Buses

Today I had a very Moroccan experience. I was coming back from tutoring, so I took the bus. When I was about 3 blocks from my house, the bus driver just stops. Dead in the middle of the road. Just like that. He gets out with a big styrofoam cup, and walks across lincoln avenue (a pretty big street). I thought he was thorwing away his drink, but really all the time what I was thinking is how Moroccan that moment was.

One time on my way to work in Rabat, a bus driver stopped the bus, then went to talk to a friend and get a drink of water for 5 minutes. No big deal no one blinked an eye. Now here on campus, everyone was looking around, like 'How could this happen, what is happening, is this happening to me, what do we do now." I just smiled and got off the bus once I saw the guy was going to the gas station for a soda refill (big gulp deal I think). That's all you can do, you've got no choice, just roll with it. The rest of the people just watched me walk off the bus. YOu learn some things from Morocco I'll tell ya.

back

Well I'm back. It's good to be back. Reverse culture shock is tough though. Everything has kind of been a blur since I've been back. I got back saturday, then sunday was getting over jetlag and packing, then monday and tuesday I moved in then today was first day of classes. I really like my classes, so this semster looks to be good.

departure

Well things got busy and I haven't had time to write much. I'm going to Casablanca today and then taking the plane at 1am tommorrow morning. I have had soe time to reflect and this was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I think it will be better to have some distance and reflect from there though. I will try to keep posting for a while after I get back to the States too. I will miss everyone here so much. But I al late now, so its time to go. Thank you to everyone that took the time to read my blog, I really appreciate it.

Talk to you when I'm in the states.

the lake

Today was another easy day. Yesterday was the Chellah, which was really cool to visit. About a mile walk from the apartment, it had old Roman ruins from Sala colonia, their colony, and an islamic Mausoleum. Unfortunately, after seeing so many amazing thing, you get immune to grandeur. Still an amazing site though.

Today I got up at around 11, and went present shopping at 2. I've done most of my present shopping, so the only major thing to do is visit the Hassan 2 mosque in Casa. its the largest mosque in africa and open to non-muslims, which is rare in Morocco.

I had Benaissa come with me to help bargain. He got me better deals than I would be able to get on my own. Shopping is much more stressful in the medina, but you get much better deals. Being back to prices being listed and no one calling you to shop at their place will be a welcome change.

Tonight Benaissa is cooking dinner. Its supposed to be Moroccan, but he told me he has no idea what he's doing so it'll probably be crazy. Earlier today we went to a lake about half an hour outside of Rabat to see the sun set. We went past these shantytowns dug into the moountain surrounded by piles of trash all over. Very gross. The urban rural difference is easy to see. There are whole hills that should be prinstine that are covered with plastic bags.

But anyway, the lake was really pretty. Very calm navy blue water surrounded by orangish mountains around it. The mountains are all around Morocco, but the make complements it almst perfectly. After that I went to Marjane, which is most like a Carrefour, and kind of like Target. Very weird, almost completely Westernized. I don't know why people shop there for some stuff, because you can get it much cheaper from street vendors, but whatever. A status symbol I guess. Its definitely globalization or modernization in action. I got a little culture shock, I'll be honest. Everything in rows, wompletely ordered. its been a long time. A taste of the culture shock to come I guess.

Tonight we'll probably watch another movie. I got some more at the store. Only 3 days left........

sunday

Well, today i'm no longer sick. I stayed home most of the day yesterday with some sort of stomach bug, but its over now.

Today i washed a lot of dishes and did my laundry. I washed just about everything. No one is around, and I have the time, so I'm finally caught up. My clothes were so dirty. I had to drain the rinse water 4 times. Yeah that dirty. But now I should have clother to go back to the US.

I also got some DVDs. There is a store in the medina. The copyrights are probably not perfectly respected, but anyway. Even though their pirated, the DVDs still have covers, multiple languages, and cases. I always thought of pirated stuff as run out somebody's basement, but obviously there is mass production and somebody's making some money. The going rate is 13 dirhams, about $1.50.

I also had Moroccan snails. You get a bowl full of snails, steaming. They give you a toothpick, and you spear the snail, then hold onto the shell and pull it out. If you hold onto the sheel before spearing it, its too hot and you burn your fingers. Then, after eating your bowl of about 25 snails, you drink the spicy water. very Moroccan. Sold out of a little shop across the street from the medina. how very Moroccan.

