Tag: culture

Moroccan Mint Tea

One of the stops on Lindsey and my honeymoon was Morocco. It was an interesting cultural experience. One of the few highlights of our day trip to Morocco was our meal, and particularly, for me, the mint tea that we were served afterwards. It was strong and sweet. Our guide explained to us that mint tea was a popular and common part of Moroccan culture. It is consumed in large quantities for health benefits such as rejuvenation and clarity.

Naturally, I’ve been eager to adopt the “Moroccan way” into my own daily routine. Today I purchased one ounce of Marrakesh Mint tea from the spice market down the street from my office. I’m on my second mug (I don’t have a proper Moroccan tea cup). It is a nice change from my standard coffee guzzling, however, the local stuff isn’t quite as good as what we had in Morocco. This is likely because I’m using pre-mixed tea (green and mint) and not green tea with fresh mint leaves. I’ll try that another day.

Here is a proverb regarding Moroccan mint tea, which is traditionally steeped three times:

The first glass is as bitter as life,
The second glass is as strong as love,
The third glass is as gentle as death.

Here’s to life, love and even death! (Raises mug of tea carefully above desk as a gesture of toasting the world.)

Third Places from 9am to 5pm

Awhile ago I wrote about “3rd places” – those places people go to gather, do work when not at work, or just hangout. Coffee shops are a prime example of third places. Bookstores, diners, etc. Often the common denominators between third places are a wifi connection and coffee.

One of the most bizarre things about going back to school in August of 2006 was the daily freedom. No longer did I feel obligated to sit at a specific desk in an office with co-workers. While some of my fellow students preferred to study in the library, sitting in the same spot day after day, I’ve never had a high tolerance for libraries. Instead, I prefer either home or a diner. There is something about having a medium amount of commotion that helps me focus in on what I need to get done. Perhaps, the distractions remind me that I want to be done so that I can get on with my day and enjoy what else there is to do – walk around outside, go see a movie, or hangout with friends.

A recent article posited the question of what are all the people doing that walk around during the day. Don’t they work? This isn’t as interesting of a question as it may have once been. When I did work, I hardly worked a 9-to-5 job. I had relative freedom to set my own hours when we weren’t super busy, which allowed me to work from a coffee shop near my house on Fridays or travel and work.

Seeing people hanging out at 3rd places between the hours of 9am to 5pm seems more normal than weird these days.