August 4, 2008 Zri-ing the dentist

Here, folks often use the word “pass”, zri, to mean “go”. Like, when people ask me if I went to SouqTown, they’ll often say, “Is tzrit lmdint?” (“Did you pass the city?”) Any short trip can be described as “passing” the destination, whether it’s “passing” a friend in another town or “passing” the souq to get some vegetables.

Zri onomatopoetically captures fast movement, too…it sounds zippy and zingy, rhymes with “Whee!”, and has a rolled r in the middle, like a motorboat engine. Zzzzrrrrrriiiiiiii.

Today’s visit to the dentist is accurately described by the word zri. I was in and out of the dentist’s office in twenty minutes flat, including the time I spent waiting in the reception area. I’ve never had such a speedy dental visit.

When I told my PCV friends about the trip, including my misgivings – can you really get a thorough cleaning and checkup in less than 15 minutes?? – one pointed out that since the dentist himself performs the cleaning, it’s actually far more efficient, and not necessarily less effective, than American dentist offices. In my experience with American dentistry, I’m used to a cleaning by a dental hygienist, a medium-length wait for the dentist himself, and then a quick pop-in from the DMD.

In America, the dentist zri-s past the patient…in Morocco, the patient zri-s the dentist.