I’ve told this story tons of times.
And I will continue to tell it many more times, because it was so much fun that everyone loves it!
It was in 1996.
Such a long time ago…
Let me give you some context:
In my previous job I did important business with an out-of-the-ordinary woman.
An intelligent, generous person, with a great sense of humor and very adventurous.
And of course, we became great friends 👯
Because on top of that, being from the same place bonds you a lot.
The same languages, the same memories, the same culture, the same education….
My friend Corinne and I have a lot in common, but above all, we love Morocco.
The country where we were both born 🇲🇦
One day she invited me to spend a few days in Agadir, where they still have the family home.
And I, as my father used to say, I never say no to a trip (he always said not to invite him out of commitment… because he was going…), I accepted immediately.
Those were happy days. We had dinner with family and friends, went to the beach and simple but great things like that when done in good company.
The souks, the massages in the hammam, the tajines…all delicious.
And to do something “different” …. we decided to spend the day in Taroudant, only 85 km from Agadir.
We had rented a car, and decided to leave early to take advantage of the day.
And well we made the most of it, yes!!!!
After strolling through the beautiful city that is all within a magnificent wall, we ended up -how not- in a carpet store.
As usual, the first thing to do is to have a mint tea, and then they show you all the sizes, colors and models they have until you pick one.
Well…
Corinne had been the intermediary in a super deal I made a couple of months earlier with a very big supermarket chain, so I wanted to thank her with a gift.
And when she opened her eyes wide and said “My goodness what a beautiful carpet”, I knew I wanted to give it to her.
Without her knowing it was for her, I negotiated the price (I hate bargaining, remember?), but I didn’t want to pay double what it was worth… so after a long time and several glasses of tea, we agreed on the final price.
Ohhh God, but when I looked for my wallet… Terror! I didn’t have it in my purse!
Without telling her that it was for her, I asked my friend if she didn’t mind paying for it and I’ll give her the money at home, I remember leaving my wallet on the couch when we were going out 😅
Of course, she said, be my guest!
And she starts rummaging in her purse, then she looks at me and says: You won’t believe it, but when you took out your wallet to see how many Dirhams you had, I also took out mine to count them and it was also left there, on the sofa…🛋
Oh dear! Well, no carpet anymore.
I was so excited to give it to her!
We had no choice but to tell the kind sellers.
One was very handsome and the other, super funny but rather ugly and toothless….
“no broblem Man…Walu broblem…we find solution”
And they start talking to each other heatedly. In Moroccan Arabic, obviously.
And after a while, when they had come to an agreement, they let us go…
Like this:
🔽
Well, we could go to Agadir with you, we take the VISA machine with us (one of those that you had to put a paper and pass it over so that the numbers of the card would be dry engraved -the good old days) …… and then we return by bus 🚌.
Corinne and I looked at each other
We smiled
Accomplices
Let’s go!
Done!
Hialaaa zid!!!
Let’s go!!! 🚗
What a joy!!! I wasn’t going to tell her that the carpet was for her until we got to Agadir.
I wanted it to be a surprise and the way the day was going, we were already having enough hahaaaa.
And off we went:
The two of them 👳🏾👳🏾, the carpet and us 👩👩🦱
All in a tiny car.
They didn’t understand French or Spanish.
Or so they said.
And both of us, laughing our heads off at the little adventure.
And I said to Corinne….:
“Well, yours is not handsome at all” 😂.
And she answered with indignation
“Mine? And why is the ugly one mine ?”
Well because I said it first and therefore I choose.
And so it went, all the way, laughing out loud🤣.
One of those times when you cry so much from laughing that you almost have to stop the car.
Well, that’s how we went all the way home.
And the arrival was triumphant:
In the garden of the house, several people of her family were watching us arrive with the two guys and the carpet. It was a show.
And still laughing, we swiped the card through the VISA machine.
We invited them to tea (hospitality is something inherent in those of us who are from there) and took them to the bus stop to return to Taroudant.
We never knew if they had understood anything of the nonsense we were saying in the car, but surely without understanding, just hearing us laugh they had a good time.
We did have a good time.
Unforgettable.
Morocco has a well-earned reputation for its handicrafts.
Today I’m going to show you a wool and leather bedside rug made (by hand, of course) a little bit higher up: in Marrakech.
A beautiful piece, available in three colours, that will look great in your home.
I’m not so good at selling rugs but with me you won’t have to bargain.
The price is right.
Hugs,
Teresa 🌺
PS: Never trust people who say they don’t speak your language. Who knows.
PS 2: My friend just came 2nd in a rally there in Morocco. Yes, she, the same one.
She is 63 years old. A wonderful woman. I’ll tell you about it another day.
PS 3: I’m sure you’ve had some funny things like that happen to you! I’d love to hear or read them!
