Never Ask Directions In Rabat

0:03Conan O 'Brien needs a fan. Want to talk to Conan? Visit teamcoco.com slash call Conan. Okay, let's get started. Hi Hi Yusra, welcome to Conan O 'Brien Needs a Fan Hi Yusra, how are you? Hi Conan, hi Matt, hi Sona Nice to see you Nice to see you too Your hair is very beautiful, I love the way your hair comes down That's very cool, it frames your face beautifully I just got it done Oh, I wish I had done something to my hair My hair is being crushed right now by a headset Your hair is iconic Thank you. Oh, come on. It's true. Well, you I like, Yusra. You're right. That doesn't mean a compliment necessarily.

0:50No, no, you're right. Iconic doesn't always mean good, you know? Ted Bundy was an iconic killer, yeah, but. I think the swoop of your hair is iconic. Thank you so much. The swoop right here. I think of it as a wave, a strawberry wave. Yeah. But please. It's very hard to achieve. Yes, very hard to achieve. And women are very drawn to me because of the swoop of my hair. Don't you think, Yusra? Hello, Yusra? Is this connection still going to Yusra? Are you still there? It's still going. I'm still there. Okay, great. Well, you didn't really answer the question. But anyway. I avoided it completely.

1:26Yeah, very nicely done, Yusra. Yusra, I have it here that you are from Rabat, Morocco. Is that true? Is that where you were born? Yes, I was born in Rabat, Morocco. but now I'm residing in Paris. You're loving Paris, but you go back to Morocco a great deal, yes? I'm going the day after tomorrow for a vacation. And actually tomorrow I'm passing my master's thesis. Wow. Well, maybe, maybe. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. What? Who says tomorrow I'm passing a test? You don't say that, Yusra. You say, you know, I hope if the spirits are with me that tomorrow I pass the test. No, but it's not a test. It's a presentation of my thesis.

2:18So you've already seen really a test. What's your thesis on? I studied architecture in Morocco, and I came here for a master's in computational design in architecture. Wow. So tomorrow I'll have I'll have to present my thesis, my final thesis for an internship that I did in Paris here in Paris. Well, you sound very impressive and I hope you pass. Thank you. Again, I'm going to say that I don't like all this. Well, tomorrow I win the game. I just think that he is asking for trouble. OK, Yusra, I'm going to talk to you as if for purposes of our conversation. that it's all about Morocco. Is that okay with you?

3:07Yes, it's all about Morocco. Cool, okay, let the deception begin. Now, tell me a little bit, do you have family, you probably have a lot of family and friends in Rabat. Is that true? Yes, well, since I was born and raised in Rabat, I studied in Rabat. I do have a lot of friends there and all my family is in Rabat, Morocco, yeah. Now, I don't know much about Rabat. When you think Morocco, I don't immediately think of Rabat. And that's on me because I just don't know as much. You think of Marrakech? I think of Marrakech probably. Is Casablanca in Morocco? Yes, Casablanca. Yes, Casablanca. It's pretty near Rabat, actually.

3:49And so do people in Rabat have an attitude? Like, hey, enough about Marrakech. Enough about Casablanca. Let's hear more about Rabat. Is that something that people... Do you have a chip on your shoulder about Rabat? Hmm. Actually, the rest of Morocco think of us people from Rabat as being as far from being down to earth as possible. It's probably because we are the capital of the country. And so always people think that we're not down to earth and somewhat we are arrogant. there is also another stereotype that we give false directions if someone is asking us about the direction of the street. I don't know why.

4:36When people ask me, I try to give good directions. But wait a minute. I don't know where this comes from. Okay, but first of all, the first thing you said to me, you say, oh, I'm from Rabat and there's this idea that we're arrogant the first thing you said to me is tomorrow i pass my big test which is a very arrogant thing to say and then i asked you where in robot do you live and you went oh go down there and take a left and then a right so it's possible it was just a technicality usra it's possible that you're a very arrogant person and you just don't know it. Oh, come on. No, no, no, no. I swear I'm not an arrogant person.

5:20I'm kidding. And when people ask me, when people are not from about and they ask me about directions, I try my best to give them the good directions. I really don't know where this stereotype comes from. I'm not sure either. But Yusra, I do believe you. You seem like a good and kind person. And maybe it's other people. sometimes it's just a few bad apples that give uh you know the whole capital a bad name there might be a couple of people uh in rabat walking around giving bad directions and acting like they're all that in a bag of cheeto chips you know sorry that's a common that's a common phrase here in america now it's used by the street youth nobody nobody uses that yeah pretty common cheeto chips?

