No, not that Africa... the OTHER Africa!

Hey everyone. It's been awhile since a legitimate post so I figured I will just throw one up.

Um, no, I didn't mean throw up, I meant... oh whatever.

The good news is that I'm not sick. I can drink the local tap, eat the fruit (so long as it's washed, obviously) and eat things like a normal person. First person to get sick on the trip was Matt S (not my Matt; there's another one on the trip). But it was kind of light, which is good. Dooler, however, left class in the middle of the day because she didn't feel well. I hope she gets better. We had a betting pool going on who was the first to get sick... I had pretty long odds, which is good. Didn't place any money though so, meh.

Class is going well. I'm practicing my Arabic each night with my host sister and in the street. It's a bit disconcerting because when I try to buy things the shopkeeper will talk to me in French (it's standard due to all the tourists) and I kind of have to push to get them to speak to me in Darija, which isn't exactly what we're learning in school but it's what's spoken in the home and we've had plenty of exposure to it.

As for the food, it's mostly good. I think I eat like five plate-sized pieces of bread a day. Those things are more numerous than pidgeons in central park. They are everywhere, everyone sells them, and it's always fun to see kids running home with one or two after being sent out by their mom with a few dirhams.

Now there are people practicing Darija around me and it's hard to write in English! Also, I've gotten in the bad habit of saying "You know what is..?" before saying a word in English to my host sister and cousin because that's what they say all the time. If I come back speaking a broken English/French/Dari-Fusha, I apologize. I really am trying to learn Fusha but all the other five languages keep getting in the way (there's also Tamazight (), Spanish, and I've even gotten people speaking to me in Italian. Weird.)

Back to the food. Like I said, lots of bread. Haven't had much couscous at home, and when we do have it I don't really like it because it's rather bland with just some sugar and cinnamon and raisins, which I don't consider to be a meal. Lots of stews though, which is cool. Chicken is a big mover here since they're small and inexpensive and don't have to be halal. The pressure cooker is my mama's best friend. She also likes to make us "sandwiches" which are pretty much the bread I mentioned earlier with either some egg and leftovers inside, or yesterday it was chicken and fries. Oh yeah, homemade fries are huge here.

What's best, though, is the fruit. We've got everything (even one weird thing that I tried but didn't really like; I'll see if I can get a picture of it so someone might be able to identify just what it is). Baby plums, cherries, apples, pears, bananas, LOTS of oranges, grapes, and the most delicious peaches I have ever had. Whew, I love fruit.


I also have to admit that I'm addicted to Moroccan Mint Tea. Seriously, I'll drink it like four or five times a day. I personally think my mama's is best (of course) but it's all really good. Also, they do have coffee here and you can get european style expresso drinks in the cafes, but insofar as in the home, I avoid it like the plague. Pretty much just boiled water with a few scoops of "taster's choice" dumped in and boiled to a sludge. The coffee at school, however, is a bit better and I'll buy one for like three dirhams when I need a mid-Arabic lesson pick-me-up at 10 in the morning.

My typical day starts at 7:40am when my alarm clock goes off. I hear my host mama shuffle downstairs to make me breakfast while I get dressed for school. I pack up my backpack and my purse and go down to the kitchen for some bread-butter-and-jelly and my morning tea. I chat a little with my mama in broken Dari-Fusha and English and let her know if I'll be home for lunch or will eat it at the CCCL, and also establish when I'll be home for dinner. I inevitably forget something upstairs, so I have to run back to my room, grab what i'm missing, and then walk along Ave Laalou to the Bab Laalou, cross the street to the Mobil (and not get hit) and then walk down the street about a block and a half, make a quick right-left and I'm at the Annex. Class starts at 8:30, with a break from 10-10:30 and wraps up at 11:45.

My arabic teacher is Omama Mansour, who is getting married to her husband (weddings happen in three parts: engagement, then official signing, then the actual ceremony; Omama has done the first two but her big party is at the end of July, right before we leave) and has invited Kristen and myself to join her as part of her official entourage (they don't really do bridesmaids, but we've been told that we will "help her get ready" for the wedding).

The only other student in my class is Kristen, which means the three of us know each other very well and we get a lot accomplished each day and have a good time doing so. After class, I walk back to Ave Laalou and either go home for lunch or head to the CCCL for lunch there (like I did today) and afterwards we have class. If I go home, it's either because I have class later, at like 4:30 (SIESTA TIME! WHOOO!) or we have the afternoon off, like I did yesterday. Sam and I walked around the Souk and the Kasbah, so I've added a few more pictures. Check them out on the righthand side of the page. If you click the slideshow, it will take you to my web album where you can read my captions and leave comments.

Ok, they're about to shut down the center, so I need to go. Maa Salaama!