see ambulances, a riot control truck equipped with fire hoses, and an armored van filled with riot police that was following the February 20 march, but the demonstrations remained absolutely peaceful.

By the way, more on Tanja later (I'm tired, sorry!).