6:04Please. Hey, Sona, get outside a little bit. Okay. And maybe talk to some people outside your bubble. Anyways. Would you like a Cheeto chip? It's never been said. Cheeto chip. You're all that and a bag of Cheeto chips. Guys, I call this an unproductive cul-de-sac. I'm sorry. I know. You just want to make sure everybody heard that. We're here talking to Yusra from Rabat, Morocco, who seems very cool. You seem very smart. You're clearly very well educated. And you seem like a very cool person. And I want to learn more about you. If I came to Rabat, if I came to Morocco, would there be any way that I could be of help to you?

6:47Is there anything I can do for you? I really don't think of you being of help to me. There's that Rabatan arrogance. I love it. You are so arrogant. maybe I could teach you to come down to earth a little bit I just I just want to finish my sentence I was when I think of you coming to Morocco I think of all the places I want to show you oh like what what would you show me yeah I well me I think studying architecture for so for like for so long in Rabat I had the opportunity to go to a lot of historical places and monuments And I think I have some knowledge that I would like to share with you about my city.

7:36And I want you to discover the people of Rabat, all of the monuments, the culture, the food, especially the food. Okay, let's talk more specifically because this is very nice, but I want to make sure that I have an experience that just not any tourists can have. Do you know what I mean? And look, what you're describing right now is, oh, I'll show you around some monuments and some architecture and I'll show you some of the food. I really want to focus on, you know, what specifically could we do that would be special and fun?

8:14I'm just thinking of a lot of experiences relating to food because food is very important to our culture. So maybe you would like try and eat street food or not like not in a classy restaurant for say, but go and try the the food that's in the very small streets that not particularly tourists will go to. So what kind of try? So you want you want me to go and experience some food that other tourists aren't having that's in small streets? Yeah, probably. Small streets. Small streets. What kind of food are we talking about? Describe the food to me. So there is a lot of like, there is like sandwiches with a lot of spicy meats.

9:05And there is also, how do I put this delicately? Like it's basically the feet of cows or sheep. And it's cooked and you can eat the meat that's there. I'm sorry, you're talking about the hoof? The hoof? Yeah, the hoof. That's the word. That's just a big, isn't the hoof just a big toenail? What is the hoof? Are you talking about the leg that surrounds it? No, but like the whole leg. Oh, the whole leg. I thought just the foot. Okay, because I won't eat a hoof. I took an oath a long time ago. I'm very, I have a bumper sticker on my car that says, I don't eat hoof.

9:54We also eat snails. Okay. We also eat snails, so you can eat snails. It's popular in the street foods with a soup or a stew, and there is just a bunch of snails that you could eat. There's a bunch of snails that I could eat. With the shell, or do they de-shell? Oh, no, no, no, no. With the shell? It's cooked with the shell? It's cooked with the shell, yes. No, yes, it's cooked with the shell, but you take it out. Dip it out. Yeah, have you not? I mean, I've never had snails. Have you seen his bumper sticker where he says he doesn't eat the shells? I says, I don't eat hoof and I won't eat the shell.

10:30Also, I was curious about how they prep it. Do they pull it out and then they boil the snails? No, they're boiled. They boil it. It's like an oyster. I'm not fancy like you are, Conan. No, no, I've just been in the world a little bit. I'm sorry. I occasionally leave Altadena and I see things. So I'm, this sounds good. I mean, I like to try different foods. And I don't know if you saw my episode of Hot Ones. Talk about iconic. Yes. But I am, spices don't bother me. I can eat anything. I can eat a bank safe that's covered in the hottest chili peppers. Nothing. Nothing. Of course, I'm just. I just want to know the aftermath of Hot Ones.

11:12No, you don't. No, no. I was, let's put it this way. I was sued by my toilet.

11:20It's very rare. the United States for his toilet, an inanimate porcelain toilet to sue a human being. But I was sued by my toilet and the case is pending. The toilet's going to be in the witness box. You have no idea. The little flap going up and down. You have no idea. There's a Netflix true crime series coming out. Yeah. Yeah. Called Toilet Busters features. Coda, what I'm hearing is what you're maybe what you're getting to is you want to know where are the clubs? Are you going to take to the clubs? Would you take me out to the clubs? Yes, of course. Okay, do you go to the clubs? Of course I would take you.

11:57Back in Rabat, not much. You don't go to the clubs much in Rabat? Yeah. The clubs, it's more like Marrakesh. There are a lot of better clubs. So we can go to Marrakesh. Oh, so suddenly you're all about Rabat. But then when it's time to go to the clubs, you say we have to go to Marrakesh because that's where it's at i'm just i'm just stating the facts clubs in uh in marrakesh are better oh i've always heard that i've always heard when people say to me do you want to go to hit the clubs in rabat or marrakesh i always say dude marrakesh no marrakesh all the way how would i uh how would i do in the clubs in marrakesh just in terms of would people would people embrace me would we have a good time i don't mean physically embrace me and of course that can't happen um i've been told uh lawyers But if I go into the clubs, would people be happy to see me?