Thats about it. Going to watch a movie tonight. Tomorrow is another day.

back from travels

Back in Rabat. The travels are over.

So I got back from Fez and meknes on Friday at around 6. That evening was spent saying goodbye to Isaac, who's going back to Minnesota, and to Naoufel, who is going to Turkey for an AIESEC conference. I tried to stay up all night, but only made it to midnight. We had dinner at home, and then just talked for the rest of the night. This makes me the last American in the house for a while. Melissa is gone in France, but she'll be back soon. She got a job as Salaam program coordinator, so she'll be living in the apartent all next year.

The goodbyes are definitely hard, but they get a little easier each time. I don't know if this is good or bad. It hurts less, but it means that I fell less too. But when you travel it sets up these kinds of situtations. I never saw anyone from Belgium again except the kleins, and I haven't seen anybody from Senegal, even Miriam though thats probably mostly my fault. I hope to see some of the Midwesterners for halloween, but we'll see how that goes.

Fez and Meknes were good, but each took about a day to visit; Meknes had nice souqs, or arkets, even if they are very overwhelming. The gates and palaces built by Moulay Ismail were nice too.

Fez is an amazing city, with an old medina that span several square miles. You can be walking by leather shops, and catch a glimpse of a huge medersa, the Islamic theological colleges. AMid the bustle of the medina, they are amazingly peaceful. The only thing is that there isn't much variation- they all look pretty much the same. Carved wood with Koranic passages, colorful zellij designs, and graceful archways.

I like seeing the tanneries; Behind the medina, huge vats of rotting carcases show where leather comes from; A major source of leather, about 50 vats are packed in very close. There is never too much space in the medina.

So those are the highlights of y trip. Maybe more stories later. I saw just about all the places I wanted to take the train too. Seeing Tangiers would have been cool, but its known as a dirty and shady place, so maybe its for the best. This week somtime, I've got to see the Hassan 2 mosque in Casa and the Chellah south of Rabat. Plus shopping. A demain.

mrkesh

So i'm back from Marrakesh. It was great. Very hot and tiring, but worth it. The sights are not that impressive, but I really liked the general ambience. bronze painted buildings in Arabic style, hustle and bustle all around, street vendors and hustlers, old women veiled in black begging with their small children, and the incessant waves of heat that never stop. We couldn't get a otel reservation, so we fund a hotel when we got there.

Nothing is sure in Morocco, all is negotiated. They don't use credit cards for a reservation, so they're not ,100 percent like the US. Our hotel had AC though, even if it never got cold. Its hard to sleep in 100 degree heat.

The main square in Marrakesh is amazing. Its about the siwe of a football field, and at night it gets crammed with people. There are always orange juice vendors, and at night Marrakeshis sell dinner, filling the square with smoke from the barbecue. It gives everything almost a surreal atmosphere. Right in the middle of the square are snake charmers, and vendors selling incese, and spices out of huge rucksacks. The vendors will call out to you in English, usually calling you chicago or arizona or new york. To the north are the souqs or markets. winding passageways barely a meter wide carry pedestrians through a maze of wares and baubles. Everything reeks of spice and leather and scarcely bathed Moroccans. There is no ryhme or reason to it. Occasionally carts carried by horses, donkeys, or en will come through and squeeze people in a all directions. Reckless mopeders race through with no regard to their own safety or others, but somehow there are few accidents. Somehow there is always a child underfoot. The walkways are covered, so they give a reprieve from the heat.

Thats the souqs. Pure Morocco. The palaces are impressive, very expansive and usually decorated with tiles of solid color, and with carved wood ceilings painted in pastels with caligraphied passages from the koran scrawled across.

The city is filled with gardens, somehow springing from the earth, fighting for life with the wiltering heat. The main boulevard has hargens stretching for miles with one of the world's highest minarets at the end. Marrakesh is defeinitely imperial.

That's about all for Marrakesh. We got back yesterday later and we leave this afternoon. On the schedule is Meknes then Fez, the other imperial capitals. Also we're stopping in Volubilis to see the Roman ruins there. I should be back Friday.