I have been in Morocco for a week. Only a week. It feels like so much longer!! I can't give all the details of this past week, but here are the exciting bullets...
Monday- landed. Rode thorough the city (driving here is a sport all its own!). Saw the school and my apt for the first time ever! Surprisingly large apartment! Poked around the school until I found the rest of the staff. Jumped into Orientation stuff... Went to the Moroccan equivalent of Wal-Mart called Marjane.
Tuesday- Had the morning off so I walked to the beach with some of the other ladies who live on campus. Beautiful. Saw my classroom for the first time. Also a great sight. More orientation stuff. Another walk. Unpacking. Movie night.
Wednesday- Language class: Arabic and French! More orientation. Another walk. Another trip to Marjane/Morocco Mall. Got some ice cream while waiting for the mall to reopen at 8pm since everything closed at 7pm for ul-Fitr.
Thursday- All the girls went to Dar Bouazza for Moroccan tea and brunch at another staff members house. Discussion on culture/what to expect/how to behave. Delicious Moroccan food. Delicious. Orientation stuff/first-days-of-school talk. Exploration in the library. Went with three other staffers to ul-fitr with a Moroccan couple. They both spent time in the states and aren't very traditional Moroccan...we watched Swamp People after dinner.Got back to campus, went next door for a movie night.
Friday- Apartment flood (part 1). In the hallway, bathroom, MY room, down the stairs and pooling at the bottom. We used every towel in the house (which is really only about 5 towels) to dry the mess. Maintenance man came and said it was the hot water heater. I didn't agree, but I'm not a maintenance man. Got to Arabic class (late). Then French class. Orientation stuff. Trip to town to get photos taken for ID card and what not. Got to use my 'awesome' Arabic skills! Dinner/celebrating the end of Orientation at another staff members house.
Saturday- Lazy morning! Played Bananagrams with the ladies next door and my housemates. Went in town with same people. Shopped around Morocco Mall. Picked up Burger King for lunch, but had to eat it super fast in the car (during Ramadan it is rude to eat in public seeing as Everyone else is fasting). Caught a taxi to the Hay Hassani market with my roommate, Cherith. She was teaching me the ins and outs of taxiing in Casa. We found and purchased onions, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, peaches, and bananas. Got henna tattoos. Got lost on the way back to the taxi lot. Finally found the taxi lot. Packed into a car with 5 Moroccans to ride back to the school. Movie night.
Sunday- Apartment Flood part 2. We now think the drain is clogged/there is lots of water under the tub...causing a drip from the ceiling in the kitchen. Ran out the door to catch the bus to church. Church was great. Went to Jasmine's apartment in the city after church for lunch. Yum! Played 'Things' with some of the staff. They started to play spoons...I took a nap/finally surrendered to jet lag. Taxied to another part of town. Walked through the market to get to the taxi lot. Taxied back to school- with other girls from GWA instead of 5 random Moroccan men. Put on a movie and went to bed early!
And all of that in one super-fast week!
Monday- landed. Rode thorough the city (driving here is a sport all its own!). Saw the school and my apt for the first time ever! Surprisingly large apartment! Poked around the school until I found the rest of the staff. Jumped into Orientation stuff... Went to the Moroccan equivalent of Wal-Mart called Marjane.
Tuesday- Had the morning off so I walked to the beach with some of the other ladies who live on campus. Beautiful. Saw my classroom for the first time. Also a great sight. More orientation stuff. Another walk. Unpacking. Movie night.
Wednesday- Language class: Arabic and French! More orientation. Another walk. Another trip to Marjane/Morocco Mall. Got some ice cream while waiting for the mall to reopen at 8pm since everything closed at 7pm for ul-Fitr.
Thursday- All the girls went to Dar Bouazza for Moroccan tea and brunch at another staff members house. Discussion on culture/what to expect/how to behave. Delicious Moroccan food. Delicious. Orientation stuff/first-days-of-school talk. Exploration in the library. Went with three other staffers to ul-fitr with a Moroccan couple. They both spent time in the states and aren't very traditional Moroccan...we watched Swamp People after dinner.Got back to campus, went next door for a movie night.
Friday- Apartment flood (part 1). In the hallway, bathroom, MY room, down the stairs and pooling at the bottom. We used every towel in the house (which is really only about 5 towels) to dry the mess. Maintenance man came and said it was the hot water heater. I didn't agree, but I'm not a maintenance man. Got to Arabic class (late). Then French class. Orientation stuff. Trip to town to get photos taken for ID card and what not. Got to use my 'awesome' Arabic skills! Dinner/celebrating the end of Orientation at another staff members house.
Saturday- Lazy morning! Played Bananagrams with the ladies next door and my housemates. Went in town with same people. Shopped around Morocco Mall. Picked up Burger King for lunch, but had to eat it super fast in the car (during Ramadan it is rude to eat in public seeing as Everyone else is fasting). Caught a taxi to the Hay Hassani market with my roommate, Cherith. She was teaching me the ins and outs of taxiing in Casa. We found and purchased onions, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, peaches, and bananas. Got henna tattoos. Got lost on the way back to the taxi lot. Finally found the taxi lot. Packed into a car with 5 Moroccans to ride back to the school. Movie night.
Sunday- Apartment Flood part 2. We now think the drain is clogged/there is lots of water under the tub...causing a drip from the ceiling in the kitchen. Ran out the door to catch the bus to church. Church was great. Went to Jasmine's apartment in the city after church for lunch. Yum! Played 'Things' with some of the staff. They started to play spoons...I took a nap/finally surrendered to jet lag. Taxied to another part of town. Walked through the market to get to the taxi lot. Taxied back to school- with other girls from GWA instead of 5 random Moroccan men. Put on a movie and went to bed early!
And all of that in one super-fast week!
No comments:
Post a Comment