12:51What would happen if I went to a club? Of course. Well, I don't know. The vibes there are just, people there are very nice. They're very hospitable. So I think everyone would embrace you, whether it's in Rabat, Marrakesh, Casablanca, everywhere in Morocco. You would be met with open arms. That's very nice. I like that. I like it. Sometimes I encounter, you know, people who are hostile or who find me physically abhorrent. But I like it when people are friendly. That's very nice. I think people are very friendly in Morocco. Even if people don't speak English, they will try and communicate with you whatever they can.

13:33So people are very friendly. But I think in the big cities such as Reba, Casablanca, or Marrakesh, a lot of people speak now English. So I don't think you would have a problem with communicating with other people. Yes. Well, that's good to know. And tell me, what are your plans for the future? What do you aspire to, Yusra? You know, what's the big picture for Yusra? Okay. So, well, now with just finishing up my master's, I'm looking for a job ideally in Paris. So I think maybe for the next five years, I'm planning to stay in Paris and see, I don't know, see what life has for me. But in the long run, I'll probably go back to my country.

14:25You can go back in the long run. Yeah. Yeah. What is your favorite thing to do when you go home to Morocco? You're going to visit your parents, obviously, your family. What do you like to do? What are some of the things that you enjoy? Maybe I could go along with you on one of those. I eat a lot of food. So if you come to Morocco, I bet you are going to gain like five pounds. And the other thing that I like to do is I like to go to hair salons and spas. Oh. Because here in France, it's very expensive. Right. While in Morocco, you can get the same quality of service with a fraction of the price.

15:04So I like to get my nails done, my hair, like to have like a relaxing spa day. And I think based on your remotes, I think you enjoy spa days. I do. I went with Steven Yeun. You do. To a spa. That's my favorite remote, by the way. Yes. Well, it was a good time. In Morocco, we have a similar experience with the scrubbing. Oh, so I could get a scrubbing in Morocco. Yeah, you can get a scrubbing in a, we call it a hammam. You can get a scrubbing in a massage. The massage is just for men. Us women, we do not get, we just get a scrub. Wait, why don't women get them? Why do women not get massages? Because the massages for men are very violent.

15:50They're not a relaxing experience. Wait a minute. So hold on a second. Yusra, you're saying that I could come to Morocco, you would take me to a spa where you would invite me to have a violent massage. Yes. When you say violent, how violent? Because you said you want to try an authentic experience in Urbat, I'm not going to take you to a fancy spa, like a typical spa. I don't want that. I don't want that. I want to have the real experience. Yes. So the real experience are these public baths all over the country where you can go and you can have like a scrub. It's like the person that gives you a massage, they think they're a chiropractor for some reason.

16:35So they like to just crack all of your body, all of your bones. Yes. Oh, that sounds I don't think that's a massage. that sounds like I'm going to be lured into a room and they're going to beat the shit out of me that's what you're describing that's more like it okay well that sounds fun you'll come out of it very relaxed and relieved relieved that it's over that tends to happen when you stop beating someone they're quite relieved that the beating is over afterwards you get to enjoy a mint tea so a mint tea or a Moroccan tea you earned it okay so after my violent beating at the hands of these men yes I'm going to have a mint tea alright well that sounds like something we could do together I would like to go to a spa with you because okay perfect you know I am very tense a tense person I have a lot of tension in my shoulders you've always noticed that I carry my shoulders very very it's like a it's like a rock a concrete yeah a lot of dense dense muscle very muscular man oh I wasn't talking about muscles I was talking about the tension either way they're two completely different things a lot of built up shoulders muscles is there a lot of muttering into microphones in Rebond just curious if that's a thing well listen I think this sounds really fun and I like you I do hope that we cross paths at some point you seem like a very nice person And I know I was kidding around a lot at the beginning, but I know that you're going to do great tomorrow.

18:17You're going to you're going to thank you so much. You're going to get your degree. It's going to go very well. And I'm happy for you. And I you seem like a very cool person. So we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens. But you never know. Maybe one of these days you and I will be roaming the streets of Rabat, going into very small alleys. eating very, very spicy food and then going to a room where men will beat me to death. That sounds like a good time. Sounds perfect. Followed by a mint tea. Sounds like a good time. All right, well, thank you so much. It was really good talking to you.

18:54Thank you so much. Bye-bye. Bye. Conan O 'Brien Needs a Fan with Conan O 'Brien, Sonam Avsassian, and Matt Gourley. Produced by me, Matt Gourley. Executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross, and Nick Leow. Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino. Take it away, Jimmy. Supervising producer Aaron Blaird. Associate talent producer Jennifer Samples. Associate producers Sean Doherty and Lisa Berm. Engineering by Eduardo Perez. Get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign up at SiriusXM.com slash Conan. Please rate, review, and subscribe to Conan O 'Brien Needs a Fan wherever fine podcasts are done. Amen.