Nkob 5- Boulmane Dades 4

My team won!Spent a nice day after a deluge this morning cheering my homeboys on. Walking back, a guy asked me all about American sports. He knew a lot, and I told him how I played american football in high school (really, middle school but noone's counting). He's Mimoun, a guy from my town that really cares and loves American culture and movies. He later asked what a Yankee means, so this turned into a conversation about the civil war, the North/South divide and the racial makeup of the US. He was surprised to learn that 80 percent of my high school was black and that Latinos are the second biggest group in the US after white people. It's nice when you can immediately get into a more meaningful conversation about US culture, but the people here able to do that are rare. Sometimes instead you argue that

Now I'm ready to go back and dive into a few more chapters of Cent'anni di solitudine.
Something neat my sister shared with me: apparently this is a HUGE new trend in the US
http://www.moroccanoil.com/fr/qui-sommes-nous.html

here's the same thing in English:
from here
http://www.moroccanoil.com/en/about-us.html

Moroccan pride! The Argan tree

The luxury brand, Moroccanoil®, is the originator and leading manufacturer of professional Argan Oil hair products and the fastest growing independent company in the professional salon industry.

A powerful antioxidant and UV protector, Moroccanoil’s proprietary Argan oil blend is rich in vitamins and natural elements that fortify the hair, including Vitamin F (Omega 6), Vitamin A to improve elasticity, Vitamin E to protect against free-radicals, and Phenols to shield against environmental stressors.

Salon-exclusive Moroccanoil® products have a strong following among leading runway, film, television and celebrity stylists who search for the very finest for their A-list clients. Moroccanoil® is a backstage fixture frequently used to create hair for major magazine covers, fashion editorial spreads, as well as for award shows including the Oscars, Golden Globes, Grammys, Independent Spirit Awards and MTV Awards.

Moroccanoil®’s Argan oil is harvested under a fair trade program which provides substantial socio-economic support to thousands of families in the Souss-Massa region of Morocco. Revenue from this project provides income to families and helps improve the working conditions of rural women. It is also used for reading, writing and management classes, as well as for modern infrastructure and technology that help make harvesting easier and more efficient, ensuring long-term management of the Argan forest.

There is only one Moroccanoil® brand on the market. Look for the bright turquoise blue label with the large copper M in the Moroccanoil logo. These are the only genuine, proprietary Moroccanoil® products.

Yes, these Argan trees only exist in Morocco and maybe one other place in the world, so they are very abundant here but are extremely rare outside of Morocco. It is extremely expensive, too and is consumed just like olive oil.

Here's more about that from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argan

In Morocco arganeraie forests now cover some 8,280 km² and are designated as a UNESCO Biosphere reserve. Their area has shrunk by about 50% over the last 100 years, owing to charcoal-making, grazing, and increasingly intensive cultivation. The best hope for the conservation of the trees may lie in the recent development of a thriving export market for argan oil as a high-value product.

Argan is also grown in Israel, in the Arava and Negev.^[1][2][3]

The oil contains 80% unsaturated fatty acids, is rich in essential fatty acids and is more resistant to oxidation than olive oil. Argan oil is used for dipping bread, on couscous, salads and similar uses. A dip for bread known as amlou is made from argan oil, almonds and peanuts, sometimes sweetened by honey or sugar. The unroasted oil is traditionally used as a treatment for skin diseases, and has found favour with European cosmetics manufacturers.^{[citation needed]} Argan oil is sold in Morocco as a luxury item (although difficult to find outside the region of production) and is of increasing interest to cosmetics companies in Europe. It was difficult to buy the oil outside Morocco but by 2001-2002 became a fashionable food in Europe and North America. It is now widely available in specialist shops and occasionally in supermarkets. Its price (USD$40-50 for 500 ml) is notable compared to other oils